This week, I saw a video online about the supposed “Aztec Death Whistle”, an eerie instrument that circles around the internet every so often. Like most internet fads, this comes with a lot of odd unverified information. People claimed these whistles were used to scare enemies in battle by playing human-sounding screams, when in reality their use is unknown and the sound shown in videos is an approximation. Despite this, the “Death Whistle” is a fascinating little instrument, so I’d like to share a few more of my favorite historical instruments I’ve stumbled upon.
The shō is a Japanese instrument with 17 bamboo pipes, often called a mouth organ. Two of these pipes are silent, speculated to have been used in certain compositions in the Heian period or kept simply for visual symmetry. The shō is considered a free reed instrument, meaning it produces sound through air flowing past a framed reed. This would be the same category as pipe organs, harmonicas, and accordions. Listen to it here.
The clavichord is a quintessential Renaissance instrument, being a stringed keyboard instrument much like the harpsichord. This instrument was likely not used for performance due to it having a quieter sound. The pictured clavichord, made by Christian Kintzing, has a unique set of tangents activated by knobs near the keyboard to prolong the sound of the strings. Listen to it here
The sarangi is a beautiful and extremely difficult instrument to play. It is said to mimic the sound of a human voice due to its ability to imitate slides and shakes in its tone. It is played with a bow and typically has three melody strings attached to an ornate pitch box. Sarangi players are nothing short of virtuosos, and must have intense knowledge of music composition to play this instrument. Listen to it here.
There are many, many more instruments to discover and be impressed by. I hope this small article has ignited an interest in these amazing inventions as well as an appreciation for those listed. I certainly will continue exploring the world of musical instruments, perusing sites like the Met which have massive collections of the most interesting pieces around.