Instrumentology 3106-1INSTR-F

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This lecture focuses on musical instruments: their history, the rich variety of types, and their construction and use. It also provides an overview of various classification methods and an insight into the development of general classification systems. Main topics:

1. The oldest known musical instruments and sound tools.

2. Criteria for classifying instruments – cultural variations.

3. The question of the general systematics of musical instruments in the history of European science at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (including the scholarly interests of the authors of the main concepts, such as Victor-Charles Mahillon, Curt Sachs and Erich von Hornbostel).

4. The structure of the Sachs-Hornbostel systematics (with a discussion of examples of its particular elements) and its advantages as an open system (including an example of regional systematics).

5. The musician and his instrument (including examples of a strong emotional bond, and examples of identification shaped by tradition).

The lecture is illustrated with audio examples and images.

Supplementary reading and required reading will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

In the 2026–2027 academic year, classes will take the form of lectures. Successful completion of the course is based on attendance and the results of a written test on the material discussed in the lectures and the specified required reading.