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Music in Ancient Egypt

General

The archeological and traditional Egyptian history of music is much more abundant than in any other country. The wall reliefs of the Ancient Egyptian temples and tombs depict numerous types and forms of musical instruments, the technique in which these instruments were to be played and tuned, the ensemble playing, and much, much more.

These musical scenes visibly show the hands of the harp player striking certain strings, and the wind instrument players playing certain chords.

The distances of the lute frets clearly show that the corresponding intervals and scales can be measured and calculated. The positions of the harpists’ hands on the strings clearly indicate ratios such as the Fourth, the Fifth, and the Octave—revealing an unquestionable knowledge of the laws governing musical harmony. The playing of musical instruments is controlled by the conductors’ hand movements, which also help us identify certain tones, intervals and functions of sound.

In addition to the numerous representations of musical scenes pictured in temples and tombs from all periods throughout Egypt’s dynastic history, we also have access to hundreds of various Ancient Egyptian musical instruments that have been recovered from their tombs. These Egyptian instruments are now spread in museums and private collections throughout the world. Most of these instruments were found to be carefully and individually wrapped in cloth, before they were buried.

All these findings, together with the early historian writings of Egyptian musical heritage, as well as the traditions of modern Nile inhabitants, corroborate to provide the most authentic case of the musical history of Ancient Egypt.

The depicted musical scenes in Ancient Egyptian tombs, as well as instruments found from the Old and Middle Kingdoms, indicate ratios between the open strings of the harp, the densely ordered frets on the long necks of string instruments, as well as the measurements between the fingerholes in wind instruments that reveal/confirm:

1. Several types of musical scales.
   
   
2. Narrow-stepped scales were common from the earliest known Egyptian history (more than 5,000 years ago.
   
   
3. Playing and tuning techniques of string instruments to provide solo and chordal playing of instruments.
   
   
4. Playing techniques of wind instruments that provide small increments and organ effect.
   
   
5. The use of both the cyclic (up-and-down) method, and the divisive method.

The Ancient Egyptians were/are famed worldwide for their mastery of the playing techniques of their musical instruments. The skill of the Egyptians, in the use of these instruments, was affirmed by Athenaeus, who stated (in his texts [iv, 25]) that both the Greeks and “barbarians” were taught music by Egyptian natives.

The Musical Orchestras

Musical bands varied in Ancient Egypt. Smaller and larger ensembles were employed for various purposes, as evident from depicted musical scenes in the Ancient Egyptian buildings. It is sufficiently evident, from the sculptures of the Ancient Egyptians, that their musicians were acquainted with the triple symphony—the harmony of instruments, voices, and of voices and instruments. The playing of musical instruments was controlled by the conductors’ movements of hands (chironomids). Their hand signs show a variety of playing: unison, chord, polyphony, ...etc.

The Egyptian orchestra/ensemble consisted generally of the four instrument groups:

String instruments with open strings, like tri-gonon, lyre, harp, ...etc. String instruments with stopped strings on a neck, like the tanboura, guitar, oud/lute, etc. Wind instruments like the flute, pipe, double pipe, trumpet, etc. Percussion instruments like drums, clappers, bells, ...etc.

Egyptian Rhythm: The Heavenly Melodies by Moustafa Gadalla 240 pages, 5.5" x 8.5" List Price: $14.95 USD (paperback) $ 9.95 USD (eBook)