(Astigan) – People did always find a strong interest in the sound. At the beginning it was merely a simple curiosity which had religious substance and it was far from being called music. Prehistoric humans invoked different sounds and organized them in a more or less coherent shirr to go along with their religious rituals. As the human comprehension of sound evolved the first ‘compositions’ were made, thus the founding pillars of music were established.

Through time the skill of arranging sounds in a thoughtful way has become a prestigious art, one which could easily be enjoyed. Now the sounds could enkindle emotions, they could influence the inner state of their listener and had the power to entertain. It has established itself into one of the most important arts in the ancient world. The Greeks were the first to actually write music by elaborating a system which enabled to compose music on ‘paper’.

Another step was taken when they invented the first musical instrument ‘played without a player’. This device could create its own music with no human influence. It was called the Aeolian harp. Built by the Greeks probably in the fifth century BC it represents the first automatic instrument in history.

The harp got its name from the Greek god Aeolus, the ruler of winds, and with a good reason. The instrument is basically a wooden box which has two bridges connected by strings. The strings are all of the same lengths but can vary in thickness and, very importantly, tuning. It was placed near an open window so the wind currents could pass over the string goading random compositions. Varying pitches could be produced thanks to the diversity of the strings or the power of the wind. The later is responsible also for the intensity of the sound which could range from being barely audible to loud.

What the ancient Greeks invented was not quickly forgotten. During the Romantic Era, the harp of Aeolus was very popular. This is not the case for today as the music industry has evolved from automatic to digital and instead of these devices we use radios or others made for home entertainment. In any case, the Aeolian harp can still be found as there are amateur manufacturers who traditionally forge the first automatic instrument in history.

Written by Vlad Jecan