INSTRUMENT. 



otaaments, as vafes, paterae, candlefticks, knives, &c. where- 

 wich the viftims were killed, &c. inttances of which we fee 

 in a Corinthian frieze in the remains of a temple behind the 

 Capitol at Rome, Sec. 



Instrument is alfo ufed, in Law, to fignify feme public 

 aft, or authentic deed, by means whereof any truth is made 

 apparent, or any right or title ellabUfhed, in a court of juf- 

 tice; 



Instrument, primarily denoting writing, charter, or 

 record, is fomclimes ufed by Latin writers for the Old and 

 New Teftamcnt. It occurs feveral times in TerluUian, 

 reckoned the moll ancient Latin writer of the church now 

 remaining. He calls the Gofpels, or the New Teftament 

 in general, the Evangelic Inilrument, ;ind fays, " how large 

 chafms Marcion has made in the epiflle to the Romans, by 

 leaving out what he pleafes, may appear from one entire In- 

 flrument," or one unaltered copy of the New Teftament, 

 particularly of that epillle. Speaking of the flicpherd of 

 Hermas, he fays, it was not reckoned a part of the Divine 

 Indrument ; thereby meaning, as it feems, the New Tefta- 

 ment, He calls the law and the prophets the Jewifh inllru- 

 ments, that is, ^Yritings or fcripturcs. He fpeaks of the 

 antiquity of the Jewifli inllruments, or fcripturcs. He 

 feems in one place (Apol. cap. iS.) to ufe the word iiiftru- 

 ment as equivalent to fcripturcs, containing the doftrine of 

 revelation, or the revealed will of God. Lardner. 



In.strumext, in Mufic, is a generical term, under which 

 all artificial bodies, capable of producing and varying mufical 

 founds in imitation of the voice, are comprehended. Every 

 body capable of agitating the air by fome ihock, and excit- 

 ing by its vibrations in this agitated ftate imdulations fuffi- 

 ciently frequent, may produce found ; and all bodies capa- 

 ble of accelerating or retarding ihefe undulations may vary 

 their fo\mds. See Sounds. 



There are three ways of producing found by inftruments: 

 by the vibration of ftrings, b)- the vibration of elaftic bodies, 

 and by the collition of air inclofed in pipes. The invention 

 of thefe inftruments will be confjdered at the word Music. 



Inftruments are generally clalFfd under the three following 

 heads; ftrlnged-iiiftruments, wind-inltruments, and inftru- 

 ments of percuffion. The ftringed-inftruments of the an- 

 cients were very numerous. Thofe moft known were the 

 following : the lyra, pfalterium, trigonum, fambuca, cithe- 

 ra, pectis, magadis, barbiton, teftudo, epigonium, fimrai- 

 cum, epandoron, &c. All thefe inftruments were touched 

 with the fingers or played with a plectrum. 



f heir principal wind-inftruraents were the tibia, fiftula, 

 taba, cornu, htuus, hydraulicon, &c. 



Their inftruments of percuffion were the tympanum, cym- 

 baluni, crepitaculum, tinlinnabulum, crotalum, &c ; but 

 many of thefe are monotonous, and only render one found. 



Of moft of thefe ancient inftruments reprefentatiolis on 

 plates have been given (Hift. Muf. vol. i.) from drawings 

 made at Rome under our own eye, and under the guidance 

 of. Piranefi, and Mefirs. Jenkins, Morrifon and Byers, the 

 beft antiquaries at Rome in 1770 ; with a defcription and au- 

 thorities for their local fituation at the time. 



The beil books on the fubjeft of ancient mufical inftru- 

 ments, and the moft wortliy of being confulted, are Blanchini 

 de Tribus Generibuslnftrumentorum VeterumOrganica ; Ga- 

 biuelto Armonica, del Bonanni ; Bartblinus de Tibiis Ve- 

 torum ; and Eifais fur la Mufique par M. Laborde ; who 

 has given reprefcntations vc-ry neatly engraved of the mufical 

 inftruments during tlie middle and lower ages, from illumina- 

 tipjB in ancifjnt MSS. of the Bibl. Royale at Paris in 1780; 

 wnrch, 'if the wifti to render their delineation pidturefque lu.d 

 not a little injured their fidelity, would be invaluable. 



