View source for Music technology

{{Short description|Use of technology by musicians}}
{{Hatnote|For mechanical music technologies, see [[Music technology (mechanical)]]; For electric music technologies, see [[Music technology (electric)]]; for electronic or digital music technologies, see [[Music technology (electronic and digital)]]}}
[[File:Peter Francken in his studio.jpg|thumb|300px|This 2009 photo shows music production using a [[digital audio workstation]] (DAW) with [[multi-monitor]] setup.]]

'''Music technology''' is the study or the use of any device, mechanism, machine or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform [[music]]; to [[musical composition|compose]], [[music notation|notate]], playback or record songs or pieces; or to [[Music informatics|analyze]] or [[Digital audio editor|edit]]  music.

==History==

The earliest known applications of technology to music was prehistoric peoples' use of a tool to hand-drill holes in bones to make simple flutes.<ref name="speakstick.net">{{Cite web|url=https://speakstick.net/blogs/speakstick/evolution-of-music|title=How Music Technology Evolved Over the Years? – SpeakStick|website=speakstick.net|access-date=2016-07-22|archive-date=2016-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917003840/https://speakstick.net/blogs/speakstick/evolution-of-music|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Ancient Egypt]]ians developed stringed instruments, such as [[harp]]s, [[lyre]]s and [[lute]]s, which required making thin strings and some type of peg system for adjusting the pitch of the strings. Ancient Egyptians also used [[wind instrument]]s such as [[double clarinet]]s and [[percussion instrument]]s such as [[cymbals]].

In [[Ancient Greece]], instruments included the double-reed [[aulos]] and the lyre.

Numerous instruments are referred to in the Bible, including the [[cornu (horn)|cornu]], [[pipe (instrument)|pipe]], [[lyre]], [[harp]], and [[bagpipe]]. During Biblical times, the cornu, [[flute]], horn, [[pipe organ]], pipe, and [[trumpet]] were also used.

During the [[Middle Ages]], [[music notation]] was used to create a written record of the notes of [[plainchant]] melodies.

During the [[Renaissance music]] era (c. 1400-1600), the [[printing press]] was invented, allowing for [[sheet music]] to be mass-produced (previously having been hand-copied). This helped to spread musical styles more quickly and across a larger area.

During the [[Baroque era]] (c. 1600–1750), technologies for [[keyboard instrument]]s developed, which led to improvements in the designs of pipe organs and the [[harpsichord]], and the development of a new keyboard instrument in approximately 1700, the [[piano]].

In the [[Classical era]], [[Beethoven]] added new instruments to the [[orchestra]] such as the [[piccolo]], [[contrabassoon]], [[trombone]]s, and [[Bass drum|untuned percussion]] in his [[Beethoven's Ninth Symphony|Ninth Symphony]].

During the [[Romantic music]] era (c. 1810–1900), one of the key ways that new compositions became known to the public was by the sales of [[sheet music]], which amateur music lovers would perform at home on their piano or other instruments. In the 19th century, new instruments such as [[saxophone]]s, [[euphonium]]s, [[Wagner tuba]]s, and [[cornet]]s were added to the orchestra.

Around the turn of the 20th century, with the invention and popularization of the [[gramophone record]] (commercialized in 1892), and [[radio broadcasting]] (starting on a commercial basis ca. 1919-1920), there was a vast increase in music listening, and it was easier to distribute music to a wider public.<ref name="speakstick.net"/>

The development of [[sound recording]] had a major influence on the development of [[popular music]] genres because it enabled recordings of songs and bands to be widely distributed.  The invention of sound recording also gave rise to a new subgenre of [[classical music]]: the [[Musique concrete]] style of electronic composition.

The invention of [[multitrack recording]] enabled pop bands to overdub many layers of instrument tracks and vocals, creating new sounds that would not be possible in a live performance.

In the early 20th century, electric technologies such as [[electromagnetic pickup]]s, [[power amplifier|amplifiers]] and [[loudspeaker]]s were used to develop new electric instruments such as the [[electric piano]] (1929), [[electric guitar]] (1931), [[Hammond organ|electro-mechanical organ]] (1934) and [[electric bass]] (1935). The 20th-century orchestra gained new instruments and new sounds. Some orchestra pieces used the electric guitar, electric bass or the [[Theremin]].

The invention of the miniature [[transistor]] in 1947 enabled the creation of a new generation of [[synthesizer]]s, which were used first in pop music in the 1960s. Unlike prior keyboard instrument technologies, synthesizer keyboards do not have strings, pipes, or metal tines. A synthesizer keyboard creates musical sounds using electronic circuitry, or, later, [[computer chip]]s and [[software]]. Synthesizers became popular in the mass market in the early 1980s.

With the development of powerful [[microchip]]s, a number of new electronic or digital music technologies were introduced in the 1980s and subsequent decades, including [[drum machine]]s and [[music sequencer]]s. Electronic and digital music technologies are any device, such as a computer, an electronic [[effects unit]] or software, that is used by a musician or composer to help make or perform music.<ref name="m:tech educational services">{{cite web|last=m:tech educational services|title=What is Music Technology?|url=http://www.mtechonline.co.uk/schools/what-is-music-technology.html|access-date=20 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124001102/http://www.mtechonline.co.uk/schools/what-is-music-technology.html|archive-date=24 January 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The term usually refers to the use of electronic devices, [[computer hardware]] and [[computer software]] that is used in the [[performance]], playback, [[musical composition|composition]], sound recording and reproduction, [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]], [[Music informatics|analysis]] and [[Digital audio editor|editing]] of music.

==Mechanical technologies==
{{main|Music technology (mechanical)}}

===Prehistoric eras===
{{Main|Prehistoric music}}
[[File:Flûte paléolithique (musée national de Slovénie, Ljubljana) (9420310527).jpg|thumb|right|140px|A bone flute which is over 41,000 years old.]]

Findings from [[paleolithic]] archaeology sites suggest that prehistoric people used carving and piercing tools to create instruments. Archeologists have found [[Paleolithic flutes]] carved from bones in which lateral holes have been pierced. The [[Divje Babe flute]], carved from a [[cave bear]] [[femur]], is thought to be at least 40,000 years old. Instruments such as the seven-holed flute and various types of [[String instrument|stringed instruments]], such as the [[Ravanahatha]], have been recovered from the [[Indus Valley civilization]] [[archaeology|archaeological]] sites.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yySNDP9XVggC&pg=PA11 | title=The Music of India | author=Reginald Massey | author2=Jamila Massey | year=1996 | author2-link=Jamila Massey | page=11 | publisher=Abhinav Publications | isbn=9788170173328 }}</ref> India has one of the oldest musical traditions in the world—references to [[Indian classical music]] (''marga'') are found in the [[Vedas]], ancient scriptures of the [[Hindu]] tradition.<ref name="brown">{{cite journal|last=Brown|first=RE|year=1971|title=India's Music|journal=Readings in Ethnomusicology}}</ref> The earliest and largest collection of prehistoric musical instruments was found in [[China]] and dates back to between 7000 and 6600&nbsp;BC.<ref name="wilkinson">{{cite book|last=Wilkinson|first=Endymion |author-link=Endymion Wilkinson|title=Chinese history|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|year=2000}}</ref>

