The very first musical instrument in the world. prehistoric music

At all times and civilizations, the human soul demanded something more, sorry for the comparison, than the simple satisfaction of carnal needs. And one of these desires was the need for music ... Many, many years ago, in antiquity, music originated from primitive people in the form of claps and stomps, a little later people learned to extract sounds from their natural environment, with the help of everyday household items, and finally, people began to improve these same items to obtain the first musical instruments. IN different corners of the world, people learned to extract sounds from objects in different ways, and the ancient musical instruments around the world are quite different from each other. The oldest musical instruments were made from improvised means: stone, clay, wood, the skins of dead animals, and the horns of dead animals were also used for all sorts of ritual rites.

The development of the ancient civilizations of Europe led to the creation of musical instruments used for entertainment and entertainment. A particularly large contribution to contemporary arts made by the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held the musical craft in high esteem. This is evidenced by numerous preserved musical instruments and even chronicles. But in the culture of the Slavs, musical instruments were respected and valued not at all times, and not by all. It should be noted that in ancient times only men had the right to master any technique of musical art, since it was considered a craft.
The Slavs gave sacred meaning to musical instruments. It was believed that in order to play musical instruments, one must sell one's soul to the devil... Also, ancient musical instruments were often used for signaling purposes or for the performance of rituals, such as Carpathian trembita- the longest musical instrument in the world, its length can be 2.5 m.

The material of trembita does not change to this day: it is smereka (European fir). The Slavic people are especially rich in legends ..... It is believed that trembita should be made from a twilight that was struck by lightning, and this happens often in the Carpathians.

Our ancestors thought that every musical instrument has a soul, and if the person who played this instrument died, then the instrument was buried with him. primordially Russian folk instruments you can also consider the herbal pipe (overtone flute), double flute (double-barreled flute - in the figure below) - one of the oldest handicraft instruments.

Also, our ancestors replaced musical instruments with household items, creating sound. Such objects were often spoons, flaps, buckets, etc., and they also used natural materials(bark of trees, horns of animals, trunks of plants, birch bark).

First in Rus' musical art somehow it was not particularly developed, it was mainly shepherds who were engaged in it. But such peoples as Ukrainians and Belarusians were very fond of having fun, and in Belarus they even designated music as a profession: ancient ensembles were created, invited to idleness, fun, weddings. And there was even a mandatory set of instruments that sounded together, among the Western Slavs they were, and among the southern Slavs - bagpipes and. late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, many traditional musical instruments among the Russian people were replaced (strings), and then.

Musical instruments of our time are the result of the work of more than one generation of musicians and craftsmen, it is a long process of development of culture and civilization as a whole. So let's appreciate and respect what has gone through years of improvement before falling into our hands - the art of playing music!

It is believed that music appeared when the first people appeared. Its oral form, that is, the song, was present in the life of our ancient ancestors. Modern scholars suggest that music has been around for about 50,000 years. Now, firmly rooted in human hearts, it has become an integral part of our lives.

The oldest copy of a musical instrument was found during excavations in Germany. He lay next to sculptures that date back to 35,000-40,000 BC. It was a flute. Its thickness does not exceed 8 mm, and its length is 21.8 cm. 5 holes are punched in the case, which were closed with fingers during the game.

Another remains of ancient musical instruments - tweeters and flutes dating from the Paleolithic era - archaeologists were lucky to find on the territory of modern Moldova and Hungary.

Music was an integral part of the life of the ancient Greeks. Even its name comes from Greek. Popular musical instruments here were:

• avlos - a wind instrument consisting of two tubes of a conical or cylindrical shape;
• lyre and cithara - strings plucked instruments, made in the form of a curved frame and strings (the cithara had more of them than the lyre);
• syringa - a variation of a multi-barreled flute, a wind instrument, which is a series of connected tubes.

the most ancient Chinese instruments guqin and bamboo flute are considered. Traditionally, tools in China are classified according to the material from which they are made. There are still stone, wooden, leather, silk, bamboo, gourd and clay musical instruments.

In India, music is inextricably linked with dance. This country is home musical theater. The oldest musical instrument found in India is the basalt lithophone, which is 3,000 years old.

Ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, India and China made a huge contribution to the development of music and musical instruments. Evidence of the presence of music in Ancient Egypt texts of songs written in hieroglyphs on papyri and walls of tombs perform. Hymns to the gods and women's lamentations over the dead were popular subjects for them. The music was mainly religious character. In Babylon, temple music performed by the priests and secular music, which was performed by slave musicians.

After millennia, music still remains one of the most popular and beloved arts. It is difficult to meet a person who would not love music - everyone has their own style and instrument in it.

If you want to not only listen to music, but also create it, understand it, learn how to express yourself through music - come to the Jam`s cool music school. Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, brass, musical literacy, playing in an ensemble, sound engineering - these are just a small part of what you can learn from us. And to learn more about us and personally communicate with teachers, come to a free introductory lesson.

Surprisingly, the man himself is considered the first musical instrument, and the sound that he makes is his own voice. Primitive people, with the help of their voice, informed their fellow tribesmen about their emotions and transmitted information. At the same time, in order to add brightness to their story, they clapped their hands, stamped their feet, knocked stones or sticks. Gradually, ordinary objects that surrounded a person began to transform into musical instruments.

According to the method of extracting sounds, musical instruments can be divided into percussion, wind and strings. How and when man first began to use objects to create music is unknown. But historians suggest the following development of events.

Percussion instruments were made from carefully dried animal skins and various hollow objects: large fruit shells, large wooden decks. People beat them with sticks, palms, fingers. The extracted melodies were used in ritual ceremonies and military operations.

