Music of the past centuries is not broadcast by modern radio stations, but lives in ancient books and museums. They are no longer played, but some people still remember musical instruments forgotten by civilization.
We all know how the piano, the piano, the trumpet, the violin guitar and the drum look and sound. And how did their "grandmothers" and "grandfathers" look and sound? We can not play the sounds of the ancient orchestra, but we will tell you about old musical instruments.
1. Lear
Even in ancient Greece, musical instruments were created that eventually acquired a classic look and became the basis for the creation of new modern species. Lira - the most popular musical instrument in the era of the development of the Ancient Greek state. The first mention of the lyre dates back to 1400g. BC. e. This tool has always been identified with Apollo, as the first lyre was presented to him by Hermes. And she sounded, accompanying beautiful poems. Today they do not play on the lyre, but the term "lyric" has immortalized this instrument.
2. Cifara
Rightfully considered one of the first stringed instruments and is a direct descendant of the lyre. Musicians with cithara in their hands were depicted on ancient coins, frescoes, clay amphoras and paintings. This instrument was very popular in Persia, India and Rome. Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately reproduce the sound of cithara, but thanks to the literary description it was reconstructed.
3. Citra
This stringed plucked musical instrument was most widely used in Austria and Germany in the 18th century. In Russia, it appeared in the second half of the XIX century. Similar instruments were encountered among the peoples of China and the Middle East.
4. Harpsichord
A pinched keyboard musical instrument, which gained great popularity in the Middle Ages. The first information about the harpsichord dates back to 1511. A unique instrument of the Italian work of 1521 has survived to this day. Externally, the harpsichords got off very gracefully. Their body was decorated with drawings, inlays and carvings. However, by the end of the 18th century the harpsichord was replaced by a piano, it was superseded and completely forgotten in the 19th century.
5. Clavecord
One of the oldest stringed shock-clamping musical instruments. Outwardly it was very similar to a harpsichord, but had a more powerful sound. Clavicord, created in 1543, today is in the museum of musical instruments in the city of Leipzig in Germany. The greatest composers Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven created many works specially written for the clavichord.
6. Harmonium
This wind-shaped reed keyboard musical instrument was very popular at the end of the XIX century. In everyday life he was called an "organ". The creator of the harmonium is a Frenchman named Deben, who received a patent for the manufacture of the instrument in 1840. Today the harmonium can be seen only in museums.
7. Bilo
An ancient Slavic percussion instrument. It was made of iron, which was beaten with a mallet. Bilo also served as a church bell and a signal instrument for the Old Believers.
8. The buzzer
The main tool of Russian buffoons of the early Middle Ages. Outwardly it was very similar to a violin and was considered its Slavic prototype. The horn is a wooden bow instrument with a pear-shaped form with three strings.
9. The wheel lira
This keyboard musical instrument appeared in Central Europe in the 10th-11th centuries. Initially, for playing on the wheeled lira, two people were required, since the keys were on top. One twisted the pen, and the second played the melody. Later the keys were placed below. In Russia, the first wheeled lyre appeared in the XVII century. People playing this instrument performed spiritual verses and biblical parables.
10. Kobza
Ukrainian national stringed plucked musical instrument. It is believed that the kobza was brought to Ukraine by the Turkic tribes, but acquired its final form in these lands. The image of the kobza player, who accompanied his song-thoughts by playing on the kobza, immortalized in his work T.Shevchenko. Kobza was a favorite tool of the Ukrainian Cossacks and villagers, but after 1850 was replaced by a bandura.
11. Rhinestics
The flute of rain is an exotic ancient musical instrument that was used by the shamans of South and North America to control the rain elements. He perfectly simulated the sound of water or rain falling. Earlier served as a cult instrument in the ancient rites of local Aborigines. Today, the rheinist acts as a ward of housing from envy and anger.
12. Calimba
The oldest musical instrument of the African tribes. Today, in some parts of Central and Southern Africa, it is used in traditional rituals. Kalimbu is called "African hand pianoforte".
13. Serpent
This tool was known in the XVI century. even under one name - zinc, the very "great-grandfather" of wind instruments. It was invented by the Frenchman Edm Guillaume. Serpent is a curved tube that looks very much like a snake. They made a tool from wood or bone, covering the base with leather. Sometimes the tip of the serpent was made in the form of a reptilian head.
14. The Horn Orchestra
In 1752, St. Petersburg invented a tool replacing an entire orchestra, which consisted of 40-80 hunting horns, each of which was carefully processed and tuned to its unique sound. It is clear that the dimensions here mattered: the biggest horn sounded low, and the smallest horn sounded the top notes.
15. Ionica
Until recently, this musical instrument was an integral part of any vocal-instrumental ensemble. Ionika is a trademark of electronic musical instruments released in the GDR in 1959. In the Soviet Union, the term "ionics" was used in relation to all small-sized keyboard instruments. Over time, it was replaced by transistors, which had greater reliability.