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Swedish Nyckelharpa

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The nyckleharpa is a keyed string instrument, traditionally from Sweden. The instruments dates around the 14 th and 15 th centuries. The earliest record of the instrument comes from a carving on the gates of Källunge church dating around 1350. The instrument is both a key and string instrument. The name nyckelharpa comes from the Swedish words “nyckel”—meaning key—and “harpa”—a reference to fiddles. The nyckelharpa is a chromatic instrument that has sixteen strings. Of the sixteen strings, there are three melody strings, one drone string, and twelve resonance strings. Beneath the strings are wooden keys that that move to shorten the strings when pressed. The instrument is played using a short bow. The performer simultaneously pushes keys   with one hand while bowing the strings with the other. The instrument is predominantly played in Sweden, given its ancestry and folk tradition. The modern nyckelharpa was made by Eric Sahström in 1980. He often experimented with the co...
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Steel Drums

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In the late 1700s, French settlers and their slaves emigrated to Trinidad. With their arrival came the tradition of carnival—a celebration that takes place before the Catholic Lent season. However, the slaves were not allowed to join in on the upper-class carnival tradition and, therefore, had to create their own carnival festivities. Their festivities included masqueraders, bands of Kalinda stick fighters, chantwell singers, and drum bands. After the Canboulay Riots, the stick fighters and percussive bands were banned in Trinidad. Soon after, they were replaced by bamboo sticks which were to be beaten against one another. The bamboo sticks were soon banned due to the fights and violence surrounding them. Later came about Tamboo-Bamboo bands. These were bands of sticks that were tuned to different pitches that were struck against the ground. The steel drums originated in Trinidad during the 1940s. The steel drums descended from and replaced the Tamboo-Bamboo instruments. Originally,...
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Yangqin

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The yangqin is a Chinese zither. Many historians believe that the instrument made its way to China through the Silk Route. The Silk Route was an ancient network of trade routes that connected across over 5,000 miles from China to the Middle East. A majority of the items in trade from this route included silk products, thus giving it the name “Silk Route”. The trade route contributed heavily to the growth of civilization in China. It is believed that, if the zither was introduced by land from another region, it was from the Persians. The Persians had a similar dulcimer instrument in ancient times that many believe was the origin of the yangqin. However, other historians have different theories of the introduction of the instrument in China, including that the Chinese people created the instrument without any kind of outside influence or introduction. Older versions of the instrument were made with silk strings and bamboo—giving it a soft timbre and a smoother sound. Newer versions ...
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