Musical instruments of the peoples of the world: description, history, photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Musical instruments of the peoples of the world help to understand the history and culture of the nation. With their help, people extract sounds, combine them into compositions and create music. It is able to embody the emotions, mood, feelings of musicians and their listeners. Sometimes a rather plain-looking instrument produces such magical, amazing music that the heart begins to beat in unison. There are several types of instruments: strings, keyboards, percussion. There are also several subspecies, for example, bowed strings and plucked strings. Musical instruments of different peoples of the world have absorbed the traditions of their region, region, country. Here is a description of a few of them.

Shamisen

The Japanese shamisen is a stringed musical instrument from the plucked category. It consists of a small body, fretless neck and three strings, and the overall size is usually no more than 100 cm. Its sound range is two to four octaves. The thickest of the three strings is called savari, and it is thanks to it that the instrument is able to produce a characteristic vibrating sound.

Shamisen first appeared in Japan at the end of the 16th century thanks to Chinese traders. The instrument quickly became popular with street musicians and party organizers. In 1610, the first works were written specifically for the shamisen, and in 1664 the first collection of musical compositions was published.

Like many other musical instruments of the peoples of the world, shamisen was considered the prerogative of the lower strata of the population. However, after the Second World War, the situation changed dramatically and they began to show more respect for him. Shamisen used by musicians during performances of Japan's famous kabuki theatre.

Sitar

Indian sitar also belongs to the class of stringed plucked musical instruments. It plays classical and modern melodies. It consists of an elongated round body with two resonators, a hollow neck with curved metal frets. The front panel is usually richly decorated with ivory and rosewood. The sitar has 7 main strings and 9-13 resonant strings. The melody is created using the main strings, and the rest resonate and produce a unique sound that is not available to any other instrument. The sitar is played with a special pick, which is worn on the index finger. This musical instrument appeared on the territory of India in the XIII century during the formation of Muslim influence.

Bagpipes

In the list of musical instruments of the peoples of the world, the name "bagpipe" is probably one of the most famous. Amazing brassan instrument with a sharp sound is popular in many European countries, and in Scotland it is national. The bagpipe consists of a leather bag made of calfskin or goatskin, with several reed playing pipes. In the process of playing, the musician fills the tank with air, then presses on it with his elbow and thus makes it sound.

The bagpipe is one of the most ancient musical instruments on the planet. Thanks to the simplest device, it was able to be made and mastered several millennia ago. The image of a bagpipe is found in ancient manuscripts, frescoes, bas-reliefs, figurines.

Bongo

Drums occupy a special place in the list of musical instruments of the peoples of the world. The photo shows the bongo, the famous Cuban drum of African origin. It consists of two small drums of different sizes, fastened together. The larger one is called hembra, which translates from Spanish as "female". It is considered "feminine", while the smaller one is called "macho" and is considered "masculine". "Female" is tuned lower and is on the right side of the musician. The bongo is traditionally played with the hands in a seated position, with the drums between the calves.

Maracas

Another one of the most ancient musical instruments of the peoples of the world. It was invented by the Indians of the Taino tribes - the indigenous inhabitants of Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas. It is a rattle that, when shaken, produces a characteristic rustling sound. To date, maracas have become popular throughout North America and far beyond.

Dried fruits of the guira tree or calabash tree were used for the production of the instrument. The fruits can reach a length of up to 35 cm and have an extremely hard shell. For musical instruments, fruits of a small size with a regular oval shape are suitable. First, two holes are drilled in the fruit, the pulp is removed and dried. After that, small pebbles and seeds of various plants are poured inside. The number of pebbles and seeds is always different, so each maracas has a unique sound. Then a handle is attached to the tool.

As a rule, musicians play two maracas, holding them in both hands. Also, maracas are sometimes made from coconuts, woven willow branches, dried skin.