===Ancient Egypt===
{{Main|Music of Egypt}}
[[File:Maler der Grabkammer des Nacht 004.jpg|thumb|right|130px|Musicians of [[Amun]], [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasty]] (c. 1543–1292 BC) ]]
In [[prehistoric Egypt]], music and chanting were commonly used in magic and rituals, and small shells were used as [[whistle]]s.<ref name="Arroyos2003">{{cite book |last1=Arroyos |first1=Rafael Pérez |title=Egypt: Music in the Age of the Pyramids |date=2003 |publisher=Centro de Estudios Egipcios |location=Madrid |isbn=8493279617 |page=28 |edition=1st}}</ref>{{rp|pages=26–30}} Evidence of Egyptian musical instruments dates to the [[Predynastic Egypt|Predynastic period]], when funerary chants played an important role in Egyptian religion and were accompanied by [[Clapper (musical instrument)|clappers]] and possibly the [[flute]]. The most reliable evidence of instrument technologies dates from the [[Old Kingdom]], when technologies for constructing harps, flutes and double clarinets were developed.<ref>[http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/MIRE/Introduction/AncientEgypt/AncientEgypt.html Music of Ancient Egypt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013114158/http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/MIRE/Introduction/AncientEgypt/AncientEgypt.html |date=2015-10-13 }}. [[Kelsey Museum of Archaeology]], University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.</ref> Percussion instruments, lyres and lutes were used by the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]]. Metal cymbals were used by ancient Egyptians.<ref name="ucl">{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/metal/uc33268.html |title=UC 33268 |publisher=digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk|access-date=27 October 2015}}</ref> In the early 21st century, interest in the music of the pharaonic period began to grow, inspired by the research of such foreign-born [[musicologist]]s as [[Hans Hickmann]]. By the early 21st century, Egyptian musicians and musicologists led by the musicology professor Khairy El-Malt at [[Helwan University]] in Cairo had begun to reconstruct musical instruments of Ancient Egypt, a project that is ongoing.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050531222650/http://www.phmusic.gov.eg/news/Natinal%20project%20in%20english%20.doc Ancient Egyptian Music Symposium]</ref>

===Indus Valley===
The [[Indus Valley civilization]] has sculptures that show old musical instruments, like the seven-holed flute. Various types of stringed instruments and drums have been recovered from [[Harappa]] and [[Mohenjo-daro|Mohenjo Daro]] by excavations carried out by Sir [[Mortimer Wheeler]].<ref>World History: Societies of the Past By Charles Kahn (page 11)</ref>

===References in the Bible===
{{Main|History of music in the biblical period}}
[[File:David-harp.jpg|thumb|right|170px|"David with his harp", from the [[Paris Psalter]], c. 960, [[Constantinople]].]]

According to the [[Scriptures]], [[Jubal (Bible)|Jubal]] was the father of harpists and organists (Gen. 4:20–21). The harp was among the chief instruments and the favorite of [[David]], and it is referred to more than fifty times in the Bible. It was used at both joyful and mournful ceremonies, and its use was "raised to its highest perfection under David" (1 Sam. 16:23). Lockyer adds that "It was the sweet music of the harp that often dispossessed Saul of his melancholy (1 Sam. 16:14–23; 18:10–11).<ref name=Lockyer>Lockyer, Herbert Jr. ''All the Music of the Bible'', Hendrickson Publ. (2004)</ref>{{rp|46}} When the Jews were captive in Babylon they hung their harps up and refused to use them while in exile, earlier being part of the instruments used in the Temple (1 Kgs. 10:12). Another stringed instrument of the harp class, and one also used by the ancient Greeks, was the lyre.  A similar instrument was the lute, which had a large pear-shaped body, long neck, and fretted fingerboard with head screws for tuning. Coins displaying musical instruments, the [[Bar Kochba Revolt coinage]], were issued by the Jews during the [[Bar Kokhba revolt|Second Jewish Revolt]] against the Roman Empire of 132–135 AD. In addition to those, there was the [[psaltery]], another stringed instrument that is referred to almost thirty times in Scripture. According to [[Josephus]], it had twelve strings and was played with a [[quill]], not with the hand. Another writer suggested that it was like a guitar, but with a flat triangular form and strung from side to side.<ref name=Lockyer/>{{rp|49}}
[[File:Miriams Tanz.jpg|thumb|[[Miriam]] and women celebrate the crossing of the [[Red Sea]] with "timbrels" (small hand drums) (from the [[Tomić Psalter]]).]]
Among the wind instruments used in the biblical period were the [[cornet]], flute, horn, organ, [[pipe (instrument)|pipe]], and trumpet.<ref name=Lockyer/>{{rp|50}} There were also silver trumpets and the double [[oboe]]. Werner concludes that from the measurements taken of the trumpets on the [[Arch of Titus]] in Rome and from coins, that "the trumpets were very high pitched with thin body and shrill sound." He adds that in ''[[War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness]]'', a manual for military organization and strategy discovered among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], these trumpets "appear clearly capable of regulating their pitch pretty accurately, as they are supposed to blow rather complicated signals in unison."{{sfn|Werner|1959|p=2}} Whitcomb writes that the pair of silver trumpets were fashioned according to [[Torah|Mosaic law]] and were probably among the trophies that the [[Emperor Titus]] brought to Rome when he conquered Jerusalem. She adds that on the Arch raised to the victorious Titus, "there is a sculptured relief of these trumpets, showing their ancient form. (see photo)<ref name=Whitcomb>Whitcomb, Ida Prentice. ''Young People's Story of Music'', Dodd, Mead & Co. (1928)</ref>

The flute was commonly used for festal and mourning occasions, according to Whitcomb. "Even the poorest Hebrew was obliged to employ two flute players to perform at his wife's funeral."<ref name=Whitcomb/> The [[shofar]] (the horn of a ram) is still used for special liturgical purposes such as the [[Jewish New Year]] services in orthodox communities. As such, it is not considered a musical instrument but an instrument of theological symbolism that has been intentionally kept to its primitive character. In ancient times it was used for warning of danger, to announce the new moon or beginning of [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]], or to announce the death of a notable. "In its strictly ritual usage it carried the cries of the multitude to God," writes Werner.{{sfn|Werner|1959|p=12}}

Among the percussion instruments were [[Bell (instrument)|bells]], cymbals, [[sistrum]], [[tabret]], hand drums, and [[tambourines]]. The tabret, or timbrel, was a small hand drum used for festive occasions and was considered a woman's instrument. In modern times it was often used by the Salvation Army. According to the Bible, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt and [[The Exodus|crossed the Red Sea]], ''"[[Miriam]] took a timbrel in her hands; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dance."''<ref name=Lockyer/>

===Ancient Greece===
[[File:Hydraulis 001.jpg|thumb|The ''[[hydraulis]]'' or "water organ". Note the curved trumpet, called the ''bukanē'' by the Greeks and, later, ''cornu'' by the Romans.]]
In [[Ancient Greece]], instruments in all music can be divided into three categories,{{sfn|Olson|pp=108-109}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}} based on how sound is produced: string, wind, and percussion. The following were among the instruments used in the music of ancient Greece:

