Reconstructed Ancient Egyptian Melody (1 of 2)

[lilmissmusic2012]

This is amazing!! What instrument is that, never saw it before in my life. :D

[Klezfiddle1]

@lilmissmusic2012 The instrument is a replica lyre - for all details on where to buy one, please see the "Blogs" section of my website (URL given on video annotation) where I have posted a blog entitled "How To Acquire a Lyre"

[abcedy123456]

This is vary interesting as I recently took up guitar. I closed my eyes and imagined my self at a banquet or a party 2000 years ago hearing these huanting melodys. Very interesting.

[PhuQuangLe111]

is this suppose to be tune to 432 hz

[nubihotepamun]

So beautiful, I love that sound!

[MartinRaetzJr]

Great job: research, arrangement and playing!

[hellspawn0391]

i like the way its made...the mix between the bass and the treble..i like the echo...muting thing...it looks easy and i can say that this song doesnt lie like today songs..

[Parisiangraffitis]

Hi

Incredible...I bought the same lyre yesterday.

Nice playing man, very impressive.

Thanks a lot for the "suggestion", I mean I was wondering if it was possible to use the left hand (I'm a guitarist)

How many strings on the model you own? (ten on mine)

To add some reverb was a great idea, but...not too much.(IMHO)

Bravo!

You are very talented.

Guy

[L00kng]

Awesome!!

[rawrmachine1]

Very Beautiful sounds...It seems to tell a story

[raisetheflag88]

Beautiful

[sigursiggi]

this is like listening to a ghost...unbelievably beautiful. thx for posting this.

[ROYALSUPRA]

very niice

[laitela01]

Listen to Nile lol

[allxtar]

@laitela01 Lol Fuck Yeah

[laitela01]

yea, seriously, it sounds like this.

[delvechick]

Wow! Great sound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kclee1960]

Nice !

[EasyMeditation]

Michael Levy´s music is great and can bring many feelings of the ancient beauty and art! Please watch the following video about ancient Greece made with his music:

/watch?v=g1cG8X3vBEE

Thanks. :-)

[carlinsanders]

Interesting sounds! Thanks for posting all the historical info too - I'd never heard of "chironomy" before.

[Klezfiddle1]

For more fascinating details and research, please see the "Historical Details" section of my new "ancientlyre" website - the URL is given on my Youtube Channel Page :)

[Lo2y11]

OMG Wonderful Sound :D

[Drakul1234]

I bet the original composer would have never guessed his/her music would last for thousands of years!

[niggasjit]

I can imagine it now.. some kid is listening to Metallica`s master of puppets in the year 5100 AD.. haha :) Its a weird thought, but it happened with this music.. why not with ours aswell in a way

[wimpie25]

@Drakul1234

We can only hope that no one will rediscover a recording of Lady Gaga in the year 4000....

[aporia82]

@wimpie25 perfect comment :))

[phr4nk3rd00d13]

@Drakul1234 and transmitted to people throughout the world by means of mysterious electronic devices and whatnot..

[PhoenixKyuketsuki]

Ahh, but this is only a part of a bigger song. It's like hearing half of a conversation here. Still, it is a miracle that even this has survived at all. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[Klezfiddle1]

I learnt this melody by ear from the recording, "Music of the Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians & Greeks", by "The Enemble De Organographia" ,available from Amazon - check it out for yourself, if you don't believe me...

[knoxvilleguy2]

Not meaning to be a " wet blanket ", but isn't there a lot of guesswork involed in knowing exactly how the ancient rythms & instruments sounded. In many cases, all we have to go on is how another culture - like the Greeks & Romans - interpreted these things.

BUT STILL this sounds very nice.

[crownsrage]

I have a Kinnor and it is pretty Cool that You can see the basics of the chord family easier than a Guitar. My Kinnor was only 185 Bucks.

[libersum]

Does this music know the secrets of pyramids building? Anyway, I guess ancient music will never be heard again in the way they played it!

[hairlessdog101]

what were the notes of the last chord you playe sounds like somthin scret chiefs uses

[ArcaneQuest4890]

Bad sound kills good music..

