COMMON MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN SCOTLAND AND SURROUNDING AREAS IN THE 17th CENTURY
by David Vavreck
Introduction and Bylaws
Interpretive
Clothing
Scottish Culture
History
Music and Dance
Military Life
Language
Bibliography, Sources
and Library Materials
STRINGS
First, a note on strings - although a few instruments used wire strings (cittern, Highland harp), most used catgut (actually made from sheep). Although professionally made strings were available from France by the 16th century, most lower class musicians still made their own. Gut strings are more expensive than nylon, and they generally don’t last as long, but they give a much nicer sound. Nylon strings will do until you can replace them with gut. And there are synthetic gut strings (NylgutÔ, for example) that approximate the tone of gut, but are more stable and last longer.
Also, for those instruments which had them, frets were usually tied-on bits of gut string, rather than the permanently placed metal frets we are accustomed to.
Bowed strings
 Fiddles |
 Rebec and Violin |
 Bows |
Lower class (usually made by the musician who played it)
Fiddle - a four- or five-stringed bowed instrument, made by hollowing out the sound box and neck from a solid piece of wood. Also known as a hum and scrum in England, in imitation of the sound it makes. Played against the chest or armpit, rather than under the chin like a violin. Because they were made by the people who played them, there was no standard shape, but they were often squarish.
Rebec (ray-BECK) - a medieval usually three-stringed bowed instrument, which was falling from favor in the rest of western Europe from about 1500 when they were replaced be the viols. Rebecs survived in Scotland until the 17th century (and Bohemia and southeast Europe until the present). Dance masters, though, often still played rebecs throughout the 17th century, when they were usually known as kits (English) or pochettes (French). Like the fiddle, the rebec was hollowed out from a single block of wood until the 17th century, when it started being built in the same manner as a violin.
Hurdy Gurdy - essentially a mechanical violin. One turns a crank with the left hand, which spins a circular “bow”, and stops the strings with the right hand by depressing buttons or keys. There are drone strings as well as melody strings, so it sounds sort of like a very quiet bagpipe. This instrument was popular amongst the upper class in the middle ages, but fell out of their favor by the 17th century.
Upper class (professionally made, and played by the professionally trained)
Viol - usually fretted, with six strings. Died out in the early - mid 18th century. A family of instruments of various sizes including the viola da gamba (leg viol, held like a cello) and the viola de braccio (arm viol, held like a violin). The first music books for the viola da gamba were published by Scottish mercenary captain Tobias Hume in 1605 and 1607.
Violin - You know the family: violin, viola, and cello (the bass violin is actually the only surviving member of the viol family). Invented by the mid 16th century, they were still much less common in 1630 than the viol family. In about 1680, Scots lairds started giving violins to fiddlers in order to help raise the general respectability of Scottish culture.
Plucked strings
Strings were plucked with either the fingers or with a plectrum (pick) usually made from horn or quill.
 Cittern |
 Psaltry |
Lower class
Psaltery - a flat instrument with many strings which sat in one’s lap or on a tabletop, often plucked two-handed. Like the rebec, gone from the rest of western Europe where it had once (from the 12th century) been an upper class instrument, but considered old-fashioned and lower class in Scotland by the late 16th century.
Dulcimer - medieval instrument, similar to a very large psaltery, but played with small wooden hammers.
Upper class/classless
Harp - Apparently invented by the Picts by the 8th century, the Celtic harp (clarsach) was traditionally highly thought of by the masses. Harpers were treated with much respect, being the highest ranking persons (apart from royals) under Highland law. Dying out in Scottish culture by our period, most documented harpers in Scotland in the 17th and 18th centuries were émigrés or refugees from Ireland. In spite of their upper class associations, if harpers were approached with due reverence, they would gladly play for poor peasants, who would be awestruck by the honor shown them. Highland and Irish harps had wire strings, and were played with the fingernails. Lowland harps, like almost all other varieties, had gut strings and were played with the fingertips. The gothic harp, ancestor to the modern concert harp, was played in European courts. Sharping levers, by which one can quickly change key, were not yet invented.
Lute - this bowl-backed fretted instrument, brought to Europe by returning Crusaders in about the 12th century, was an instrument strung in courses (pairs of strings) of increasing number as the centuries progressed. By 1630, most lutes had 6 or 7 courses; by 1700, most had 10 courses or more. Lutes were also made in several different sizes which were known by such names as mandora, and mandolin (small lutes) and the theorbo (quite large - 6 or 8 feet long). Almost as common in taverns as at court.
Cittern - like a mandolin on steroids, this instrument filled the function that the much more modern rhythm guitar fills in folk and rock music. In other words, one usually strummed chords on it, but one could also play melodies. Very distinctive sound. 17th century barbers often had a cittern hanging on the wall for use of customers waiting their turn. The modern cittern often used by Irish bands is a different instrument.
