The use of chordophones (commonly known as stringed instruments) can be traced back to at least 13000–11000 B.C., when cave drawings in Ariege, France depicted a hunter playing a musical bow to magically entrance the animals. The Ancient Greeks used the lyre, which spread across Europe as well. Other significant instruments in Europe, which would later spread to the Americas, include the violin, various zithers and lutes. Native Americans had traditional music that went along with their rituals but it usually did not include stringed instruments until after the Colonial Period African music focuses on both percussion as well as a wide variety of strings including harp lutes, fiddles and bowed lutes. Smithsonian Folkways Records features a large selection of these developments in the chordophone – here is a small sampling.
Playlist Info
Year Published
2012
Duration
30:59
Number of Tracks
14
Catalog Number
FPL10033
Folkways Suggests
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CooP - Fast Folk Musical Magazine (Vol. 1, No. 10) Women in Song
Various Artists
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Teahouse Music of Afghanistan
Various Artists
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The Complete Bowdoin College Concert, 1960
Pete Seeger
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Music of the Ituri Forest
Various Artists
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Fast Folk Musical Magazine (Vol. 8, No. 3) Hear in Rhode Island
Various Artists