*the [[lyre]]: a strummed and occasionally [[plucked string instrument]], essentially a hand-held [[zither]] built on a tortoise-shell frame, generally with seven or more strings tuned to the notes of one of the modes. The lyre was used to accompany others or even oneself for recitation and song.
*the [[kithara]], also a strummed string instrument, more complicated than the lyre. It had a box-type frame with strings stretched from the cross-bar at the top to the [[sounding box]] at the bottom; it was held upright and played with a [[plectrum]]. The strings were tunable by adjusting wooden wedges along the cross-bar.
* the ''[[aulos]]'', usually double, consisting of two double-reed (like an oboe) pipes, not joined but generally played with a mouth-band to hold both pipes steadily between the player's lips. Modern reconstructions indicate that they produced a low, clarinet-like sound. There is some confusion about the exact nature of the instrument; alternate descriptions indicate single reeds instead of double reeds.
* the [[Pan pipes]], also known as panflute and [[syrinx]] (Greek συριγξ), (so-called for the nymph who was changed into a reed in order to hide from [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]]) is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the stopped pipe, consisting of a series of such pipes of gradually increasing length, tuned (by cutting) to a desired scale. Sound is produced by blowing across the top of the open pipe (like blowing across a bottle top).
* the [[hydraulis]], a keyboard instrument, the forerunner of the modern organ. As the name indicates, the instrument used water to supply a constant flow of pressure to the pipes. Two detailed descriptions have survived: that of Vitruvius <ref>''De Architectura'' x, 8.</ref> and Heron of Alexandria.<ref>''Pneumatica'', I, 42.</ref> These descriptions deal primarily with the keyboard mechanism and with the device by which the instrument was supplied with air. A well-preserved model in pottery was found at Carthage in 1885. Essentially, the air to the pipes that produce the sound comes from a wind chest connected by a pipe to a dome; air is pumped in to compress water, and the water rises in the dome, compressing the air, and causing a steady supply of air to the pipes.{{sfn|Williams}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}}

In the ''[[Aeneid]]'',  Virgil makes numerous references to the trumpet. The lyre, kithara, aulos, hydraulis (water organ) and trumpet all found their way into the [[Ancient Roman music|music of ancient Rome]].

===Roman Empire===
[[File:Musicians from Zliten mosaic.JPG|thumb|upright=1.7|Musicians in a detail from the [[Zliten mosaic]] (2nd century AD), originally shown as accompanying [[gladiator]] combat and wild-animal events in the arena: from left, the ''tuba'', ''hydraulis'' (water pipe organ), and two ''cornua'']]
The Romans may have borrowed the Greek method{{sfn|Ulrich|Pisk|1963|p={{Page needed|date=February 2010}}}} of ''enchiriadic notation'' to record their music if they used any notation at all. Four letters (in English notation 'A', 'G', 'F' and 'C') indicated a series of four succeeding tones. Rhythm signs, written above the letters, indicated the duration of each note. [[Roman art]] depicts various [[woodwind]]s, [[brass instrument|"brass"]], [[percussion]] and [[stringed instruments]].{{sfn|Ginsberg-Klar|1981|p=313}} Roman-style instruments are found in parts of the Empire where they did not originate and indicate that music was among the aspects of Roman culture that spread throughout the provinces.

Roman instruments include:
*The [[Roman tuba|Roman ''tuba'']] was a long, straight bronze [[trumpet]] with a detachable, conical mouthpiece. Extant examples are about 1.3 metres long, and have a cylindrical bore from the mouthpiece to the point where the bell flares abruptly,{{sfn|Bonanni}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}} similar to the modern straight trumpet seen in presentations of 'period music'. Since there were no valves, the ''tuba'' was capable only of a single [[overtone]] series.{{sfn|Pierce}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}} In the military, it was used for "[[bugle call]]s". The ''tuba'' is also depicted in art such as [[Roman mosaic|mosaics]] accompanying games ''([[ludi]])'' and spectacle events.
*The ''[[cornu (horn)|cornu]]'' (Latin "horn") was a long tubular metal wind instrument that curved around the musician's body, shaped rather like an uppercase ''G''.  It had a conical bore (again like a French horn) and a conical mouthpiece. It may be hard to distinguish from the ''[[buccina]]''. The ''cornu'' was used for military signals and on parade.{{sfn|Ginsberg-Klar|1981|p=314}} The ''[[cornicen]]'' was a military signal officer who translated orders into calls. Like the ''tuba'', the ''cornu'' also appears as accompaniment for public events and spectacle entertainments.
*The ''tibia'' (Greek ''[[aulos]] – αὐλός''), usually double, had two double-reed (as in a modern oboe) pipes, not joined but generally played with a mouth-band ''capistrum'' to hold both pipes steadily between the player's lips.{{sfn|Bonanni2}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}}
*The ''[[askaules]]'' — a [[bagpipe]].
*Versions of the modern [[flute]] and [[panpipes]].
*The [[lyre]], borrowed from the Greeks, was not a harp, but instead had a sounding body of wood or a tortoise shell covered with skin, and arms of animal horn or wood, with strings stretched from a cross bar to the sounding body.{{sfn|Bonanni|p=3}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}}
*The ''[[cithara]]'' was the premier musical instrument of ancient Rome and was played both in popular and elevated forms of music. Larger and heavier than a lyre, the cithara was a loud, sweet and piercing instrument with precision tuning ability.
*The [[lute]] ([[pandura]] or [[monochord]]) was known by several names among the Greeks and Romans. In construction, the lute differs from the lyre in having fewer strings stretched over a solid neck or [[fingerboard|fret-board]], on which the strings can be [[fret|stopped]] to produce [[interval (music)|graduated]] notes. Each lute string is thereby capable of producing a greater range of notes than a lyre string.{{sfn|Higgins|Winnington-Ingram}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}} Although long-necked lutes are depicted in art from [[Mesopotamia]] as early as 2340–2198 BC, and also occur in Egyptian iconography, the lute  in the Greco-Roman world was far less common than the lyre and cithara. The lute of the medieval West is thought to owe more to the Arab [[oud]], from which its name derives (''al ʿūd'').{{sfn|Spring}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}}
* The hydraulic pipe organ ''([[hydraulis]])'', which worked by water pressure, was "one of the most significant technical and musical achievements of antiquity".{{sfn|Ginsberg-Klar|1981|p=316}} Essentially, the air to the pipes that produce the sound comes from a mechanism of a wind-chest connected by a pipe to a dome; air is pumped in to compress water, and the water rises in the dome, compressing the air and causing a steady supply to reach the pipes{{sfn|Williams|p={{Page needed|date=February 2010}}}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}} (also see [[Pipe organ#History]]). The ''hydraulis'' accompanied [[gladiator]] contests and events in the arena, as well as stage performances. 
*Variations of a hinged wooden or metal device, called a [[scabellum]] used to beat time. Also, there were various rattles, bells and [[tambourine]]s.
*[[Drum]] and percussion instruments like [[timpani]] and castanets, the Egyptian sistrum, and brazen pans, served various musical and other purposes in ancient Rome, including backgrounds for rhythmic dance, celebratory rites like those of the Bacchantes and military uses. 
*The [[sistrum]] was a rattle consisting of rings strung across the cross-bars of a metal frame, which was often used for ritual purposes.
*''Cymbala'' (Lat. plural of ''cymbalum'', from the Greek ''kymbalon'') were small cymbals: metal discs with concave centres and turned rims, used in pairs which were clashed together.