Strings not appropriate for our time period
Guitar - although there was an instrument of this name in existence in our period, and it was even an ancestor to the modern guitar, in 1630 it was an obscure Spanish court instrument, which had only just begun to be played in Italy. It usually had four courses, rather than 6 single strings, and was much smaller than most modern versions. The guitar is not documented in the British Isles until well into the 19th century.
Flat-backed mandolins - 20th century.
Bowed Psaltery - if I understand correctly, this triangular instrument was invented around 1940 by a violin teacher for his very youngest pupils. Pity, too, as it is most pleasant.
WOODWINDS
Lower class
Horn - simple blast horn with no finger holes, made from (you guessed it) horn.
Gemshorn - probably already ancient when first documented about 1500. A poorly documented instrument (we don’t even know its English name), the gemshorn was made from chamois or cattle horn. The open end was plugged with a piece of wood in which a fipple was carved, and was played like a recorder. Great peasant/shepherd instrument.
Pipe (tabor pipe) - this simple woodwind had only three holes, and was designed to be played one-handed, leaving the other hand free to play the tabor (see below under percussion). It was usually used for simple dance accompaniment. Considered quite low-brow.
Classless
Woodwinds tended to be much more class neutral than other families of instruments.
 Bombard |
Shawm - reed instrument, often played in consort by Waits.
Bombard - a particularly loud Breton shawm, this is the only period instrument I know of that could hold its own playing a duet with bagpipes. It was often used for outdoor dance accompaniment.
Hautboy (oh boy) - descendant of the shawm, and ancestor of the oboe. Replaced fifes as a preferred infantry instrument from about 1660 to about 1740.
Bagpipes - various types in use not only throughout Europe, but North Africa as well. Most bagpipes in our period still only had one drone, but those with two were becoming more common. The modern Highland pipes have three. Highland chiefs still often employed a piper, and there was a college of piping (so to speak) on Lewis or Skye.
Whistle/Flageolet - this is the wooden ancestor to the modern penny whistle. In addition to being commonly used for dance music, the French used it to play along with the drum to relieve the monotony of the march.
Fife - in addition to being a common infantry instrument in our period, this was also commonly used for dance and other folk music.
Both the whistle and the fife have six holes, and are fingered the same. Someone who plays one can play the other, the difference being that the whistle is end-blown (you stick the end in your mouth and blow) and the fife is cross-blown (you blow across a hole, which takes more practice to get right).
Recorder - also known as the “sweet flute” or “german flute” this family of instruments, from the tiny high-pitched garklein to the enormous great bass, had 8 holes. Popular amongst all classes (Henry VIII owned 76 of them), they fell out of favor in the 18th century, when they were replaced by the much louder flutes. Noted early music performers the Family von Trapp--about whom “The Sound of Music” was loosely based--were instrumental to their 20th century revival.
Flute - open holed, i.e. no keys. Not as popular as the recorder in our period, as although they were louder, they have a much more shrill tone than recorders.
Cornette - not the same instrument as the modern cornet (a small trumpet), this resembled the oboe.
Woodwinds not appropriate for our time period
Keys did not start to appear on woodwinds until late in the 17th century, when they were first used to extend the range or ease the playability of larger instruments. Fully keyed instruments did not become common until the 19th century.
Tin/Penny Whistle - a result of the industrial revolution (they are stamped metal), these began to appear around 1840. They are a cheap imitation of the wood flageolet/whistle.
Clarinet - not invented until about the 19th century (?), although other reed instruments were around, such as the shawm, bombard, and hautboy.
And sorry, no saxophones.
BRASS
 Serpent |
Trumpet - These are what we would now call bugles - the valves on modern trumpets are a result of the industrial revolution. These were used to play cavalry calls, naval calls, and to play fanfares and such at civic events.
Horn - this small trumpet (bugle) was used to play calls while on the (nobleman’s) hunt, both to control the dogs and to inform other hunters what was going on. It was also used as a badge of office for a nobleman’s master of the hunt and/or chief forester.
Serpent - a bass instrument, predecessor of the tuba, made in an s-shape.
Sackbut - this is the immediate ancestor of the slide trombone. It is the only period brass instrument that is fully chromatic (i.e. it can play all the notes in every key).
Brass not appropriate for our time period
Anything with valves.
