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Hydraulis
- Ancient Beginnings: The origins of the keyboard instrument can be traced back to ancient times, specifically to the hydraulis, an ancient Greek instrument. Invented in the 3rd century BCE by Ctesibius of Alexandria, the hydraulis utilized a complex system of water pressure to create sounds.
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Jun 9, 2023 · Ancient Beginnings: The origins of the keyboard instrument can be traced back to ancient times, specifically to the hydraulis, an ancient Greek instrument. Invented in the 3rd century BCE by Ctesibius of Alexandria, the hydraulis utilized a complex system of water pressure to create sounds.
Sep 23, 2022 · The above picture depicts a person playing a hydraulis, which is a water-powered keyboard organ from the Ancient world. The hydraulis is the oldest-known keyboard instrument in recorded human history from around the 3rd century B.C., and is pre-cursor to the modern-day organ.
Jan 9, 2024 · The earliest-known source of keyboard music is the Robertsbridge Codex. The clavichord gained popularity during the 16th-century, especially with Bach. The first harpsichord in the history of the piano was the virginal. Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the piano in the early 18th century.
- The Neanderthal Flute
- Bullroarer
- Jiahu Gǔdí
- Tutankhamun’s Trumpets
- Xun
- Lithophone
- Lyres of Ur
- Auloi
- Bow Harp
- Shofar
Up first on our list of very old musical instruments is the Neanderthal Flute. But this isn’t the modern concert flute we recognize today. It’s The Neanderthal Flute that was discovered in 1995 in a cave in Slovenia. It’s thought to be around 60,000 years old. It’s literally the oldest instrument in the world! It is made from the bone of a cave bea...
Up next is the Bullroarer, an ancient musical instrument that dates back to 18,000 BC. It can be found all over the globe. It’s usually a flat plank of wood in an elliptical shape with a long string attached to it. The wood ranges in size from four to 14 inches, some even as long as 28 inches. To use a bullroarer, a person holds the string and whir...
Our next instrument is one that can be traced back to roughly 6000 BCE in China. This makes the Jiahu Gǔdíthe oldest musical instrument from this country. To give you a little bit of context, the burial grounds of Jiahu in the Henan Province of central China contained artistic remains, including bone flutes. Six complete bone flutes and fragments o...
Another very old instrument is Tutankhamun’s trumpets, which were discovered in Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s burial chamber. They originated around 5000 BC. Archaeologist Howard Carter was credited with having discovered the trumpets in 1922. One trumpet was about 19 inches in length and made of bronze. The other was silver and 22.5 inches long. The trump...
Another Chinese instrument makes an appearance on our list. The Xunwas a famous instrument in ancient China. The one discovered in Zhejiang was 7000 years old and is considered the oldest Xun artifact. Other Xun instruments were also discovered in other places, such as Henan. Xun is an egg-shaped clay sculpture with no more than ten holes on the ex...
If it’s called a prehistoric instrument, then you know it’s really old. The Lithophone, also known as the “rock gong,” is a percussion instrument made up of rocks. It’s believed to have been invented between 8000 and 2500 BC. The oldest lithophone was discovered in Vietnam in 1949, consisting of 11 slabs of stones. Lithophones were also found in ot...
Four lyres were discovered in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, which was once part of ancient Mesopotamia. As they are over 4,500 years old, the Lyres of Urare the oldest stringed instruments. Each lyre had an animal head on the front of the sound box to identify its pitch. All of these are box lyres, meaning they have a boxlike body. The performer plays ...
Our next entry is an ancient Greek wind instrument. The Auloiwere invented around 2450 BC. The Auloi have two separate pipes, each double-reed, and played at the same time. That is why some would call them a double flute. Later, people would perform using only one pipe. The early Auloi were made from wood or bone. Later on, other materials were use...
The Bow harp, also known as benet, is a type of harp that originated in ancient Egypt. Throughout pharaonic history, it was one of the most popular musical instruments. Bow harps were said to originate in the 1st dynasty, making them a very old instrument. Harps were already in existence around 2500 BC. By then, they were the kind of harp consistin...
Up next is the Shofar, a Jewish instrument traditionally made from the ram’s horn. The shapes and sizes differ depending on the animal and construction. The Shofar is blown like a trumpet. Notably, it has no pitch-altering mechanisms. The pitch control is done by modulating the player’s breath control using the lips, tongue, and teeth. In Biblical ...
Nov 19, 2023 · Keyboard instruments have been around for centuries, with the earliest known instrument being the ancient Egyptian instrument known as the “sekhetepibre.” This instrument was a type of keyboard instrument that was played by striking metal keys with hammers, and it was used in religious ceremonies.
several types of instruments, including two stringed keyboard instruments termed clavicordium (clavichord) and clavicimbalum (harpsichord). The clavicor-dium is described as follows: The clavichord is an instrument in an oblong cabinet, having pairs of metal strings and keys in front, some of which produce tones and semitones, but shorter keys ...
The nearly half million cuneiform tablets excavated from ancient Near Eastern sites provide us with ample evidence for the uses of music in ancient Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria, and among their neighbors in Anatolia, Iran, and Syria-Palestine.