Wind instruments were made from animal horns, bamboo and reed reeds, and hollow animal bones. Such objects became a musical instrument when a person thought of making special holes in them. In the southwest of Germany, the remains of an ancient flute were found, whose age exceeds 35 thousand years! Moreover, there are references to such tools in ancient rock paintings.

The hunting bow is considered the first stringed instrument. An ancient hunter, pulling on a bowstring, noticed that from a pinch it begins to “sing”. And if you run an animal with your fingers along a stretched vein, it “sings” even better. The sound will be long if the vein is rubbed with animal hair. So a man came up with a bow and a stick with a bunch of hair stretched over it, which was driven along a string of animal veins.

The most ancient, with an age of more than 4500 years, are the lyre and harp, which were used by many peoples of that time. Of course, to say exactly what they looked like vintage instruments, impossible. One thing is clear that musical instruments, albeit rather primitive, were part of the culture of primitive people.

God Pan created the shepherd's pipe, Athena - Greek goddess wisdom invented the flute, the Indian God Narada invented and gave a man a harp-shaped musical instrument - veena. But these are only myths, because we all understand that man himself invented musical instruments. And there is nothing surprising here, because he is the first musical instrument. And the sound that comes from him is his voice.

The primitive man conveyed information with his voice and informed his fellow tribesmen about his emotions: joy, fear and love. To make the “song” sound much more interesting, he clapped his hands and stamped his feet, banged stone against stone and beat on the stretched skin of a mammoth. Just like that, the objects that surrounded the person slowly began to transform into musical instruments.

Musical instruments are divided into three groups, that is, according to the method of extracting sound from them - these are wind, percussion and strings. So let's figure it out now, why did the primitive man pull, why did he knock, and what did he hit? We do not know for sure what musical instruments were at that time, but we can guess.

The first group - wind instruments. We don't know why ancient man blew into a reed reed, a piece of bamboo or a horn, but we know for sure that it became an instrument when the holes appeared.

The second group - percussion instruments, which were made from all kinds of items, namely from the shells of large fruits, wooden logs, and from dried skins. They were beaten with a stick, fingers or palms, and used for ritual ceremonies and military operations.

And the last, third group - stringed musical instruments. It is generally accepted that the first stringed musical instrument was a hunting bow. An ancient hunter, pulling on a bowstring, noticed that the string from a chip "sings". But the stretched vein of the animal "sings" even better. And it “sings” even better when you rub it with the hair of an animal. This is how the bow was born, that is, at that time, it was a stick with a bundle of horsehair stretched over it, which was driven along a string made of twisted animal veins. After some time, the bow began to be made of silk threads. This divided the stringed musical instruments into bowed and twisted.

The oldest musical stringed instruments- harp and lyre. All ancient peoples have similar tools. Ursk harps are the oldest stringed instruments that have been found by archaeologists. They are about four and a half thousand years old.

The truth is that it is impossible to say exactly what the first musical instrument looked like, but it can be said with complete certainty that music, even in a primitive form, was part of life. primitive man.

The Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, invented the flute, the god Pan made the shepherd's pipe, and meanwhile the Indian god Narada invented and gave people a harp-like instrument - wine. But these are just myths. Musical instruments were invented by people. This is not surprising, because man is the first musical instrument. And the sound he makes is his voice.

In a voice, a primitive man transmitted information to his fellow tribesmen and reported on his emotions: fear, joy, love. To make the “song” more interesting, he stamped his feet and clapped his hands, pounded stone on stone and beat on the stretched skin of a mammoth. So, the objects surrounding a person began to turn into musical instruments.

If we divide the instruments, according to the method of extracting sound from them, we get three groups- percussion, brass and strings. So why did primitive man knock, what did he blow and what did he pull? We don't know exactly what the first musical instruments were, but we can guess.

The first percussion instruments were made from dried animal skins and all kinds of hollow objects: wooden logs, large fruit shells, later clay pots. They beat them different ways: fingers, palms, sticks. Ancient drums and tambourines were used in ritual ceremonies and military operations. A African tribes with the help of combat, they even communicated with each other at a distance.

The next group is wind. It is not known why an ancient man blew into a piece of bamboo, a reed reed, a horn or a hollow animal bone, but it became a tool when special holes appeared. On the territory of modern Hungary and Moldova, pipes and tweeters are found that belong to the era Upper Paleolithic. And most ancient instrument is considered a flute found in the southwest of Germany. More precisely, these are the remains of an instrument resembling a flute made from the bone of a swan, whose age is more than 35 thousand years! IN rock art you can also find an image of the first wind instruments.

The first stringed instrument considered to be a hunting bow. Pulling on the bowstring, the ancient hunter noticed that from a pinch, the bowstring "sings". And the stretched vein of the animal "sings" even better, and most importantly longer, if you rub it with the animal's hair. This is how the bow appeared, a stick with a bunch of horsehair stretched over it, which was led along a string made from twisted animal sinews, and later from silk threads. This divided stringed instruments into plucked and bowed instruments. Also, ancient people noticed that strings stretched over a hollow object resonate - they sound louder and richer. The resonator can be an earthen vessel, a dried pumpkin, but, of course, a tree sounds best of all.

The most ancient stringed instruments are the lyre and the harp. Instruments similar to them are found among all ancient peoples. Ursk harps are the oldest stringed instruments found by archaeologists. They are over 4500 years old!

The truth is that we cannot say exactly what the first musical instrument looked like, but the fact that music, even in its primitive form, was part of the life of primitive man, that's for sure!