===Islamic world===
{{See also|Islamic music|Arabic music|Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe}}

A number of [[musical instrument]]s later used in medieval European music were influenced by [[Arabic music]]al instruments, including the [[rebec]] (an ancestor of the [[violin]]) from the ''[[rebab]]'' and the [[Naqareh|naker]] from ''naqareh''.{{sfn|Farmer|1988|p=137}} Many European instruments have roots in earlier Eastern instruments that were adopted from the [[Islamic world]].<ref name=Sachs260>{{citation |last=Sachs |first=Curt |title=The History of Musical Instruments |publisher=Dover Publications |year=1940 |isbn=978-0-486-45265-4|page=260}}</ref> The Arabic [[rabāb]], also known as the spiked fiddle, is the earliest known [[bowed string instrument]] and the ancestor of all European bowed instruments, including the rebec, the [[Byzantine lyra]], and the violin.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/487848/rabab |title=rabab (musical instrument)|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=2013-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=lira|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/343204/lira|access-date=2009-02-20|year=2009}}</ref>

The plucked and bowed versions of the rebab existed alongside each other.<ref name=sachs>{{cite book |last=Sachs |first=Curt |date=1940 |title= The History of Musical Instruments |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmusical00sach|url-access=registration |location= New York |publisher= W. W. Norton & Company |pages= [https://archive.org/details/historyofmusical00sach/page/151 151–153]|isbn=9780393020687 }}</ref> The bowed instruments became the rebec or [[Rabel (instrument)|rabel]] and the plucked instruments became the [[gittern]]. [[Curt Sachs]] linked this instrument with the [[mandola]], the [[kopuz]] and the [[gambus]], and named the bowed version rabâb.<ref name=sachs/>

The Arabic [[oud]] in [[Islamic music]] was the direct ancestor of the European lute.<ref>{{cite web |title=ʿūd {{!}} musical instrument |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/ud |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |access-date=6 April 2019}}</ref> The oud is also cited as a precursor to the modern [[History of the classical guitar|guitar]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Summerfield|first=Maurice J.|title=The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800|year=2003|edition=5th|publisher=Ashley Mark|chapter=Its Evolution|isbn=1872639461}}</ref> The [[guitar]] has roots in the four-string oud, brought to Iberia by the [[Moors]] in the 8th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Summerfield|first=Maurice J.|title=The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800|year=2003|edition=5th|publisher=Ashley Mark|location=Blaydon on Tyne|isbn=1872639461}}</ref> A direct ancestor of the modern guitar is the ''{{lang|la|[[guitarra morisca]]}}'' (Moorish guitar), which was in use in Spain by 1200. By the 14th century, it was simply referred to as a guitar.<ref>Tom and Mary Anne Evans. ''Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock.'' Paddington Press Ltd 1977 p.16</ref>

The origin of automatic musical instruments dates back to the 9th century when the Persian [[Banū Mūsā]] brothers invented a [[hydropower]]ed [[organ (music)|organ]] using exchangeable cylinders with pins,<ref name="Fowler">{{cite journal	 | first     = Charles B. |last = Fowler	 | date      = October 1967	 | title     = The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments	 | journal   = Music Educators Journal	 | volume    = 54 | issue = 2 | pages = 45–49	 | doi       = 10.2307/3391092  |jstor = 3391092	 |s2cid = 190524140	 }}</ref> and also an automatic flute playing machine using [[steam power]].<ref name=Koetsier>{{cite journal |last1=Koetsier |first1=Teun  |year=2001 |title=On the prehistory of programmable machines: musical automata, looms, calculators |journal=Mechanism and Machine Theory |volume=36 |issue=5 |pages=589–603 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/S0094-114X(01)00005-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book	 | author    = [[Banu Musa]]  | translator    = [[Donald Routledge Hill]]	 | year      = 1979	 | title     = The book of ingenious devices (Kitāb al-ḥiyal)	 | publisher = [[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]	 | isbn     = 9027708339	 | pages     = 76–7}}</ref> These were the earliest automated mechanical musical instruments.<ref name="Fowler"/> The Banu Musa brothers' automatic flute player was the first [[Program (machine)|programmable]] musical device, the first [[music sequencer]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Long |first1=Jason |last2=Murphy |first2=Jim |last3=Carnegie |first3=Dale |last4=Kapur |first4=Ajay |title=Loudspeakers Optional: A history of non-loudspeaker-based electroacoustic music |journal=[[Organised Sound]] |date=12 July 2017 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=195–205 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |doi=10.1017/S1355771817000103|doi-access=free }}</ref> and the first example of repetitive music technology, powered by [[hydraulics]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Levaux |first1=Christophe |title=The Forgotten History of Repetitive Audio Technologies |journal=[[Organised Sound]] |date=12 July 2017 |volume=22 |issue=2 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=187–194 |doi=10.1017/S1355771817000097|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 1206, the Arab engineer [[Al-Jazari]] invented a programmable humanoid [[automata]] band.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments|first=Charles B.|last=Fowler|journal=Music Educators Journal|volume=54|issue=2|date=October 1967|pages=45–49|doi=10.2307/3391092|jstor=3391092|s2cid=190524140 }}</ref> According to Charles B. Fowler, the automata were a "[[robot]] [[Musical ensemble|band]]" which performed "more than fifty facial and body actions during each musical selection."<ref>{{citation|title=The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments |first=Charles B.|last=Fowler|journal=Music Educators Journal|volume=54|issue=2|date=October 1967|pages=45–49|doi=10.2307/3391092|publisher=MENC_ The National Association for Music Education|jstor=3391092|s2cid=190524140 }}</ref> It was also the first [[Program (machine)|programmable]] drum machine. Among the four [[automaton]] musicians, two were drummers. It was a drum machine where [[Wiktionary:peg|pegs]] ([[Cam (mechanism)|cam]]s) bumped into little [[lever]]s that operated the percussion. The drummers could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns if the pegs were moved around.<ref name=Sharkey>[[Noel Sharkey]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20070629182810/http://www.shef.ac.uk/marcoms/eview/articles58/robot.html A 13th Century Programmable Robot (Archive)], [[University of Sheffield]].</ref>

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Gregorian chant.gif|frame|A sample of notation for the [[Kyrie|Kýrie Eléison]] XI (Orbis Factor), which is from the ''[[Liber Usualis]]'', which originated in the 11th century.<ref>[[Willi Apel|Apel, Willi]]. ''Gregorian Chant''. Indiana University Press, 1958. p. 417</ref> [[Media:Kyrie XI (Orbis Factor) sample.ogg|Listen]] to it interpreted.]]
During the [[Medieval Music|medieval music]] era (476 to 1400) the [[plainchant]] tunes used for religious songs were primarily monophonic (a single line, unaccompanied melody). In the early centuries of the medieval era, these chants were taught and spread by oral tradition ("by ear"). The earliest Medieval music did not have any kind of notational system for writing down melodies. As Rome tried to standardize the various chants across vast distances of its empire, a form of music notation was needed to write down the melodies. Various signs written above the chant texts, called ''[[neumes]]'' were introduced. By the ninth century, it was firmly established as the primary method of musical notation. The next development in musical notation was ''heighted neumes'', in which neumes were carefully placed at different heights in relation to each other. This allowed the neumes to give a rough indication of the size of a given interval as well as the direction.

