New Britain herald., 1927-06-24
RATTLE Once WAS
USED FOR MUSIC
New Book Traces Instruments
From Prehistoric DAYS

The instruments which man has |
used to make music, from the stone |
gong pounded by the primitive saw !
age to the delicate violin OF
Stradivarius. are described in a re- !
cent publication Of the Smithson-
ion Institution. This is the Hand |
book Of the Collection Of Musical
Instruments in the United States !!
National Museum, by Miss Frances
Densmore, published as Bulletin |
1856.
Varied and highly developed as !,
are our musical instruments of the |
present day. they can all be reduced !
: to four simple classifications, de- |
pendent upon the manner In which !
sound is produced. These include |
solid, sonorous instruments such as !
gongs, bells and rattles: wind in
struments, such as flutes, bagpipes |
and horns; vibrating membranes, |
including drums, tambourines and !
throat horns: and stringed instru-
ments, such as the guitar and piano. |
Most primitive races have made use
Of all Of these methods Of sound |
emission.
The extent to which man has |
leaned upon instruments to express
his emotions in all phases Of exis- !,
fence is illustrated by the bell. OF |
this instrument. Miss Densmore
says: More intimately than any |
other instrument the bell Is asso- !
ciated with the joys and sorrows of |
mankind. 1t has rung for weddings |
and funerals, given alarm Of dan |
ger. and, in scenes of peace, been i
heard as the cattle bell. The TESTERS |
cap was trimmed with bells, and in
the ancient synagogue the high |
priests robe was edged with golden |
bells. In Egypt the feast of Osiris |
was announced by the ringing Of |
bells and throughout the Christian
world the bell is rung as call to !
worship. The Roman Catholic !
church uses it in the solemn service !
of the Mass. Bells are used in the !
modern orchestra, and for this pur-
pose they are tubular in shape, |
several being hung on frame.
Bells were used in ancient Greece.
Rome and Persia, while China and i
Japan have bells of great antiquity. |
In ancient times the Chinese used !,
a bell for the same purpose that We
use tuning fork; bell also served |
as measure of weight in business |
transactions, a special bell being /
kept in the temple as O standard. !
Ho1l to-
Assyria. and small bell was found |
in mummy case in Egypt"
Only less varied than the uses to |
which he has put them, have been
The materials which man has used !
to make his Instruments. For exam |
pie. from Africa came little bells !
made OF nut shells and carved |
wood; in Siam bamboo bells were
hung around the necks of elephants |
when they were turned into The |
jungle to Craze at night; the Hopi !
Indians made bells of the horns of |
mountain sheep and the Zuni made
bells of pottery. OF the metals, sill
yer. gold. brass, copper, iron and
bronze have been most commonly !!
used for the manufacture of bells.
According to Miss Densmore,
probably no instrument has any
wider distribution than the musical /
bow. which is the simplest stringed |
instrument. Tradition says that the
twang of the archer's bow suggested
it's use as musical instrument.
The rattle appears to be the only
musical instrument Of uncivilized |
people which has no counterpart in |
the music OF civilization. 1t remains |
the instrument, of primitive man. /
More than any other, it is associated
with the working of magic, and
among the American Indians 1t is |
often used in the treatment OF the |
sick. The author quotes Dr. SUanton
OF the Smithsonian Bureau of
American Ethnology to the effect !
that 'the rattle was generally re- |
garded as sacred article, not to be
brought forth on ordinary occa-
sions, but confined to rituals, re-
ligious feasts, shamanastic per-
formances. etc. This character is
emphasized in the sign language OF
the plains where the sign for rattle !
is the basis of all signs indicating
that which is sacred
The uses Of metal gongs are var
led and interesting. Miss Densmore |
says of this instrument: "A Chinese
gong was carried by servants before |
a Mandarin in his sedan to give no.
tice of his approach. a certain num- !
Der Of strokes at intervals indicat-
ing his rank: gong was also car
ried in professions and beaten to
drive away evil spirits. During
eclipses 1t was beaten to frighten
the heavenly dog as he was about !
to devour the moon. In Japan a
kind of gong was suspended before
idols and struck by worshippers to
arouse the attention of the god"
The collection which this hand
book describes began to be gather
ed before the establishment Of the
Smithsonian Institution in 1S46. 1t !
includes several thousand specimens
coming from every section Of the
world. Rare and valuable instru-
,nents have been received as gifts
from the King OF Siam, Rajah Ia
gore of India. and other foreign |