[brayharper]

Both the music and the istrument are pure conjecture... please make this clear

[S1587915G]

Did the Egyptians produce any written scores for their music, I wonder?

[Klezfiddle1]

The system of musical notation used in ancient Egypt was transmitted by a unique system of hand gestures called "chironomy", which were used to denote both the changes of pitch in any given musical mode, and also the ornamentation of the melody. We know some of the actual musical modes used, thanks to discoveries of ancient Egyptian flutes which were still playable! I think the 2 main musical modes discovered, was something similar to the natural minor & the minor pentatonic scales.

[leftysergeant]

The notes produced by pipes are less speculative than those produced by strings. Once you know the length of a string, you still need to know how tightly it was strung, what sort of string it was, its EXACT thickness, and average temperature and humidity of the region.The pitch of a pipe is purely a function of its length and diameter..Comparing the scale used in a twin pipe from the same excavation was also the method used to determine the scale in the reconstruction of the Golden Lyre of Ur.

[scratchmaster101]

actually, as amazing as it sounds. lots of instruments in ancient egyptian tombs are still strung and playable

[manoljo]

@Klezfiddle1 and of course 'chironomia' (Greek) roughly translated, is 'hand gesture' ;P

P.S. Keep practicing! Hope to hear more! ;)

[JaredChacon]

I like it! good job! and I love your harp, mabe I can get one someday

[Klezfiddle1]

The lyre I am playing is available from "Mid East Ethnic Instruments" for just $245! Just go to their website, type in "Kinnor Harp", and you can order one, from anywhere in the world. To hear what this lyre sounds like when recorded at studio quality (as opposed to this ugly noise, recorded with my crappy PC mic!), my 2 albums, "Lyre of the Levites" & King David's Lyre; Echoes of Ancient Israel" are available from cdbaby & Apple iTunes...all details on my Youtube Channel Page!

[pilomaya2012]

what a horrible noise?

[Klezfiddle1]

Unfortunately, I really overdid the reverb/volume levels here, on my VOX guitar amp...the result sounds rather more like Bacchus on LSD!! ;o)

[IsaacBickerstaffEsq]

Kemsa Hendrix!

[starpalm28]

r u just hitting random stuff?

[Klezfiddle1]

Well, quite a bit of "improvisation"...I just hope Osiris doesn't stike me down for taking a few liberties here! ;o)

[death2allfockers]

amazing how you can find these pieces

[Klezfiddle1]

I (rather poorly!) attempted to learn this melody by ear from an amazing recording, "Music of the Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians & Greeks", by "The Enemble De Organographia",available from Amazon.

[nani56]

very pretty...sounds beautiful!

[crazychris1345]

That instrument is a work of art. The acoustics are great on it as well, it sounds like it's hooked up to an amp.

[spanish111japan]

:o THIS IS REALLY ART!. WHATS THE NAME OF THE INSTRUMENT? :o SO BEAUTIFULL :O

[Klezfiddle1]

Glad you like it! The lyre I am playing in this video (& in my debut album, "King David's Lyre; Echoes of Ancient Israel") is a replica of the "Kinnor" : the 3000 year old 10-string Hebrew Temple lyre (as described by the first century Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius, who witnessed the services in the Temple of Jerusalem). The lyre is made by "Mid East Ethnic Instruments" for just $245!For details on how to order my CD of mystical, meditative lyre music, please visit my Youtube Channel Page.

[ConfusedLittleGirl11]

Very cool

[youssefdoukkala]

stupid do you really think that egyptian play with a non tuned insturment like you?

[Dadalama]

modern Egyptian music is very different from ancient Egyptian music. Modern Egyptian music is based on the 24 tet scale but the ancient Egyptian music is rather original. Possibly coming from Greece but there is evidence that Sumer may have been Greece's major influence. In any case I don't even believe alot of ancient music were based on temperaments at all. Just a long evolution of tones that went well together.

[youssefdoukkala]

I was talking about ancient Egyptian of course. and I still beleive that ancient music was like our music. they have gammes and rules, and they tuned surly their instrument before using it. there is a list 30 gammes in arabic music that came from the ancient time.