This quickly led to one or two lines, each representing a particular note, being placed on the music with all of the neumes relating back to them. The line or lines acted as a reference point to help the singer gauge which notes were higher or lower. At first, these lines had no particular meaning and instead had a letter placed at the beginning indicating which note was represented. However, the lines indicating middle C and the F a fifth below slowly became most common. The completion of the four-line staff is usually credited to [[Guido of Arezzo|Guido d' Arezzo]] (c. 1000-1050), one of the most important musical theorists of the Middle Ages. The neumatic notational system, even in its fully developed state, did not clearly define any kind of rhythm for the singing of notes or playing of melodies. The development of music notation made it faster and easier to teach melodies to new people, and facilitated the spread of music over long geographic distances.
[[File:Head of Christ1.jpg|thumb|140 px|[[Musical notation]] from a Catholic [[Missal]], c.1310-1320]]
Instruments used to perform medieval music include earlier, less mechanically sophisticated versions of a number of instruments that continue to be used in the 2010s. Medieval instruments include the flute, which was made of [[wood]] and could be made as a side-blown or end-blown instrument (it lacked the complex metal keys and airtight pads of 2010s-era metal flutes); the wooden [[recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]] and the related instrument called the [[gemshorn]]; and the [[pan flute]] (a group of air columns attached together). Medieval music used many plucked [[string instrument]]s like the lute, [[Mandore (instrument)|mandore]], [[gittern]] and [[psaltery]]. The [[hammered dulcimer|dulcimers]], similar in structure to the [[psaltery]] and [[zither]], were originally plucked, but became struck by hammers in the 14th century after the arrival of new technology that made metal strings possible.

Bowed strings were used as well. The bowed [[Byzantine lyra|lyra]] of the [[Byzantine Empire]] was the first recorded European bowed string instrument. The [[Persian people|Persian]] geographer [[Ibn Khordadbeh|Ibn Khurradadhbih]] of the 9th century (d. 911) cited the [[Byzantine lyra]] as a bowed instrument equivalent to the Arab [[rabāb]] and typical instrument of the Byzantines along with the ''urghun'' ([[Organ (music)|organ]]), ''shilyani'' (probably a type of harp or lyre) and the ''salandj'' (probably a [[bagpipe]]).<ref name=Kartomi124>{{harvnb|Kartomi|1990|p=124.}}</ref> The [[hurdy-gurdy]] was a mechanical violin using a rosined wooden wheel attached to a crank to "bow" its strings. Instruments without sound boxes like the [[jaw harp]] were also popular in the time. Early versions of the [[Organ (music)|organ]], [[fiddle]] (or [[vielle]]), and [[trombone]] (called the [[sackbut]]) existed in the medieval era.

===Renaissance===
The [[Renaissance music]] era (c. 1400 to 1600) saw the development of many new technologies that affected the performance and distribution of songs and musical pieces. Around 1450, the [[printing press]] was invented, which made printed [[sheet music]] much less expensive and easier to mass-produce (prior to the invention of the printing press, all notated music was laboriously hand-copied). The increased availability of printed sheet music helped to spread musical styles more quickly and across a larger geographic area.

Many instruments originated during the Renaissance; others were variations of, or improvements upon, instruments that had existed previously in the medieval era. Brass instruments in the Renaissance were traditionally played by professionals. Some of the more common brass instruments that were played included:

*[[Slide trumpet]]: Similar to the trombone of today except that instead of a section of the body sliding, only a small part of the body near the mouthpiece and the mouthpiece itself is stationary.
*[[Cornett]]: Made of wood and was played like the recorder, but blown like a trumpet.
*[[Trumpet]]: Early trumpets from the Renaissance era had no valves, and were limited to the tones present in the [[overtone series]]. They were also made in different sizes.
*[[Sackbut]]: A different name for the trombone, which replaced the slide trumpet by the middle of the 15th century

Stringed instruments included:
*[[Viol]]: This instrument, developed in the 15th century, commonly has six strings. It was usually played with a bow.
*[[Lyre]]: Its construction is similar to a small harp, although instead of being plucked, it is strummed with a plectrum. Its strings varied in quantity from four, seven, and ten, depending on the era. It was played with the right hand, while the left hand silenced the notes that were not desired. Newer lyres were modified to be played with a bow.
*[[Hurdy-gurdy]]: (Also known as the wheel fiddle), in which the strings are sounded by a wheel which the strings pass over. Its functionality can be compared to that of a mechanical violin, in that its bow (wheel) is turned by a crank. Its distinctive sound is mainly because of its "drone strings" which provide a constant pitch similar in their sound to that of bagpipes.
*[[Gittern]] and [[Mandore (instrument)|mandore]]: these instruments were used throughout Europe. Forerunners of modern instruments including the [[mandolin]] and [[acoustic guitar]].

Percussion instruments included:
*[[Tambourine]]: The tambourine is a frame drum equipped with jingles that produce a sound when the drum is struck.
*[[Jew's harp]]: An instrument that produces sound using shapes of the mouth and attempting to pronounce different vowels with one's mouth.

Woodwind instruments included:

*[[Shawm]]: A typical shawm is keyless and is about a foot long with seven finger holes and a thumb hole. The pipes were also most commonly made of wood and many of them had carvings and decorations on them. It was the most popular double reed instrument of the Renaissance period; it was commonly used in the streets with drums and trumpets because of its brilliant, piercing, and often deafening sound. To play the shawm a person puts the entire reed in their mouth, puffs out their cheeks, and blows into the pipe whilst breathing through their nose.

[[File:Barocke Blockflöten.png|thumb|right|Renaissance recorders]]
*[[Reed pipe]]: Made from a single short length of cane with a mouthpiece, four or five finger holes, and reed fashioned from it. The reed is made by cutting out a small tongue but leaving the base attached. It is the predecessor of the [[saxophone]] and the [[clarinet]].
*[[Hornpipe (musical instrument)|Hornpipe]]: Same as reed pipe but with a bell at the end.
*[[Bagpipe]]/Bladderpipe: It used a bag made out of sheep or goat skin that would provide air pressure for a pipe. When the player takes a breath, the player only needs to squeeze the bag tucked underneath their arm to continue the tone. The mouth pipe has a simple round piece of leather hinged on to the bag end of the pipe and acts like a non-return valve.  The reed is located inside the long metal mouthpiece, known as a bocal.
*[[Panpipe]]: Designed to have sixteen wooden tubes with a stopper at one end and open on the other. Each tube is a different size (thereby producing a different tone), giving it a range of an octave and a half. The player can then place their lips against the desired tube and blow across it.
*[[Transverse flute]]: The transverse flute is similar to the modern flute with a mouth hole near the stoppered end and finger holes along the body. The player blows in the side and holds the flute to the right side.
*[[Recorder (instrument)|Recorder]]: It uses a whistle mouthpiece, which is a beak-shaped mouthpiece, as its main source of sound production. It is usually made with seven finger holes and a thumb hole.

===Baroque===
During the [[Baroque music|Baroque era of music]] (ca. 1600-1750), technologies for keyboard instruments developed, which led to improvements in the designs of [[pipe organ]]s and [[harpsichord]]s, and to the development of the first [[piano]]s. During the Baroque period, organ builders developed new types of pipes and reeds that created new tonal colors. Organ builders fashioned new stops that imitated various instruments, such as the [[viol|viola da gamba]]. The Baroque period is often thought of as organ building's "golden age," as virtually every important refinement to the instrument was brought to a peak. Builders such as [[Arp Schnitger]], Jasper Johannsen, [[Zacharias Hildebrandt]] and [[Gottfried Silbermann]] constructed instruments that displayed both exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful sound. These organs featured well-balanced mechanical key actions, giving the organist precise control over the pipe speech. Schnitger's organs featured particularly distinctive reed timbres and large Pedal and Rückpositiv divisions.

Harpsichord builders in the [[Southern Netherlands]] built instruments with two keyboards that could be used for [[transposition (music)|transposition]]. These Flemish instruments served as the model for Baroque-era harpsichord construction in other nations.  In France, the double keyboards were adapted to control different choirs of strings, making a more musically flexible instrument (e.g., the upper manual could be set to a quiet lute stop, while the lower manual could be set to a stop with multiple string choirs, for a louder sound).  Instruments from the peak of the French tradition, by makers such as the [[Blanchet (harpsichord makers)|Blanchet family]] and [[Pascal Taskin]], are among the most widely admired of all harpsichords and are frequently used as models for the construction of modern instruments.  In England, the [[Kirkman (harpsichord makers)|Kirkman]] and [[Burkat Shudi|Shudi]] firms produced sophisticated harpsichords of great power and sonority.  German builders extended the sound repertoire of the instrument by adding [[eight-foot pitch|sixteen-foot]] choirs, adding to the lower register and two-foot choirs, which added to the upper register.

The piano was invented during the Baroque era by the expert harpsichord maker [[Bartolomeo Cristofori]] (1655–1731) of [[Padua]], Italy, who was employed by [[Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany]]. Cristofori invented the piano at some point before 1700.<ref>{{cite book|last=Erlich|first=Cyril|title=The Piano: A History|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]], USA; Revised edition|year=1990|isbn=0-19-816171-9 }}</ref><ref name="metmuseum">{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cris/hd_cris.htm |title=The Piano: The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731) &#124; Thematic Essay &#124; Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History &#124; The Metropolitan Museum of Art |publisher=New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=2003 | author=Powers, Wendy |access-date=2014-01-27}}</ref> While the [[clavichord]] allowed expressive control of volume, with harder or louder key presses creating louder sound (and vice versa) and fairly sustained notes, it was too quiet for large performances. The harpsichord produced a sufficiently loud sound, but offered little expressive control over each note. Pressing a harpsichord key harder or softer had no effect on the instrument's loudness. The piano offered the best of both, combining loudness with dynamic control. Cristofori's great success was solving, with no prior example, the fundamental mechanical problem of piano design: the hammer must strike the string, but not remain in contact with it (as a tangent remains in contact with a clavichord string) because this would [[Damping (music)|damp]] the sound. Moreover, the hammer must return to its rest position without bouncing violently, and it must be possible to repeat the same note rapidly. Cristofori's piano [[Action (piano)|action]] was a model for the many approaches to piano actions that followed. Cristofori's early instruments were much louder and had more [[sustain]] than the clavichord. Even though the piano was invented in 1700, the harpsichord and pipe organ continued to be widely used in orchestra and chamber music concerts until the end of the 1700s. It took time for the new piano to gain in popularity. By 1800, though, the piano generally was used in place of the harpsichord (although pipe organ continued to be used in church music such as Masses).

===Classicism===

From about 1790 onward, the Mozart-era [[piano]] underwent tremendous changes that led to the modern form of the instrument. This revolution was in response to a preference by composers and pianists for a more powerful, sustained piano sound, and made possible by the ongoing [[Industrial Revolution]] with resources such as high-quality [[steel]] [[piano wire]] for [[Strings (music)|strings]], and precision [[Casting (metalworking)|casting]] for the production of [[Cast iron|iron frames]]. Over time, the tonal range of the piano was also increased from the five [[octave]]s of Mozart's day to the 7-plus range found on modern pianos.
Early technological progress owed much to the firm of [[Broadwood and Sons|Broadwood]]. [[John Broadwood]] joined with another Scot, Robert Stodart, and a Dutchman, [[Americus Backers]], to design a piano in the harpsichord case—the origin of the "grand". They achieved this in about 1777. They quickly gained a reputation for the splendour and powerful tone of their instruments, with Broadwood constructing ones that were progressively larger, louder, and more robustly constructed.

They sent pianos to both [[Joseph Haydn]] and [[Ludwig van Beethoven]], and were the first firm to build pianos with a range of more than five octaves: five octaves and a [[Interval (music)|fifth (interval)]] during the 1790s, six octaves by 1810 (Beethoven used the extra notes in his later works), and seven octaves by 1820. The [[Vienna|Viennese]] makers similarly followed these trends; however the two schools used different piano actions: Broadwoods were more robust, Viennese instruments were more sensitive.

[[Beethoven]]'s instrumentation for orchestra added [[piccolo]], [[contrabassoon]], and [[trombone]]s  to the triumphal finale of his [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5]]. A piccolo and a pair of trombones help deliver storm and sunshine in the [[Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)|Sixth]]. Beethoven's use of piccolo, contrabassoon, trombones, and untuned percussion in his [[Beethoven's Ninth Symphony|Ninth Symphony]] expanded the sound of the orchestra.

===Romanticism===
During the [[Romantic music]] era (c. 1810 to 1900), one of the key ways that new compositions became known to the public was by the sales of sheet music, which amateur music lovers would perform at home on their piano or in [[chamber music]] groups, such as [[string quartet]]s. [[Saxophone]]s began to appear in some 19th-century orchestra scores. While appearing only as featured solo instruments in some works, for example [[Maurice Ravel]]'s orchestration of [[Modest Mussorgsky]]'s ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]'' and [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]]'s ''[[Symphonic Dances (Rachmaninoff)|Symphonic Dances]]'', the saxophone is included in other works, such as Ravel's ''[[Boléro]]'', [[Sergei Prokofiev]]'s [[Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)#Orchestral suites extracted from Romeo and Juliet|Romeo and Juliet Suites 1 and 2]]. The [[euphonium]] is featured in a few late [[Romantic music|Romantic]] and [[20th-century classical music|20th-century]] works, usually playing parts marked "tenor tuba", including [[Gustav Holst]]'s ''[[The Planets]]'', and [[Richard Strauss]]'s ''[[Ein Heldenleben]]''. The [[Wagner tuba]], a modified member of the horn family, appears in [[Richard Wagner]]'s cycle ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' and several other works by Strauss, [[Béla Bartók]], and others; it has a prominent role in [[Anton Bruckner]]'s [[Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)|Symphony No. 7 in E Major]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wagner-tuba.com/ |title=The Wagner Tuba |publisher=The Wagner Tuba |access-date=2014-06-04}}</ref> Cornets appear in [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]'s ballet ''[[Swan Lake]]'', [[Claude Debussy]]'s ''[[La Mer (Debussy)|La Mer]]'', and several orchestral works by [[Hector Berlioz]].

The piano continued to undergo technological developments in the Romantic era, up until the 1860s. By the 1820s, the center of piano building innovation had shifted to [[Paris]], where the [[Pleyel et Cie|Pleyel]] firm manufactured pianos used by [[Frédéric Chopin]] and the Érard firm manufactured those used by [[Franz Liszt]]. In 1821, [[Sébastien Érard]] invented the double escapement [[Action (piano)|action]], which incorporated a ''repetition lever'' (also called the ''balancier'') that permitted repeating a note even if the key had not yet risen to its maximum vertical position. This facilitated rapid playing of repeated notes, a musical device exploited by Liszt. When the invention became public, as revised by [[Henri Herz]], the double escapement action gradually became standard in grand pianos and is still incorporated into all grand pianos currently produced. Other improvements of the mechanism included the use of felt hammer coverings instead of layered leather or cotton. Felt, which was first introduced by [[Jean-Henri Pape]] in 1826, was a more consistent material, permitting wider dynamic ranges as hammer weights and string tension increased. The [[Sostenuto|sostenuto pedal]], invented in 1844 by [[Jean-Louis Boisselot]] and copied by the [[Steinway & Sons|Steinway]] firm in 1874, allowed a wider range of effects.

One innovation that helped create the sound of the modern piano was the use of a strong iron frame. Also called the "plate", the iron frame sits atop the [[Sound board (music)|soundboard]], and serves as the primary bulwark against the force of string [[Tension (physics)|tension]] that can exceed 20 tons in a modern grand. The single piece cast iron frame was [[patent]]ed in 1825 in [[Boston]] by [[Alpheus Babcock]],{{sfn|Isacoff|2012|p=74}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}} combining the metal hitch pin plate (1821, claimed by Broadwood on behalf of Samuel Hervé) and resisting bars (Thom and Allen, 1820, but also claimed by Broadwood and Érard). The increased structural integrity of the iron frame allowed the use of thicker, tenser, and more numerous strings. In 1834, the Webster & Horsfal firm of [[Birmingham]] brought out a form of piano wire made from [[cast steel]]; according to Dolge it was "so superior to the iron wire that the English firm soon had a monopoly."{{sfn|Dolge|1911|p=124}}{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}}

Other important advances included changes to the way the piano is strung, such as the use of a "choir" of three strings rather than two for all but the lowest notes, and the implementation of an over-strung scale, in which the strings are placed in two separate planes, each with its own [[Bridge (instrument)|bridge]] height. The mechanical action structure of the [[upright piano]] was invented in London, England in 1826 by [[Robert Wornum]], and upright models became the most popular model, also amplifying the sound.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Palmieri|editor-first=Robert|title=Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments, Volume 2|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-93796-2|page=437}}</ref>

===20th- and 21st-century music===
{{Main|20th-century music}}
With [[20th-century music]], there was a vast increase in music listening, as the [[radio]] gained popularity and [[phonograph]]s were used to replay and distribute music. The invention of sound recording and the ability to edit music gave rise to new subgenre of classical music, including the [[acousmatic]]<ref>Schaeffer, P. (1966), Traité des objets musicaux, Le Seuil, Paris.</ref> and [[Musique concrète]] schools of electronic composition. Sound recording was also a major influence on the development of popular music genres, because it enabled recordings of songs and bands to be widely distributed. The introduction of the [[multitrack recording]] system had a major influence on [[rock music]], because it could do much more than record a band's performance. Using a multitrack system, a band and their [[music producer]] could overdub many layers of instrument tracks and vocals, creating new sounds that would not be possible in a live performance.

The 20th-century orchestra was far more flexible than its predecessors.<ref>G.W. Hopkins and Paul Griffiths, op. cit.</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2021}} In Beethoven's and [[Felix Mendelssohn]]'s time, the orchestra was composed of a fairly standard core of instruments which was very rarely modified. As time progressed, and as the Romantic period saw changes in accepted modification with composers such as Berlioz and Mahler, the 20th century saw that instrumentation could practically be hand-picked by the composer. [[Saxophone]]s were used in some 20th-century orchestra scores such as [[Vaughan Williams]]' Symphonies [[Symphony No. 6 (Vaughan Williams)|No. 6]] and [[Symphony No. 9 (Vaughan Williams)|9]] and [[William Walton]]'s [[Belshazzar's Feast (Walton)|''Belshazzar's Feast'']], and many other works as a member of the orchestral ensemble. In the 2000s, the modern orchestra became standardized with the modern instrumentation that includes a [[string section]], [[woodwinds]], [[brass instruments]], [[percussion]], [[piano]], [[celesta|celeste]], and even, for some 20th century or 21st-century works, electric instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass and/or electronic instruments such as the [[Theremin]] or [[synthesizer]].

==Electric and electro-mechanical==
{{Main|Music technology (electric)}}
Electric music technology refers to [[musical instrument]]s and recording devices that use electrical circuits, which are often combined with mechanical technologies. Examples of electric musical instruments include the electro-mechanical [[electric piano]] (invented in 1929), the electric guitar (invented in 1931), the electro-mechanical [[Hammond organ]] (developed in 1934) and the electric bass (invented in 1935). None of these electric instruments produce a sound that is audible by the performer or audience in a performance setting unless they are connected to [[instrument amplifier]]s and [[loudspeaker cabinet]]s, which made them sound loud enough for performers and the audience to hear. Amplifiers and loudspeakers are separate from the instrument in the case of the electric guitar (which uses a [[guitar amplifier]]), electric bass (which uses a [[bass amplifier]]) and some electric organs (which use a [[Leslie speaker]] or similar cabinet) and electric pianos. Some electric organs and electric pianos include the amplifier and speaker cabinet within the main housing for the instrument.

===Electric piano===
[[File:Rhodes Mk II 73 cropped.jpg|thumb|right|140px|A [[Fender Rhodes|Rhodes Mark II Stage 73]] electric piano.]]
An [[electric piano]] is an electric [[musical instrument]] which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of the [[piano]]-style [[musical keyboard]]. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings or tines, leading to vibrations which are converted into electrical signals by [[Pick up (music technology)|magnetic pickups]], which are then connected to an [[instrument amplifier]] and [[loudspeaker]] to make a sound loud enough for the performer and audience to hear. Unlike a [[synthesizer]], the electric piano is not an [[Electronic musical instrument|electronic instrument]]. Instead, it is an electromechanical instrument. Some early electric pianos used lengths of wire to produce the tone, like a traditional piano. Smaller electric pianos used short slivers of steel, metal tines or short wires to produce the tone. The earliest electric pianos were invented in the late 1920s.

