Ancient Roman Musical Instruments
Ancient Roman musical instruments names include the wind instruments like the tuba and the cornu, and the stringed instruments like the lyre and the kithara from which the guitar is believed to have originated. These instruments reflect a strong influence of the foreign cultures like those of the Greeks and the Estrucans.
by Debopriya Bose
Updated On: 7/29/2009
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Despite having been a powerful empire, it is quite unfortunate that as compared to the Ancient Greeks, there is not much evidence of the history of Roman music. One possible explanation could be the suppression of music and musical instruments due to its presence in everything pagan by Christianity, once the Roman Empire embraced it as its official religion. However, this is not the only reason for dearth of much evidence of music in Roman history. It is said that the the Romans were not as creative as the Greeks when it came to music, nor did it form an integral part of their life, culture and education.

Nevertheless, music was used in military, civil and religious ceremonies when they were performed by the State or for entertainment purpose. Though not original, the Romans did admire the music of other cultures, that of the Greeks in particular. Influence of the Etruscans and also the Mid-Eastern and the African regions, when the Roman empire expanded to embrace these regions can also be seen in ancient Roman music. As in music, influence of these foreign cultures are also manifested in the ancient Roman musical instruments.

Romans and Music

Although not gifted, the Romans did enjoy music. It is believed that music accompanied comedies and pantomimes. However, there is no evidence if music was composed for epics and poetry as it did for the Greeks. Music was used in the wars, for funeral purposes, during public gatherings and performances. Musical competitions would be regularly held during the Roman rule, and they had big audiences too.

Wind Instruments:Ancient Roman Musical Instruments

Wind Instruments:

Tuba: The Roman tuba was a long, straight horn, about four feet in length. It was made of bronze and had a detachable bone mouthpiece. It was borrowed by the Romans from the Estrucans and it assumed an important place in military activities sometime around 500 BC. The Romans used the tuba to make bugle calls to signal the commands like 'charge', 'retreat' and changing of guard in battles.

Cornu: The cornu was a semicircular, G-shaped musical instrument that was made of bronze. It had a cross bar across the widest part that helped the player to rest the instrument on his shoulder. It had a conical bore and a mouthpiece made out of bone. The cornu was an Estruscan instrument that found a place among the ancient Roman instruments. It was used by the Romans mainly during wars.

Aulos: It consisted of two reed pipes that were not joined other than at the mouth band that the player used to blow into. It is believed that there was a less popular version of the aulos that had a single pipe. This ancient Roman musical instrument has a mythological association. It is said that the aulos was found by the satyr Marsyas after Athena threw it away when she realized that her face became contorted whenever she tried to play the aulos.

Stringed Instruments:

Lyre: The lyre was an early form of the harp that was borrowed from the Greeks. It was built out of wood or tortoise shell with a number of strings that stretched from across the bar to the surrounding body. The strings would usually be four, seven or ten in number. The lyre would be held in one hand and plucked with the other using a plectrum. Though it is one of the most widely recognized ancient musical instruments that maintained its popularity down through a couple of centuries, the Romans discarded it for the larger kithara.

Kithara: Larger than the lyre, the kithara continued to be one of most staple Roman musical instruments. Though the Greeks used the kithara mainly for entertainment, the Romans used it to play both serious as well as lighter, popular music. It was highly regarded by the Romans for its loud, shrill but sweet sound and the precision with which it could be tuned. Such was the mystique associated with this ancient Roman musical instrument, that it was believed that the God of Music blessed the kithara players by which they could enchant the audience.

Lute: Although the lute was easier to play than the kithara or the lyre, it was not as popular as the other two ancient Roman musical instruments. It had a small body, a long neck and three strings. The lute is considered to be the forerunner of the guitar.

Percussion Instruments

Percussion instruments like the tympani, sistra and brazen pans were the other popular Roman musical instruments. Sistra, which was borrowed from the Egyptians, had a handle with a U-shaped end with movable cross bars. The cross bars had small rings or loops made of metal. When the sistra was shaken, the rings or loops made a sound that ranged from soft tinkling to loud clanging.

Organs

The organs were the ancient Roman instruments that were played by air that was blown in by bellows. Of the most widely used organs was the hydraulis. It consisted of a dome in which water rose every time air was pumped into the dome from the air chest that was connected to the dome by a pipe. The rising water compressed the air in the pipes that produce the sound.

Music is an indispensable part of human culture. Despite the fact that most of the ancient Roman musical instruments were borrowed from other cultures, be it for the war cry or for religious purposes, music was important for the Romans.

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