Music In Ancient Mesopotamia And Egypt - 1528 Words

In ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, much like modern human, there was a passion for music. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians incorporated music into most festivities, celebrations, and even funerals. That being said, there was a vast number of different instruments that were used such as; idiophones, membranophones, aerophones, and chordophones. This showed that even in one of the world’s earliest civilization, music played an important role in people’s everyday lives. One of the most known instrument from this time is the Lyre (Figure 1). Having this knowledge, allows a chance to look at how music intertwines into the lives of the ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The idiophone is one of the simplest instrument of the ones listed. An†¦show more content†¦Musicians struck against each other into order to produce sound.2 Bells were also a type of idiophone; ancient bells were very similar to the modern-day version. Finally, there is the sistra (Figure 7), in whic h has a horseshoe shaped frame and handle. In the frame, there were holes that allow horizontal bars to be place and secured into the frame. These bars were typically ordained with disks that when shook, would move horizontally, clashing with each other producing sound.3 Most of the idiophones that were made in these ancient societies managed to stand the test of time and shows how well produced these instruments were. Membranophones were another choice of instrument that was used in ancient times. Membranophones made by stretching some type of membrane (most common was animal skin) over an open barrel like structure and hitting the stretched membrane to produce sound (Figure 8). Those type of instruments are the ancient version of today’s drums; in contrast, were often used without sticks to hit them. Even though common in Mesopotamia, find membranophones in Egypt is relatively rare. Only in the new kingdom did membranophones become common.3 Aerophones are one of the instrum ents that needs more than just physical force to use. These instruments require air to be played, blowing into an opening in order produce musical sounds. One of many ancient aerophones that were used is the flute. (Figure 9). Ancient flutes wereShow MoreRelatedThe Evolution Of Music Throughout Ancient Egypt And Mesopotamia2480 Words   |  10 Pagesalmost all ancient civilizations share basic features. For example, most civilizations develop things such as a class system, a common religion, or a system of writing. Another mark of a successful civilization is the evolution of music. Since music is not essential to survival, its development is usually within a large established society. The purpose of music varies from civilization to civilization, era to era. 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