The Aulos

   For today's blog, we are going to be looking at the Aulos, a wind instrument played by the ancient Greeks. The Aulos, one of the most commonly played instruments, was performed at festivals, in birth and death processions, athletic games, social occasions, theatre performances and private drinking parties. This instrument was played at athletic competitions to help keep the athlete's exercises in rhythm. The instrument was often made from bone, cane, ivory and occasionally with metals such as copper or bronze. The design of the instrument contained two or three mouthpieces to control the pitch and sound was produced by blowing and vibrating the reeds within the mouthpieces. Down the length of the pipe were seven holes with sometimes the eighth hole to give the instrument another octave of notes. Two Auloi were usually stuck together at the mouthpiece to create a more vibrant sound, and so the player could produce a double melody. A male chorus usually accompanied an aulete (player) because the music was very rhythmic and penetrating. However, around 400 BCE, Aulos players from Thebes are recognized for inventing rings and keys made from silver and bronze which could open and close the various holes located in the central part of the instrument. This invention functioned a lot like the keys we see on modern wind instruments today such as the clarinet or flute. Though the Aulos was invented before 400 BCE, it was the Theban's invention that helped transform the Aulos into what looks like the standard instruments we know today. Well, that is all folks, catch you next blog.