PRIMITIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE 
DENISON COLLECTION 
KARL H. ESCHMAN 
The collection of primitive musical instruments at present 
located in the building of the Conservatory of Music, Denison 
University, although small in number, includes all the main types 
of instrumental evolution. It is the result of miscellaneous 
gifts of alumni from mission fields. The fact that this collec- 
tion so completely illustrates a brief outline of the subject, 
it is thought, should encourage other colleges with departments 
of music, to begin collections of like character. ^ In addition, it is 
hoped that a description of some of the specimens may be of 
interest to students of the subject. 
With the aid of certain ethnological principles, and by methods 
not unlike those used in the classification by distribution, of 
fossil remains in strata of different periods, an order of evolution 
of musical instruments has been formulated, which may be ac- 
cepted in general. In determining the priority of instrumental 
types, we are hindered by the nature of the materials them- 
selves. However, by collecting instruments from tribes which 
represent all stages of civilization existing at present, we can 
secure, of course, illustrations of many periods of construction. 
It is this fact which adds to the interest of any collection, what- 
ever the age of the particular instruments themselves. There 
have been two opposing theories of priority: one starting with 
the percussion type, and the other favoring the pipe or horn type. 
Both types are so simple as to need little ingenuity for construc- 
tion. Handclapping would easily lead to the beating of objects 
together, and shouting through the hands would be followed by 
1 The splendid collections at the University of Michigan, Yale, and Penn- 
sylvania, as well as that at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, are based upon 
the gift of a single large private collection. 
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