PERCUSSION
Lower Class
Jew’s Harp (trompe or trump in Scots, also geegaw in English) - this little metal frame is bitten upon, and an attached tongue is twanged. It uses the mouth as its sound chamber. By changing the shape of the mouth, and varying the breath, a remarkable variety of tones can be produced with a little practice. Dates from at least the early middle ages. Very common trade item in the New World from the 17th to 19th century. They were manufactured in Massachusetts by 1650 - perhaps the first European instruments to be produced in the New World. Now often called a jaw harp or mouth harp to avoid the possibility of anti-Semitism. For what it’s worth, the rabbi I heard talk about it - who is also a member of the Anti Defamation League - considered the notion of Jew’s Harp being anti-Semitic “silly”. Although generally considered very lowbrow, Johann George Alberchtsberger (one of Beethoven’s teachers) wrote several concerti for virtuoso jew’s harp players.
Bones - sometimes made of wood, bones were most often made from cattle ribs or long bones. Rectangles with rounded corners which were held in one hand, they were struck together by quickly moving the hand as if playing a bodhran, sometimes striking them against the other hand or the thigh to vary the sound and rhythm. Arguably the oldest known musical instrument, these were used by Neanderthals.
Triangle - this device was usually made of iron. In a well made triangle, the three sides are each tuned to different notes, so it could accompany other music.
Tabor - this small drum was strapped onto the player, who played it with his left hand while playing the pipe (see above under lower class woodwinds) with his right (the original one-man band). Generally used for dance music.
Tambourine - this is a small frame drum, played with the hand rather than a stick or tipper. Correct for us whether or not it has jingles attached to the frame.
Bodhran (BO rahn) - Although modern historical fiction often calls this a “war drum”, there is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that this humble Celtic goatskin frame drum was ever anything but a peasant drum, used for song and dance. The stick used to strike it is called a tipper. Tunable bodhrans, which have a mechanism to adjust the pitch, are modern.
Side Drum - This is the drum used in armies. Gaffneyis Regiment owns two of them. In period, the larger of these would be considered to be at the small end of normal size. The heads are kept taut by ropes with sliding leather or rope tensioners. Often had one or two gut strings stretched along the bottom head as a snare. Both tensioners and snare must be loosened when the drum is not in use to avoid warping the drum’s shell.
Kettledrum - borrowed from the Turks, two of these were strapped on either side of a horse, and were used to sound cavalry calls. Also occasionally used in civic parades and such - in one period illustration I have seen, some poor sap had a kettledrum strapped on his back, while the drummer followed behind beating the thing. This must have been as hard on the porter’s ears as it was on his back.
Bells - used to sound the hours as well as to play music. Each town or city’s bells played their own tune - you all know the sound of Westminster’s bells; most modern bell towers, as well as many modern doorbells, play it. Bells were often requisitioned during wartime; their bronze is also good for cannons. Also, they were used to sound the alarm on the approach of the enemy, to celebrate the conclusion of peace treaties, and such.
KEYBOARDS
There is a large collection of early keyboards in the Schubert Club Museum, in the basement of Landmark Centre in Saint Paul, where the Scottish Ramble occurs.
Organ - church organs were pretty much non-existent in Scotland by 1630, as they had been destroyed by Presbyterians while they were wrecking so much else in 1569-1570. Puritan troops trashed many church organs in England during the British Civil Wars, too.
Portative Organ - varying in size from cabinet mounted, to tabletop, to lap-sized, these bellows organs were used in the home primarily for secular music.
The following are all keyboards with strings, which generally used quill to pluck them. They sound lovely, but have only one volume - low.
Virginals - referred to as a pair of virginals, this instrument was often a rectangular tabletop instrument. Considered particularly appropriate for female musicians, which may relate to their name. Precursor to the harpsichord, there is often one on display in the Tudor Period Room at the Minneapolis Art Institute.
Harpsichord - precursor to the piano, it was generally triangle shaped - like a grand piano without the curves.
Spinet or Clavichord - a small harpsichord, which used quill or leather to pluck the strings
Keyboards not appropriate for our time period
Piano - this is the first stringed keyboard that could play both quietly and loudly (its full name is pianoforte - “quiet/loud”), due to the keys being connected to wooden hammers. The volume is controlled by how hard the keys are struck as well as by use of foot pedals.
Other instruments not appropriate for our time period
There were no free reed instruments in the 17th century, so harmonicas, accordions, concertinas, and the like are not appropriate.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arbeau, Thoinot (penname of Jehan Tabourot). Orchesographie. Langres, 1589.
Blades, James. Percussion Instruments and Their History. Faber and Faber, Boston 1984
Buchner, Alexander. Musical Instruments: An Illustrated History. Crown Publishers, NY 1973. In Clann Library.
Kemp, Will. Kemps Nine Daies Wonder. London, 1600.
Wedderburn, Robert. The Complaynt of Scotland. (c. 1550). Edited and introduced by A. M. Stewart. Scottish Text Society, Edinburgh 1979.