Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Medieval Instruments: Three Things You Ought To Know About the Dark Ages

By Douglas Etri


Want to get your hands dirty? There are lots of ways to stir the excitement within you. But are you willing to use the right side of your brain (creative side) instead of choosing to sit there for hours in front of your pc or tv? It would in fact do us greater good to think about other interesting things that will make our free hours worth enjoying. Why not try to learn some things about medieval instruments?

Medieval instruments? Is it even possible to find these outdated things in the present day? Yes, of course.. The fact that they seem to be a group of outmoded, outclassed and forgotten musical instruments make you think they are, and in no other way, going to be popular. Alas, you may want to rethink this thought again because this is completely untrue. You may be surprised to know that even your preschool and elementary music room has medieval instruments in it. Drums for example, the fiddle and the tambourine. Or the bagpipes, the wind instrument for the poorest people back then.

In order to enjoy learning how to play these instruments, perhaps you ought to read a bit of some exciting facts about the middle ages. As a matter of fact, the emotional charge when you pluck the harp would be deeper knowing that these harps might have the very same ones played in the Roman catholic churches. Through this, music appreciation as well as the advocacy to spread the magic of the medieval music even to these modern times will be realized.

Interesting fact number one: Did you know that the human voice is known to be the oldest medieval musical instrument in musical history? This would be due to the fact that our forefather did not have the time for merriment, as they were occupied tending to their lands. That's why there was no need for music. Some historians credit the deep baritones of the Christians monks in popularizing hymns and chants spreading all through the lands of Christian Europe, Asia and North Africa. And in this manner we now have Gregorian chants to live by.

Fun tidbit number two: Who do we owe the romantic ballads and tales of chivalry to? The answer: to the troubadours and the minstrels. The troubadours are famous composers and performers of lyrical poetry. The female troubadours are called trobairitz. The minstrels on the other hand are performers on the court or palaces. Their tongues are the bearer of spellbinding tales about dragons, knights and courtly love, which might have happened in real life or just pure imagination.

Fun tidbit number three: It is said that harps originated from hunter's bow. Harps are one of the few instruments permitted to be played during the Dark Ages. We should not forget the fact that the symphonies and the melodies we now have evolved from the basic hymns plucked or stroked from these medieval instruments. Deciding to learn more about them as well as to learn how to make music with them assures us of a ceaseless appreciation of these "pioneers." When buying make sure to buy them from a trusted outlet so you can have parts or repair for maintenance value whenever you need them.




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