For thousands of years we have seen the use of musical instruments in everyday life and also for religion and tradition. To get a better picture we can go as far back as 67,000 years where we have seen the use of the flute used for religious ceremonies. The first recorded use of this dates only back to 37,000 B. C. where they used drums and flutes for ceremonies of marriage. We see that music has been around for thousands of years and we see that they used everything from animal skin and bones, to using resources like wood to create the sounds like a xylophone.
A quick glance at the past shows us that music intricacy throughout the eras plays a big part in the world’s culture. For example, we can look at China who used the flute to tell stories about their mythology, but were limited to making the instruments out of bamboo or bones that they could find. According to Inside sciences article titled, “Exploring the Evolution of Musical Instruments,” it explains the use of lyres and harps in the biblical time of Abraham. Later into the Middle Ages we see that they bring in cymbals, trumpets, flutes, oboes and even more intricate drums.
It is also in this time period that we see the emerging of organized music. In the church’s view we see that although music was popular it began to detract from the spirituality of why people were there. About 600 years later we see that people in the Middle East bring into play the use of xylophones and gongs. This shows the musical historians that music still played a big part in the cultures and societies. Then we waltzed into the Renaissance period, a time of beautiful melodies and beautiful symphonies of music. In the early 1400’s we see that people want to know just how many instruments are being sold and how many are being made.
Musical Craftsman began to make books and other documents for the instruments that they are making. This is the time period where we see musicians using cowbells for that added touch in their music. Shortly after we see that others are using hunter’s horns in symphonies with a variety of shapes and sizes. We also see the evolution of many other musical instruments’ such as the violin, flutes, trumpets and also drums. Although sales in the 1400’s and 1500’s were not as high as they should be the intricacy of the instruments continued to increase and the sounds became richer in tone and quality.
As the richer people began to use these instruments more we see that their popularity increased because of the sounds that they could make and the sheer numbers that they would use at one time. It proves to the world that this was an age of beauty and of music to the generations ahead. Later on, we find that even the poor have instruments, though they may not be the best they still had a great time using them. It is crazy to think that over the course of thirty thousand years the innovations of music would have been this drastic.
