VII. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 165 



756. Chromatic Pianoforte, peculiarly constructed key- 

 board, in which the keys are distinguished by different colours. 

 Intended to facilitate the playing in the different major and minor 

 keys. Mrs. Read. 



757. Models of several Ancient Egyptian Pipes, the 



originals of which are in the Egyptian Museum at Turin or in the 

 British Museum. Those from Turin are copied in brass, and 

 those from the British Museum in cane. 



W. Chappell, F.S.A. 



The original pipes were found in Egyptian tombs, some examples being as 

 old as the fourth or fifth dynasty of Egypt. They were played upon by 

 means of a cut or split piece of reed or of straw inserted in the end, as was 

 usual with ancient shepherds' pipes, and much in the manner of the modern 

 hautboy or bagpipe reeds. Parts of the ancient reed or straw remain within 

 one of the pipes in the British Museum, and in another at Turin. Usually a 

 fresh long piece of reed or straw was laid in the tomb by the side of the pipe, 

 and it may be assumed that the object was to supply the dead man with a 

 stock of those perishable inciters of tone in order to play upon his pipe when 

 he awoke. Examples of the straws or reeds so deposited are included in the 

 Museum at Leyden and in the British Museum. 



The pipes selected for copying were those which varied in length and in the 

 number of finger holes, so as to obtain varieties of pitch, and varieties of the 

 prehistoric scales. Through the kind assistance of Dr. W. II. Stone, himself 

 an accomplished player upon reed instruments, the following have been 

 ascertained. 



1. Pipe from Turin 14|- inches long, with six finger holes. Scale 



This is the scale of E major, but only extending to six notes. It lacks the 

 addition of D 4fc an( i E to complete the octave. The fundamental note, or tone 

 of the whole pipe, was not obtained. 



2. The longest pipe from Turin, 23f inches, but with only three holes. 

 The scale is 



This forms a Diatessaron, or Fourth from B-flat to E-flat, therefore one note 

 below our C D E F in pitch. In order to obtain the notes from this pipe, it 

 was found necessary to lower the reed into the pipe, as in the drone of a 

 bagpipe. It extends three inches down the tube. 



3. A pipe in the British Museum, copied in cane. It has four holes, and is 

 8f inches in length. The scale is a Diatessaron or Fourth, exactly one note 

 above the last, but with an F sharp added to it at the top. Possibly this 

 F sharp may have been intended for a G to make a Fifth. 



