Myths and Legends of Music

From ancient times, with the help of music, they entered into a trance, sent messages to the deities, lit the hearts of the music for battle and, through the harmony of notes, established peace between the warring parties, recognized melody in love. Legends and legends about music brought to us from the depth of centuries many interesting things.

Myths about music are quite widespread among the ancient Greeks, but we will tell you from their mythology only one story, a story about the appearance of flutes on Earth.

The myth of Pan and his flute

One day, the goat-footed god of forests and fields, Pan met the beautiful naiad Syringu and loved her. But the maiden was not thrilled with the courtship of a cheerful disposition, but the terrible face of the forest god and ran away from him. Pan ran after him, and he almost managed to catch her, but Syringa prayed to the river to hide her. Thus, the beautiful maiden turned into a reed, and the sad Pan cut off the stem of this plant and made a multi-barreled flute from it, which in Greece is called the name of the naiad, Syringa, and we have this musical instrument known as Pan's flute or reed pipe. And now in the forests of Greece you can hear the sad sound of a reed flute, which sometimes looks like the wind, sometimes the baby’s cry, sometimes the tune of a female voice.

There is another legend about flute and love, this story was part of the tradition of the Indian people of the Lakota tribe, and now it has become the province of all Indian folklore.

Indian legend of flute and love

Native American boys, even if they were fearless warriors, could be shy to go up to the girl to admit their feelings to her, and on top of that, there was no time or place for wooing: the whole family lived with the girl, and the people in love could be eaten animals or kill white people. Therefore, the young man had at his disposal only the dawn hour, when the girl was walking on the water. At this time, the young man could go out and play on a pimak flute, while his chosen one could only give an embarrassed glance and nod. Then, in the village, the girl had the opportunity to identify the boy using the game technique and choose her husband, therefore this instrument is also called the flute of love.

There is a legend which says that once a woodpecker taught a hunter to make a pimak flute, and the wind showed what beautiful melodies can be extracted from it. There are other legends about music that tell us about the transfer of feelings without words, for example, the Kazakh legend about the dombra.

Kazakh legend of music

He lived an evil and cruel Khan, whom everyone feared. This tyrant loved only his son and protected him in every way. And the young man was very fond of hunting, despite all the admonitions of his father that this is a very dangerous occupation. And one day, having gone on a hunt without servants, the guy did not return. Saddened and upset, the ruler sent his servants to search for his son with the words that he would flood the throat with molten lead to the one who brought the sad news. And the servants left in horror to look for their son, and found him torn by a wild boar under a tree. But thanks to the stableman's advice, the servants took with them a wise shepherd who made a musical instrument and played a sad melody to the khan, which was understandable without words about the death of his son. And the ruler had no choice but to pour molten lead into the hole of the deck of this tool.

Who knows, maybe some myths about music are based on real events? After all, it is worth remembering the legends about harpists, who healed their mortally sick rulers with their music and the present time, when such a branch appeared in alternative medicine, like harp therapy, the beneficial effect of which was confirmed by science. In any case, music is one of the wonders of human existence, which is worthy of legends.

Watch the video: Myths and Legends: All Music Used (April 2024).

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