[Dadalama]

yeah they tuned it... probably better than we do now because it was more important to them. I'm just pretty sure it isn't based on the same intervals as ours. So it might sound out of tune because of that.

[youssefdoukkala]

They tuned their instruments like we do today, in fact we borrowed music rules form them.Their lute frets are like ours. they used fifth and fourth intervals. The western music is based on pythagorean scale (Major and Minor) pythagor took this scale from egypt as we took beer, wine bread mathematic and so on from them.

[Geetarfrik]

is the lyre tuned to the 'white notes'?

[therath94]

what kind of insterment is that?

[Klezfiddle1]

This amazing lyre is a replica of the ancient Jewish "Kinnor" - the lyre once played in the Temple of Jerusalem...& featured in my album "King David's Lyre; Echoes of Ancient Israel". Check out the purchase link on my Youtube profile page :o) This lyre is incredibly affordable, & manufactured by "Mid East Ethnic Instruments" for about $245! You can find their website on Google.

[raven8dragon]

We are talking SERIOUS goosebumps! I was looking for something inspiring, and your lyre-playing has left me spellbound. Equisite work!

[polzowatel]

its not a real sound, the sound went through microphone to one of DJs hardware, its fake

[Klezfiddle1]

No...I simply hooked the lyre up with a regular Leem acoustic guitar pickup, and added a bit of reverb (maybe a little too much reverb here!),from my VOX Valvetronix guitar amp. I jsut wanted to try and create an "ancient etherial effect", that's all!

[StarsintheRaven]

It doesn't sound fake at all, it is probably how it sounded in an roomy stone temple. :)

[mangokiwiorange]

i agree :o it sounds excuse, the corniness of the statement, but i sounds enchanting...magical almost :o

[manuelfisica]

Does anybody know the name of the instrument he is playing?

[Klezfiddle1]

The lyre is, in fact, a replica of the ancient "Kinnor"; the 3000 year old lyre once played in the Temple of Jerusalem! It is made by Mid East Manfacturing, & is available from anywhere in the world. For all details of how to order a copy of my debut album of mystical, meditative lyre music, please see my Youtube Channel Page...

[elbandero2006]

this sound like shit

[Blissfulguy]

This Guy mst b attain B.C.Light so He was Presence wth Mst of d Prophets,Lols!!!

[wingedlightning]

Lovely

[BombayRepertoire]

how epic can you get??

[burgos2406]

very nice

[powwowdoc]

The reverb issue really should not concern you. A balance is great but, remember that this music was often played inside buildings/structues whose acoustics would have mimicked the reverb effect. Your music is marvelous. I can't wait to buy the CD. Please keep walking this musical path.

[the0man0in0the0mask]

did the ancient egyptians have reverb and echo?

[Klezfiddle1]

Fair point...may Anubis strike me down!;o) Mercifully, in my more recent videos, I have cut the excessive reverb down to a suitably more subtle minimum. It is such a fine balance...without any reverb, the lyre sounds dull and percussive, lacking the essential ancient "etherial" sound I want, yet too much reverb, and it sounds like I'm playing it in my bathroom!

[skabudaw1]

dude u rockkkkk, do u have any other ancient Egyptian stuff, or even some lost Mrabian music

[Klezfiddle1]

Cheers! Check out my other anient Egyptian riffs on Youtube:"LYRE IMPROVISATION# 1 ON ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SCALE", "LYRE IMPROVISATION# 2 ON ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SCALE", and the promotional video, "KING DAVID'S LYRE;ECHOES OF ANCIENT ISRAEL(1of 5)" whihc features tow tracks from the CD...can I interest you in ordering a copy?;o)

[skabudaw1]

i think u could, how can i order one?

[Klezfiddle1]

The album should be out sometime in September - I'll contact you at your Youtube mailbox as soon as I get the first batch of CDs. Thank you for your interest!

[skabudaw1]

r u living in Israel?

[Klezfiddle1]

Unfortunately not - I'm stuck here in rainy ole' Manchester, UK! :o(

[thraciensis]

My friend. This is fascinating. You know the 9/8 tune of eastern mediterrenean music. There are some theories that this has evolved in ancient Babylon, Assyria & Egypt. What do you think? Thanks

[Klezfiddle1]

Glad you like my "Musical Adventures in Time Travel"! Unfortunately, I'm just a self-taught musician, and not a musicologist, so I can't properly answer your question; try contacting the extremely knowledgable John Wheeler, who runs the "teamim" channel on YT. My debut CD of solo lyre music, "King David's Lyre; Echoes of Ancient Israel" should be out by the end of October...SPREAD THE WORD!!;o)

[michael777live]

absolutly they could have used reverb and echo..many chambers have natural echo and reverb.many performers probably played in halls and chambers.thats where the concept came from to make units that can create reverbs and delays.thats why on the setting it says halls,chambers ect ect..they are duplicating what it would sound like playing in those places..

[Rykhart]

KOOOOOL!

[tscotty32]

crude but still carries that melodic sound. I can see how this was apart of the past long ago. Not overly impressed with its sound but for an instrument dating that far back its still very beautiful..

[Dadutta]

A haunting melody that leaves images of deserted egyptian temples, lost in time..

[654321654321]

very interesting, thanks you very much for sharing this music and the info about it.

i really like this music.

[anak1]

Great work Klezfiddle1! love watchin ur videos! It's so interesting to hear how music was perceived and played back in antiquity. Its strange, as just by hearing this music, u begin to grasp sense of the culture and society at the time: much more intensely and comprehensively than reading a dozen cold books on historical anthropology and sociology :) Thanks

[spazzy97502]

I must disagree with "RagingCaveman" as in thoes times it would have sounded much like that, harsh or no. They wouldn't have really had many "soft" sounds as they used a much different style string back then.

[zeforah]

Wow! That's cool! I love ancient Egypt!

[leftysergeant]

Someone mentioned that this might be a speculative interpretation, but, if so, it would seem well-based speculation. The whole piece does sound much like much of the North African music I have heard. I shall have to put this one in favorites, to listen to when I have had a challenging day.

[KaiseRex42]

Its good though a little sad? and you can imagine some ancient egyptians playing the lament too? Spooky!

[doumkatek]

I think it sounds pretty cool, thanks!

[Jassyyy]

Its wonderful, thx for upload this =)

[RagingCaveman]

If this is hat Egyptian music sounded like, the civilization wouldn't have lasted 4000 seconds, forget about 4000 years!!!! Oh my aching head!!! That song must be called the Codeine Song, cause after hearing it only codeine can umb the pain!!! i don't think they used a pick. It''s 2 handed plucking technique, much softer sound

[Klezfiddle1]

May I be struck down by Osiris!;o)Sorry you didn't like it.The use of a combination of plectrum/plucking techniques was in fact quite common though,as can be seen in countless ancient illustrations of lyre players,and indeed,the technique stopping certain strings to strum rhythm is still a techqnique heard by Egyptian lyre players today.The problem,is my cheap lyre and it's nylon strings...which are really too "bright" for the sound I really wanted,which can only be achieved on gut.

[RagingCaveman]

Ah ha! Nylon,,,, yuck...try steel wrapped nylon....makes anice warm sound. The strings are alitle thicker so they probably lend themselves beter to finger tip feel and the pick rolls off the string instead of "poinging" it.

PS: I was only busting your chops about the "severity" of the sounds. I find the subject of ancient music very intriguing, being a crappy keyboardist myself. :-)

[Austin007oo7]

god job. it was enchanting. way to go!!!!!!!

your friend from Jerusalem.

By the way, why don't you charge for the lessons.

[terrafirmaterrafirma]

Ummmmm, your opinion is after all, well, your opinion. Egyptians as the smart people they were would have created a smart music, which is precisely what we are hearing.

[jdm314]

I would consider this decypherment highly speculative at best, but damned if it doesn't sound fantastic!

[grapesoda4me420]

I loooove this~ I just want to hear more. (:

[Klezfiddle1]

Thanks!This humble little musical experiment is freely downloadable from my website - just go to my Youtube Channel page for the URL link to my Myspace site

[rakkav]

There is no chironomy there that I can see. Other murals, often in bas-relief, do have it -- again, see my Web site.

[Klezfiddle1]

It may have been the wrong photo - I just Google searched "Theban BanquetScene!"To quote the info from the CD I have,"Anon(c.14th c. BC).The painting depicts a scene of 4 rows of seated guests preparing to attend a banquet with guests on the left of each row displaying chironomy signs and instrumentalists on the right..."

[Klezfiddle1]

"...The signs,indicated by the various inclinations of the guests' arms apparently documents the rise & fall of the meldoy being played by the musicians..."

[Klezfiddle1]

"..Rhythm & mode are conjectural;the scale used here is taken from an extant 3-holed Egyptian vertical flute in playable condition"(quoted from description of Track 23,"Theban Banquet Scene",on the CD "Music of the Ancient Sumerians,Egyptians & Greeks",Ensemble De Organographia)

[Clockworkforest]

AWESOME! Much Thanks!

[teamim]

I've been wanting to get that recording for a long time. I guess I must now -- I knew Hans Hickmann had deciphered the Egyptian chironomy, but if enough information exists on the bas-reliefs to decipher a melody, that is news to me.

[Klezfiddle1]

I have just found a URL to a photo of the actual tomb painting depicting the chironomy used in the deciphering of this melody! I have now added this link in the details about this upload...are the hand gestures depicted in this painting, similar to the Te Amim chironomy?

[teamim]

I'm confused -- where do you have this link? Yes, the Egyptian gestures are similar in principle, but not identical in detail, to the reconstructed Hebrew gestures. The Egyptian 1st is like the Hebrew darga; the Egyptian 5th is like the Hebrew munach. The Egyptian set represents single notes, like the Hebrew sublinear accents do in SHV's key.

[Klezfiddle1]

I got the wrong link! I have now changed the link to your own fascinating article on chironomy...I just wish I could find a photo of the ACTUAL Theban Banquet Scene from which this melody was apparently derived,(according to the information I got from the CD recording I have of this tune,that is).Do you know of any possible links to this particular tomb painting?

[teamim]

Esther Lamandier's official Web site apparently has some photo samples from the original bas-relief (in her own page on chironomy), but not the entire mural. Be aware: her Web site is in French, with no English translations. My page has a B&W drawing based on that mural, I believe.

[FrenchVanilla32]

Seriously where do you get your music! I love it! Definintly Egyptian.

[Klezfiddle1]

Glad you like my latest little home-spun musical experiment in "Time Travel"! I learn most of the stuff I play by ear, from recordings available from Amazon - this piece was on a CD I found on there,called "Music of the Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians & Greeks" by Ensemble De Organographia

[teamim]

As noted: next on my shopping list! On my Web site I have a chart of the Egyptian chironomy and another of how harmony is illustrated by it. But neither Hans Hickmann nor Lise Manniche ever mentioned melody. De O.'s work may be an evocation, not a true decipherment -- I'll have to check!

[teamim]

Meanwhile, nice work. I think the Egyptian temple musicians would kick you out, though, and tell you to find a good dance band somewhere (there were plenty of those) -- the music as portrayed on the murals is quite reserved by comparison (all finger technique).

[teamim]

Sorry to chat so much - I mean on the mural you describe. Hickmann had deciphered an eleven-degree pentatonic scale, and the mural at Thebes is based on it. The three degrees on the flute would match one of the possible pentatonic modes -- three degrees of it.

[Klezfiddle1]

What notes would make up this pentatonic scale,say transposing everything into a petantonic scale starting on G?Would it be GACDEGACDE,and if so, which note of the 11 notes would be equivalent to our modern understanding of the "tonic" note?

[rakkav]

Equivalent to the descending scale E"-C"-D"-A"-F'-E'-C'-D'-A'-F-E­. All the A's are tonics, all the E's are 5ths. Look up "Chironomy in the Ancient World" on my Web site (address located in the "teamim" and "rakkav" channel descriptions).

[rakkav]

My mistake -- there is no chironomy that I can see on the mural you point to, although there are plenty of murals that illustrate it.