Wind instruments

The ''aulos'' (clarinet & oboe)

          It was the most important ancient Greek wind instrument that was used in almost all private and public ceremonies, in athletic competitions, in processions and in performances of tragedy. It had orgiastic character and was associated with the worship of the god Dionysus.

         It consisted of a cylindrical pipe (of cane, boxwood, bone mainly the tibia of a deer, ivory, wood mainly lotus, copper or their combination) and by a bulbous wooden mouthpiece. Sometimes the pipe was constituted by two or three sections or had two or three bulbs socketed together aiming at the change of pitch via fluctuation of the section lengths of the aulos. The reed was fitted onto the mouthpiece. The single-reed type was achieved with a lateral cut along the side of a small cane (one end of which was closed) so that it created a thin blade which was excited and beat by blowing (as in the modern clarinet). The double-reed type was achieved by two thin blades (with the flattening of special thin wild cane from Lake Copais) that beat against each other when blown (as in the modern oboe). The holes of the aulos were usually seven, with an additional one towards the end for the production of another octave.

         The Thiben virtuoso Pronomus (~400 B.C.) devised pipes with many holes and rotatable collars for the opening and the closure of certain holes giving the possibility of producing several different modal scales.  The "aulete" placed the mouthpiece on his lips (with the reed completely enclosed by his mouth) and skilfully blew with force, pressing his lips suitably and covering the corresponding holes with his fingers producing the desired notes.

SOURCES: "M.L. West, Ancient Greek Music", "Curt Sachs, The History of Musical Instruments", "Julius Pollux, Onomasticon", "Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistai", "Aristotle, (Musical) Problems".

The ''diaulos'' (double-aulos)

          It was the most popular ancient Greek wind instrument. It consisted of two diverging pipes, suspended at their base. Each pipe had a separate mouthpiece and reed (single or double). In the unequal in length "auloi", one played the melody while the other "supported" it. In the equal in length "auloi", playing in the same register, a richer sound was achieved.

       The "aulete" with great virtuosity, using circular breathing and blowing hard, achieved the harmonisation and the marvellous assonance of the two "auloi". Often, he wore a kind of leather strap, the "phorbeia", that went across his mouth (with two holes for the pipes), the cheeks and to the back of his head. Sometimes it was tied to an additional strap going over the top of his head for secure suspension.

       The "diaulos" with its rich, intensely sentimental, rhythmical and penetrating sound was capable of accompanying choruses consisting of tens of men all on its own.

SOURCES: "M.L. West, Ancient Greek Music", "Curt Sachs, The History of Musical Instruments", "Julius Pollux, Onomasticon", "Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistai", "Aristotle, (Musical) Problems".

The ''askaulos'' (bagpipe)

         It was a wind instrument (forerunner of the bagpipe) that gave the aulete the possibility to play without breath-pauses. It consisted of one to four pipes (with reeds) fitted onto a bag made from the entire skin of a small animal or the bladder of a larger one. The bag was used as an air reservoir that inflated at the player's will by blowing (through a cane blowpipe which had a non-return leather valve) or with foot-powered bellows. The player kept his bag under his arm pressing it so as to maintain constant air pressure. One (or two) of the pipes played the melody ("chanter") which the player fingered, while the others were drones, producing a continuous note.

SOURCES: "M.L. West, Ancient Greek Music", "Curt Sachs, The History of Musical Instruments", "Julius Pollux, Onomasticon", "Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistai", "Aristotle, (Musical) Problems".

The ''salpinx'' (trumpet)

          It was a wind instrument which due to its exceptional sonority was usually used for giving signals to a large crowd or at a distance (up to ten kilometres). It was particularly suitable for giving the starting signals in athletic competitions, signals for co-ordination in teamwork and military commands. More seldom, they were used for ritual and clearly musical purposes.

          The Greek salpinx (trumpet), known since the years of Homer, consisted of a long, straight tube of narrow, cylindrical bore (roughly 90 cm) that ended in a prominent tulip-shaped bell. It was usually copper with a bone or metal mouthpiece. The Anatolian salpinx (trumpet) consisted of a simple pipe of conical form.

         The trumpeter usually wore a strap "phorbeia" and applied his mouth on the mouthpiece. The sound was produced with a direct blow into the mouthpiece and a suitable lip and tongue technique. The produced sound was acute metallic and penetrating. Different sound production was possible for the different commands that were to be transmitted.

SOURCES: "M.L. West, Ancient Greek Music", "Curt Sachs, The History of Musical Instruments", "Julius Pollux, Onomasticon", "Aristotle, On Acoustics", "Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistai".

The ''keras'' or ''bykani'' (horn)

         It was a natural trumpet (also known as the poor man's trumpet) that was created from the horn of an animal. It was mainly used by shepherds and armies for the transmission of messages.

     It consisted of a perforated conical horn from which the bone core was removed and then baked in order to improve its sonority. The sound was produced with direct blow in the hole and the suitable lip technique.

SOURCES: "M.L. West, Ancient Greek Music", "Plutarch, Histories", "Aristotle, Natural Hearing".