Wednesday 13 July 2011

Medieval Instruments: Three Things You Should Know About the Dark Ages

By Douglas Etri


Got nothing to do? There are many ways to rouse the hype 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 laptop or television? It would in fact do us greater good to think about other exciting things that will make our free hours worth enjoying. Studying how to play medieval instruments for instance.

You may say that these medieval instruments are of no way exciting in this day and times. You are right, these "old" stuff seem to be overly out-of-place and rather unremarkable in the time where electronic instruments and voice digital editing seem to be widespread. Alas, you might want to rethink this thought again since this is completely false. Even today, there are still various instruments dating back from the medieval times that are played along with the modern instruments. Drums for example, the fiddle and the tambourine. Or the bagpipes, the wind instrument for the poorest people back then.

Learning how to play these old-timer musical instruments would also be more fun if you can learn some little-known tidbits regarding the dark ages. In truth, 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.

Fun tidbit number one: Did you know that the human voice is recognized 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 merrymaking, as they were busy tending to their lands. Therefore there was no need for music. Some historians credit the deep baritones of the Christians monks in popularizing hymns and chants spreading through the lands of Christian Europe, Asia and North Africa. And as a result we now have Gregorian chants to live by.

Interesting fact number two: Who do we owe the romantic ballads and tales of gallantry to? The answer: to the troubadours and the minstrels. The troubadours are known composers and performers of lyrical poetry. The female troubadours are called trobairitz. Whereas the minstrels are servants meant to entertain the high court. Their tongues are the bearer of spellbinding tales about dragons, knights and courtly love, which may have happened in real life or just pure imagination.

Fun tidbit number three: It is rumored that harps originated from hunter's bow. Harps are among one of the few instruments allowed 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. Paying tribute to these "pioneers" need not only command our devote appreciation, but in making sure they will last through time as well. So if you are interested in learning how to play one of these instruments, you can choose to buy them online or from a novelty outlet.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment