Our Instruments
What instruments were used in the Renaissance and what makes them different from modern versions?
Renaissance music (15th-17th centuries) was written for a wide range of instruments, each designed for a particular purpose. Some were built to be heard across city streets and through the din of outdoor celebrations. Others were meant to blend with voices in churches, courts, or private homes. Instead of categorizing them as we do modern instruments (ie. strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion), Renaissance instruments were categorized by their function or purpose.
This guide explains what these instruments are, how they work, and what to listen for.
Loud Instruments: Reeds and Brass
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Shawm
The shawm is part of a long double reed tradition that can be traced back to ancient Egypt, appearing in many cultures (related instruments are…
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Dulcian
The dulcian (also called bajón or curtal) was developed in the mid-16th century as an attempt to make a portable and flexible double reed instrument…
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Sackbut
The sackbut is the direct ancestor of the modern trombone, and is the Renaissance wind instrument most similar to its modern descendant in both sound…
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Slide Trumpet
The slide trumpet developed from the natural trumpet around the beginning of the 15th century. Its movable mouthpipe created four acoustical positions, allowing a diatonic…
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Straight Trumpet (Buisine)
Trumpets have existed since before 1500 BC. Before the development of slides or valves, players could change pitch only by adjusting their lip tension (called…
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Bagpipe
The bagpipe design—attaching a reed to a pipe and placing it into an airtight bag—dates back to ancient Sumeria and Greece and has appeared in…
Soft Instruments: Chamber Playing
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Recorder
The recorder, known from at least the 14th century, is a duct flute, meaning air is directed through an internal channel at the mouthpiece. Instruments…
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Flute
In the Renaissance, both the recorder and the side-blown flute were called “flutes.” The latter is now sometimes called the transverse flute. Renaissance flutes have…
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Krumhorn
The krumhorn (“curved horn”) has a distinctive buzzing sound, which comes from a large, thick double reed enclosed inside a wooden cap. Because the player…
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Douçaine
Historical sources refer to a quiet double reed instrument often described as the “still shawm,” but no examples were known until 1982, when King Henry…
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Hurdy-Gurdy
Aside from the organ, the hurdy-gurdy is the earliest of all mechanical instruments. Turning a crank rotates a wheel that continuously vibrates the strings, like…
Plucked Strings: Court, Home, and Theater
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Lute
One of the most aristocratic instruments of Renaissance Europe, the lute developed from the Arabic oud (meaning “wood”), first brought to Spain by the Moors.…
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Renaissance Guitar
Strongly associated with Spain and popular across social classes, the Renaissance guitar accompanied dances and theatrical performances. Much smaller than the modern guitar, it typically…
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Theorbo
By the end of the 16th century, the invention of opera and the desire for a more bass-heavy lute brought about the creation of the…
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Cittern
The cittern uses wire strings and is played with a pick (plectrum), producing a bright tone similar to a harpsichord or banjo. Introduced to England…
Percussion
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Tambourine, String Drum, Pipe and Tabor
The tambourine, with double rows of jingles, is played in the traditional hand-drumming style found in the Middle East–centuries old and still used today. Sometimes…
Support Our Instruments
Piffaro’s “instrumentarium” is unique and one of the band’s defining traits. Your contribution to the Instrument Fund underwrites the purchase, maintenance, and related costs of our instruments, without which there would be no Piffaro!