Instruments, Mufual, of the AbyfTinians, from i 

 Bruce, the authenticity of whofe account feems to t- 



>nger 



doubted, we {hall 



from his letter inf 



Burney's General Hiftory of Mufic, vol. i. 



" There are fix mufical inftruments known in Abyf;" 

 the flute, the trumpet, the kettle-drum, the tambour 

 the fittrum, and the lyre. 



" The foiir firft are ufed in war, and are by much the 1 

 common ; the fifth is dedicated to the fervice of the chuvtl. , 

 and the fixth is peculiarly an attendant on feftivrty and re- 

 joicings. 



" There are two principal languages in Abyfiiiiia, the 

 jEtliiopic, « lilch is the literal, or dead language ; and the 

 Amharic, or language of Anihara, fpoken by the court. 



" The flute, in the iEthiopic, is called A'carfs;, a word dif- 

 ficult to be written or founded in Englifh ; in the Amharic, 

 it is called Agada : it is about the fliape and fize of the 

 German flute, but played upon lo.ng-ways, with a nRouth- 

 piece refembling that of the claiinet ; its tone is not loud, 

 but accompanied with a kind of jar, like a broken hautbois ; 

 not owing to any accidental defect, but to conftruftion and 

 defign, as it would not be efteemed without it. 



" The kettle-drum is called in both languages Nagareet, 

 becaufe all proclamations are made by the found of this 

 drum (thefe are called Nagar), if made by governors, thej 

 have the force of laws in their provinces ; but if made b-y 

 the king, they are for all Abyffinia. The kettle-drum is 

 a mark of fovereign power : whenever the king promotes a 

 fubjeft to be governor, or his lieutenant-general in a pro- 

 vince, he gives him a kettle-drum, and Itandard as his in- 

 veftiture. The king has forty-five of thefe drums always 

 beating before him when lie marches. They are in (hape 

 and fize like our's, only they are braced very difadvantage- 

 oufly ; for the llcin is ilraiiied over the outer rim, or lip of 

 tlic drum, and brought a third down its outfide, which 

 deadens it exceedingly, and deprives it of that clear, me- 

 tallic found which our's has. Each man has but a fingle 

 drum, upon the left fide of his mule, and beats it with a 

 crooked tiick, about three feet long. Upon the whole, its 

 found is not difagreeable, and I have heard it at an iacrcdihle 

 diftance. 



"The third inftrument is the fmall drum, called Kabaro, 

 in iEthiopic and Amharic ; though in fome parts of Am- 

 hara it is alfo called Hatamo. It is about half the diameter, 

 and twice the length of our common drum ; it is juft the 

 tambourine of Provence, only rounded to a point at the 

 lower end. This is beaten always with the hand, and car- 

 ried fometimes on foot, fcmetimes on horfcback, when any 

 inferior officer (not having a Na?areet) marches. 



"The trumpet is called Meieketa, or Mcieket ; and Kenft 

 ill Amharic, but Keren in iEthiopic (or horn) ; which 

 Ihews of what materials it was anciently formed. It is 

 now made of a cane that has lefs than half an inch aperture, 

 and about five feet four inches in length. To tliis long 

 ftalk \i fixed at the end a round piece of the neck of a 

 gourd, which has juft the form of the round end of our 

 trumpet, and is on the outfide ornamented with fmall white 

 fhtUs ; it is all covered over w ith parchment, and is a very 

 neat inftrument. This trumpet founds only one note, E, in 

 a loud, lioarfe, and terrible tone. It is played flow when' 

 on a march, or before an enemy appears in fight ; but after- 

 wards it is repeated very quick, and with great violence, 

 and has the eft'ect upon the Abyifinian foldiers of tranfport- 

 ing them abfolutely to fury and madnefs, and of making 

 them fo regardlcfs of life, as to tiirow themfelves in the 

 middle of the enemy, which they do with great gallantry, 

 I have often iji time of peace tried what effect tliis charge 



would 



