Among the Phrygians the flute entered into the worship of Cybele and
Satyrs are mischievous forest creatures of Greek mythology with the upper body of a man and the lower body and horns of a goat. The roman equivalent is the faun. Both are known for their habit of playing a pipe or flute.
Marsyas, a satyr of Phrygia, challenged Apollo to a musical contest. Apollo agreed but stipulated that each should be able to play his instrument upside down. Since Apollo played the lute and Marsyas the flute, Apollo won; then he flayed Marsyas alive for his insolence (Met VI.
Orpheus is a hero in Greek mythology. When he played his lyre the world would sway to the music. It was noted he could charm mortals, Gods and even stones with his music.
This emphasis on balance, on good measurement, made Apollo an appropriate god of music and he is often shown in art, both classical and later, holding or playing the lyre or its larger equivalent, the cithara – from which we derive the English word 'guitar'.
Another Greek myth relates that the flute was invented by the goddess Athena. However, Athena said that when she played her flute with all her might, her face would contort and her beauty was marred, so in the end she threw away the flute which she had made.
Euterpe is often depicted holding a flute in artistic renditions of her.
< Aphrodite consorting with Adonis, who is seated and playing the lyre.
The trident is associated with the sea god Poseidon. This divine instrument is said to have been forged by the cyclopes.
The ''psithyra'' (xylophone) It was a percussion instrument, closely associated with Aphrodite and Eros. It looked like a small ladder. It consisted of a wooden rectangular frame that had a line of vertical rungs of different size (like the xylophone).
James Galway is considered by many seasoned and newbie flute players as one of the greatest flute players and the most famous in the world.
As for Apollo, he loved his lyre made from a tortoise shell and a bull's horns. He is often depicted making the music of the gods. And that's the ancient myth of how Apollo acquired his lyre.
One of his several names is Bansidhar, which means the holder of the flute. So it came as a pleasant surprise to me that Buddha, the enlightened one, too, played this divine musical instrument made from the bamboo plant.
How is Krishna depicted? The most common representation of Krishna shows him playing the flute and surrounded by adoring gopis, the wives and daughters of the cowherds.
Theobald Boehm (1794-1881) was a German inventor and musician best known for developing the modern flute and improved fingering system, known as the “Boehm system.” Boehm patented his new fingering system in 1847.
In order to imitate the wailing of the Gorgons, Athena had invented the double flute. She took pleasure in the sound of her instrument, but the gods made fun of her because her cheeks puffed out when she played it, disfiguring her face.
Reconstructed by experts drawing on the latest archaeological research, these include the aulos – a double-reed instrument played in pairs and often depicted as belonging to the retinue of the god Dionysus – and the hydraulis, or Roman water organ.
The tympanum is one of the objects often carried in the thiasos, the retinue of Dionysus. The instrument is typically played by a maenad, while wind instruments such as pipes or the aulos are played by satyrs.
LUTHIEROS Lyre of Zeus has 13-strings, and so it gives almost two full octaves, making an ideal instrument for anyone willing to focus on the ancient musical heritage, and for professional musicians with harp (or even piano) background.
Here again, Calliope (epic poetry) carries a writing tablet; Clio (history) carries a scroll and books; Euterpe (song and elegiac poetry) carries a flute, the aulos; Erato (lyric poetry) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses; Melpomene (tragedy) is often seen with a tragic mask; Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) is ...
The lyre is a member of the zither instrument family.It was invented by the ancient Sumerians around 2600 BC. In Greek mythology, Hermes is said to have created the lyre. As the story goes, Hermes used the instrument to steal 50 of Apollo's prize cattle, offering up the lyre to the latter when Apollo became angry.
Hermes showed Apollo where he had hidden the cattle, but before Apollo could take them away, Hermes picked up the lyre he had created and began to play. The music so enraptured Apollo that he begged Hermes to give it to him.
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia: the greatest living master of the north Indian bamboo flute.
The bansuri is revered as Lord Krishna's divine instrument and is often associated with Krishna's Rasa lila dance. These legends sometimes use alternate names for this wind instrument, such as the murali.
Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute produces sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, flutes are edge-blown aerophones. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist or flutist.