![]() ![]() In contemporary Africa it likely is related to the Egyptian harps, and again it is associated with women. Within Asia, the harp family is well known in Myanmar (Burma), and although it was once used in China and India, it is no longer common in these countries it is, rather, musically important in equatorial regions of Africa, in Europe, and, since European incursions, in the Americas. Iconographic evidence suggests that in both Egypt and Mesopotamia the harp, often played by women, was used in secular entertainments, although it had sacred uses as well. Among the early harps found in the burial chambers at the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur (founded in the 4th millennium bce) were bow-shaped (arched) instruments (one with 13 strings) nearly identical instruments were played in Egypt at roughly the same time. Although the musical bow is virtually identical in shape to the hunter’s bow, it is uncertain whether the musical instrument might be derived from the weapon indeed, there is no way of knowing whether humans hunted with a bow-shaped implement before they made musical sound with a bow. Some scholars have suggested that the harp evolved from the musical bow (usually classified as a type of zither), which must have been in existence prior to the establishment of Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. Little or no evidence is available concerning the chordophones of prehistoric times: the earliest iconographic evidence and the oldest surviving specimens come from Mesopotamia and Egypt, and evidence concerning instruments earlier than these can be gleaned only from myth and legend. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |