Some European Instruments

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Recorder

• One of the oldest woodwind instruments, dating to the Middle Ages​
• Earliest artifacts were found in Germany and the Netherlands​
• Comes in different sizes in order from highest to lowest:​
• Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass​
• Originally made of wood and bone, now usually made of plastic

Bagpipes

• Traditional Scottish instruments from the 13th century​
• Overtime, wood/bone recorders with an animal skin bag were replaced with plastic and synthetic, stretchy material​
• Played by blowing into the canter, filling up the bag for the drone pipes

Violin

• Most modern version was made in the 1700s and used to be only plucked​
• Later in the same century, the bow was invented​
• Has a hollow, wooden body for sound to resonate​
• The bow hair is usually made of horsehair, and the strings today are synthetic

Harpsichord

• The precursor to the piano​
• A keyboard instrument filled with metal arms that pluck the strings when a corresponding key is pressed​
• Cannot change the dynamics of the notes