Wind Instruments: Aerophones and Their Evolution

• Wind instruments have evolved from prehistoric flutes and whistles crafted from animal bones or hollow plants
• Wind instruments are called aerophones
• Aerophones are played by blowing into or across holes in a tube, or on a single or double reed attached to a mouthpiece
• The pitch of the note is determined by the tube's length and the number of open holes

Musical Instruments

• Nose flute (prehistoric, Polynesia):
  • Some Pacific Island communities consider breath from the nose purer
  • Accompanied songs and chants
• Harmonica (19th century, Austria):
  • Commonly used in blues, American folk music, and jazz
  • Contains free-vibrating metal reeds inside
  • When air is blown or sucked across the holes the reed plates vibrate, creating sound
• Clarinet:
  • A single reed of cane is inserted into a metal holder on the mouthpiece
  • The player's mouth overlaps the reed to vibrate and create sound
• Accordion (19th century, Austria):
  • Used in folk music
  • A handheld free reed instrument
  • Sound is produced by steel reeds vibrating when air is forced through them by bellows
• Sheng (pre-500 BCE, China):
  • A bamboo pipe mouth organ
  • One of the first known free-vibrating reed instruments
  • Shaped like a phoenix and its sound imitates the cry of this bird
• Zummara (c.2700 BCE, Egypt):
  • "Double clarinet" with two pipes joined together
  • Each has its own single reed and the player covers two holes at a time, one on each pipe
• Surnai (pre-13th century, Mongolia):
  • Loud folk oboe with seven holes and a thumb hole
  • Light, portable and popular with nomadic people
  • Played at celebrations like weddings
• Flageolet (16th century, France):
  • Single or double pipes used to accompany dances in the 17th and 18th centuries
  • Played with both hands and make a birdlike sound
• Shawm (late 13th century, Germany):
  • Medieval musical instrument made from a single piece of wood
  • Came in several different sizes and the modern oboe was developed from it
• Bassoon (c.1800s, Germany):
  • Double reed instrument made from two pieces of cane tied together
  • Contrabassoon is the woodwind family's largest instrument with the lowest pitch
• Panpipes (prehistoric, South America):
  • Have up to three rows of varying-length bamboo strips woven together
  • Music is known as sikuri

Sounds of Africa

• Early African music developed across many tribes and countries
• Common element is the interweaving of different rhythmic patterns known as polyrhythms

West African musical traditions

• Griots are musicians and storytellers who travel villages of western Africa
• Griots preserve tribal history in songs and stories, keeping records of ancestors, events, and traditions
• Griots use instruments such as a 21-string harp lute called a kora

Berber musical traditions

• Found in North Africa
• Music has regional variations in Berber Tradition
• Generally performed by bands of drummers and musicians playing pipes or stringed instruments
• Public festivals include performances by many bands

Kenyan Maasai Singing

• The Maasai of Kenya and northern Tanzania are traditionally nomadic people
• Maasai are known for their distinctive vocal music because instruments are unnecessary
• Songs follow a pattern of call and response, with a song leader and chorus
• Men sing about bravery and hunting, while women sing about family life and cattle

Musical instruments of Africa

• Udu clay drum (Nigeria):
  • The Igbo tribe uses many percussion instruments such as these drums
  • Traditionally made and played by women, using hand slapping and finger tapping, also used as jug for storage container
• Timbila of southern Mozambique:
  • The Chopi tribe plays a range of wooded xylophones called timbilas
  • Timbila bands are led by a performer who improvises melodies followed by group members
  • Syncopated rhythm encourages dancing
• Ngoma drums of Buganda:
  • The Bantu peoples of central, eastern, and southern Africa use musical instruments
  • Applied to different types of drums in different regions
  • The Ugandan Kingdom of Buganda clans each has their own drum beat, ngoma drums are a symbol of power
• Bow Harps of East Africa:
  • A stringed instrument with a curved bow of wood from a hollow resonator
  • Sits across the lap and strums with one hand, damps unused stings with the opposite hand
  • Originated in ancient Egypt and Sumer, spread southward and used by tribal groups of Uganda and Sudan
• Mbira of Zimbabwe:
  • The Shona tribe music has a small thumb piano (mbira) on a wooden board with staggered metal keys
  • At ceremonies, the mbira player is accompanied by musician with a rattle

Explore the evolution of wind instruments from prehistoric flutes to modern aerophones. Learn how instruments like the nose flute, harmonica, clarinet, and accordion produce sound. Discover the diverse cultural uses and musical applications of these instruments.