While learning how to sing psalms ask:
- What instruments were played to these words?
- How did those instruments affect the psalm?
Context and archaeology provide some interesting incites:
- Psalms do not have modern musical notes as we do today. Modern music puts notation first – a psalm is the opposite thinking – put the words first don’t include notes.
- Things like “Perfect pitch” and strict musical notation did not exist in the day’s when the psalms were written. Archaeologists have found reed pipes – the pipes did not follow the strict standards of notes as we have today. Did David have tuning forks, or electronic tuners? No. Did David pass through years of formal music theory? No. Try tuning an eight stringed instrument by using only your ear.
- The instruments were simple, small and portable:
- hand drum (not a drum kit),
- ram’s horn with only 2-3 notes (not a trumpet),
- stringed lyre with 12 or less notes/strings
- (not a guitar+fretboard with 47 notes),
- (not a piano with 88 notes constructed of wood & steel to support the tension on the strings. Imagine a piano with 80 of it’s 88 strings snipped off)
- shakers, and clappers
- reed pipes (not flutes or oboes)
- All instruments could easily be hand made by a shepherd.
- All instruments could be easily carried.
- … so build your own instrument – this will make it easier to sing the psalms. Start easy with a shaker or hand drum.
- When the instruments are simple & easy then more time and effort can be applied to the words of the psalm.
- In David’s day they did not have mp3 players, cds, radio, tv, youtube. Play your instrument in the evening while learning the words of a psalm.
- The Ram’s Horn Shophar is the loudest instrument. Most of the other instruments in the bible are small and are quiet. Playing quiet instruments in the evening is nice because you don’t have to play over other noise.
- Translators often times would choose names of modern 16th & 17th century instruments when translating instrument names into the English bible. I’ve been fooled by this more than once. Try to find an archaeological diagram of the instrument. There are sites on the Internet as well as books that have lots of detail about ancient instruments.
- Archaeological images with people holding the instruments are especially useful: size, shape, components, how it’s played.
First musical instruments and first Hebrew poem in the bible are in Cain’s ungodly lineage. David used the instruments that were readily available in his day even though they were used by the ungodly in worship to Baal and other idol gods. The same applies musicians throughout the centuries – all have a choice as to how their instrument is used. Who is the music giving praise to? Idols, man, man’s talent, or God.
List of bible instruments:
I don’t have permission to re-post images on our family website so instead each instrument is linked to Google images. Pay close attention to coins and other archaeological evidence.
- mane ( stringed instruments )
- ( percussion instruments )
- toph ( hand drum – not tambourine )
- tseltselim ( bronze cymbal )
- menahnah ( clay rattle )
- ats broshim ( clappers? )
- pa-amon ( bells on the priest’s garment )
- ( wind instruments )
- khalil ( reed pipe mijwiz )
- chatsotsarah ( silver trumpets )
- keren yobel ( rams horn )
- shofar ( rams horn )
- oogab ( pipe ? )
- sheer ( sing )
Send me a note if you want more detail on any of the above instruments.
Bible instruments our family has collected:
- Voices sheer : )
- Several hand drums. Bible toph is much like our First Nations drums.
- Stringed instruments (kinore, nevel). Both hand-made, one 8 and one 12 strings.
- Shakers. We have made these with the boys from stuff found at the dollar store. I’ve been wanting to build a proper one from clay pottery. We’ve had several accidents resulting in beads everywhere!
Bible instruments our family would like to get:
- reed pipes – mijwiz.
- small brass symbols.
- rams horn (shophar).
- clay pottery shaker.
Non-Biblical instruments that our family uses:
- guitar, bongos, computer, bass, piano, recorder, pipe, tambourine, harmonica & synth: which provides us with hundreds of instruments.
- Computer is used for audio/video mixing, I use all free software to mix:
- Linux ( Ubuntu Studio, Gentoo, Arch )
- Sound: Ardour(multi-track mixing/mastering), Rosegarden(midi/synth), Audacity(single sound clips, converting wav to mp3), Sound processing plugins/effects.
- Video: kdenlive, ffmpeg, mencoder, Logitec Webcam.
- My kids like playing with jackrack, jamin, hydrogen, +others (generally anything that makes funny noises by pushing buttons or speaking into mic)
I’d like to soon include tutorials on how to make instruments found in the bible. There are websites where you can purchase bible instruments – but in my mind these sites/instruments are expensive.