===Electric guitar===
[[File:Kramer_XKG-20_sm.jpg|thumb|right|130px|A [[Kramer Guitars|Kramer]] XKG-20 electric guitar circa 1980.]]
An [[electric guitar]] is a [[guitar]] that uses a [[Pickup (music technology)|pickup]] to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical impulses. The most common guitar pickup uses the principle of direct [[electromagnetic induction]]. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a [[loudspeaker]], so it is [[Guitar amplifier|amplified]] before being sent to a loudspeaker. The output of an electric guitar is an electric signal, and the signal can easily be altered by electronic circuits to add "color" to the sound. Often the signal is modified using [[Effects unit|electronic effect]]s such as [[reverb]] and [[Distortion (music)|distortion]]. Invented in 1931, the electric guitar became a necessity as [[jazz]] guitarists sought to amplify their sound in the [[big band]] format.

===Hammond organ===
[[File:Hammond c3 Emilio Muñoz.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A Hammond C-3 electric organ.]]

The [[Hammond organ]] is an [[electronic organ#Early electric organs|electric organ]], invented by [[Laurens Hammond]] and John M. Hanert{{sfn|Bush|Kassel|2006|p=168}} and first manufactured in 1935. Various models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to create a variety of sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal [[tonewheel]] near an electromagnetic pickup. Around two million Hammond organs have been manufactured, and it has been described as one of the most successful organs. The organ is commonly used with, and associated with, the [[Leslie speaker]]. The organ was originally marketed and sold by the Hammond Organ Company to [[Church (building)|churches]] as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven [[pipe organ]], or instead of a [[piano]]. It quickly became popular with professional [[jazz]] [[bandleader]]s, who found that the room-filling sound of a Hammond organ could form small bands such as [[organ trio]]s which were less costly than paying an entire [[big band]].

===Electric bass===
The [[electric bass]] (or bass guitar) was invented in the 1930s, but it did not become commercially successful or widely used until the 1950s. It is a [[stringed instrument]] played primarily with the fingers or thumb, by plucking, [[Slapping (music)|slapping]], popping, strumming, tapping, thumping, or [[guitar pick|picking]] with a [[plectrum]], often known as a pick. The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a longer [[neck (music)|neck]] and [[scale (string instruments)|scale]] length, and four to six [[string (music)|strings]] or [[Course (music)|courses]]. The electric bass usually uses metal strings and an [[electromagnetic pickup]] which senses the vibrations in the strings. Like the electric guitar, the bass guitar is plugged into an [[Bass instrument amplification|amplifier and speaker]] for live performances.

==Electronic or digital==
{{Main|Music technology (electronic and digital)}}
Electronic or digital music technology is any device, such as a [[computer]], an electronic [[effects unit]] or [[software]], that is used by a [[musician]] or [[composer]] to help make or perform [[music]].<ref name="m:tech educational services"/> The term usually refers to the use of electronic devices, [[computer hardware]] and [[computer software]] that is used in the [[performance]], [[musical composition|composition]], sound recording and reproduction, [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]], [[Music informatics|analysis]] and [[Digital audio editor|editing]] of music. Electronic or digital music technology is connected to both artistic and technological creativity. Musicians and music technology experts are constantly striving to devise new forms of expression through music, and they are physically creating new devices and software to enable them to do so. Although in the 2010s, the term is most commonly used in reference to modern electronic devices and computer software such as [[digital audio workstation]]s and [[Pro Tools]] digital sound recording software, electronic and digital musical technologies have precursors in the [[Music technology (electric)|electric music technologies]] of the early 20th century, such as the electromechanical [[Hammond organ]], which was invented in 1929. In the 2010s, the [[Ontology|ontological]] range of music technology has greatly increased, and it may now be electronic, digital, software-based or indeed even purely conceptual.

[[File:R.A.Moog minimoog 2.jpg|thumb|right|An early [[Minimoog]] synthesizer by R.A. Moog Inc. from 1970.]]
A [[synthesizer]] is an [[electronic musical instrument]] that generates electric signals that are converted to sound through [[instrument amplifier]]s and [[loudspeaker]]s or [[headphones]]. Synthesizers may either [[#Imitative synthesis|imitate existing sounds]] (instruments, vocal, natural sounds, etc.), or generate new electronic [[timbres]] or sounds that did not exist before. They are often played with an electronic [[musical keyboard]], but they can be controlled via a variety of other input devices, including music sequencers, [[MIDI controller|instrument controllers]], [[#Fingerboard controller|fingerboards]], [[guitar synthesizer]]s, [[wind controller]]s, and [[electronic drum]]s. Synthesizers without built-in controllers are often called [[sound modules]], and are controlled using a controller device.
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Bush|editor1-first=Douglas Earl|editor2-last=Kassel|editor2-first=Richard|title=The Organ: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgDJaeFFUPoC|year=2006|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-94174-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Farmer|first=Henry George|author-link=Henry George Farmer|year=1988|title=Historical facts for the Arabian Musical Influence|publisher=Ayer Publishing|isbn=0-405-08496-X|oclc=220811631}}
* {{cite journal|last=Ginsberg-Klar|first=Maria E.|title=The Archaeology of Musical Instruments in Germany during the Roman Period|journal=[[World Archaeology]]|volume=12|issue=3, Archaeology and Musical Instruments|date=February 1981|pages=313–320|jstor=124243|doi=10.1080/00438243.1981.9979806}}
* {{cite book|last=Kartomi|first=Margaret J.|title=On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1990|isbn=0-226-42548-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Ulrich|first1=Homer|last2=Pisk|first2=Paul Amadeus|year=1963|title=A History of Music and Musical Style|publisher=Harcourt, Brace & World|isbn=9780155377202}}
* {{cite book|last1=Werner|first1=Eric|date=1959|title=The Sacred Bridge: The Interdependence of Liturgy and Music in Synagogue and Church During the First Millennium|location=London; New York|publisher=Dobson; Columbia University Press}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Murray|first2=Clive|last2=Greated|first3=Arnold|last3=Myers|title=Musical Instruments|year=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/musicalinstrumen00dona|url-access=registration|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Cunningham|first=Mark|title=Good Vibrations: a History of Record Production|publisher=Sanctuary Publishing Limited|location=London|date=1998|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Edmondson|first=Jacquelin|title=Music In American Life|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Holmes|first=Thom|title=Electronic and Experimental Music|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|date=2008|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Kettlewell|first=Ben|title=Electronic Music Pioneers|publisher=Pro Music Press|location=USA|date=2002|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Timothy|title=Strange Sounds|url=https://archive.org/details/strangesoundsmus00tayl|url-access=registration|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|date=2001|ref=none}}
* {{cite web|last=Weir|first=William|title=How the Drum Machine Changed Pop Music|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2011/11/21/drum_machines_40_years_in_popular_music.html|website=Slate|date=21 November 2011 |access-date=December 9, 2015|ref=none}}
* {{cite web|title=An Audio Timeline|url=http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/audio.history.timeline.html|website=Audio Engineering Society|access-date=December 8, 2015}}

{{Music technology}}
{{Music topics}}

[[Category:Music technology| ]]
[[Category:Sound recording]]
[[Category:Audio electronics]]
[[Category:Music history]]
[[Category:Musical instruments]]