In Hindustan and all of the countries con tiguous to that great peninsula, the principal in strument is the °Irina," a form of guitar. It consists of seven long metal strings strung on a hollow bamboo body, at each end of which a gourd is fixed to increase the resonance. It has a finger-board like that of the guitar, upon which the frets are stuck with wax by the per former. The strings are tuned at large inter• vals, and its full, delicate tone is capable of rendering rapid and brilliant passages. It reached its highest state of perfection in the 17th century, when the Hindu, Djivan Shah, became renowned as its most famous player. Some of the other important Hindu instru ments are the umagoudhi," also of the guitar type; the “serinda,x) with three strings of spun silk; and the uravanstron," a two-stringed vio lin. The two last named are played with a simple bow.. They also use a great many vari eties of drums, gongs and bells.
Among the Singalese, the favorite instru ment is a drum commonly known as the atom tom," a name which literally signifies its pe culiar quality of music. It is made in various sizes, and consists of a short cylinder of wood from four to six inches high and one to four feet in diameter, with sides one-half to one inch in thickness, over which a skin is mounted. Before using, they are heated to a high tem perature to increase the tension of the skin, and are then played upon by the hands, the blows being delivered in rapid succession on the edge of the drum. The performers are always women, and the test of the ability of a player depends upon the amount of noise produced and the duration of a continuous play.
With the westward advance of civilization, the development of Arabian music produced the "rehab," an instrument of two strings, which were at first plucked like those of a guitar. It was subsequently played with a bow, and is supposed to be the progenitor of the modern violin. Other Arabic instruments are the °lute"; the °canon," a stringed instrument; the °dulcimer," with strings tuned in sets of three — a system adopted in the modern piano; the ((zamar," the prototype of the modern oboe; the a form of trumpet; the kettle drum and various kinds of flutes.
The Egyptians used harps, guitars, mando lins, several forms of lutes and the lyre, as early as the beginning of the 18th dynasty. Their percussion instruments were large and small drums with sides of baked clay, over which the skins were stretched. Like the Sin galese °tom-tom," they were heated prior to being played upon. Metallic music was pro duced by the °sistrum," a set • of metal bars which were struck or shaken rhythmically. Al though their instruments were .of ten employed in orchestral combinations, it is impossible to determine whether they were played in harmony or merely in unison.
While the Egyptians showed great genius in the invention and adaptation of musical instru ments, those of the ancient Hebrews were bor rowed almost entirely from other nations.
They used the akinnor" or harp, and the ftasor,* an instrument of 10 strings, both of which were forms of lyres; the szneble," a modification of the Arabian dulcimer, and the gtirribrel," a small tambourine or hand drum. They also used flutes and trumpets, the guitar and the sistrum. Their organs were simple sets of pan-pipes, which varied in the number of pipes set up and the number of tones given by each pipe. The most famous of these is the one mentioned in the Talmud as set up in the Temple at Jerusa lem. It is stated that its sound could be heard at a distance of 10 miles. Its name, finagre phan (fire-shovel), leads to the inference that it might have been operated by the pressure of bot air, or even steam, like sonic of the various forms of eolipiles.
The ancient Greeks employed the music pro duced from stringed instruments, by striking or plucking, as an accompaniment to the recitation of their epic poems, the chants of their religious ceremonies and in connection with martial evo lutions. Their most important instrument was the tkithara," a lyre of seven strings, which were sounded by being plucked with a plectrum. They also used several kinds of single and double reed flutes, in the playing of which they acquired surpassing skill. In the rendering of refined music, trumpets were discarded at a very early date, but continued in use for mili tary purposes and at the public games, down to a comparatively late period.
The music of the early Romans was merely an imitation of the Greek art, but their repre sentative instrument was the °tibia," a wind instrument of the flute type. Stringed instru ments played with two bows were unknown among them, and the historical statement that "Nero fiddled while Rome must cer tainly be relegated to the domain of myths.
For a long period of time after the fall of the Roman Empire the decadence of the art of music limited the use and retarded the develop ment of musical instruments, During the Dark Ages the musical thread was continued by bands of strolling players, whose efforts were of the most superficial character, and music thus re mained latent until the 12th century, when the poetry of the °troubadours" in Provencal litera ture was converted into the emotional songs of the °trovieres" and the German aminnesing ers," and required instrumental music for ac companiments. Those brought into use again were several forms of lutes, violins and baz pipes, which were played upon proficiently by the ajongleurs," some of whom played also upon psalteries, organistrums, guitars and tambours with great skill. These instruments were made in unique forms, especially the organistrums, which were lutes operated by wheels and keys.