For this month’s installment of "Gorean Music" I thought I’d offer some of My thoughts on Gorean instrumentation. I see most of Gor as sort of medieval. There certainly are areas of tremendous advances in science, but in the main, life seems to go in a way Earth was pre-renaissance. I expect musical style; instruments and construction would reflect this.

For example, flutes are mentioned. Theoretically, that could a flute like we see today; played by means of opening and closing valves. But, I do not think so. I believe it to be a flute played for many hundreds (if not thousands) of years that we call the "recorder". The instrument’s pitch is changed by opening and closing holes in its body with one’s fingers. There is significant difference in sound between the two instruments. The level of technological development in their construction is much more dramatic. Trumpets are also referred to in the books. I do not see these as coronets, complicated instruments of drilled valves opening and closing complex passageways. Rather, I imagine them as the large coiled tubes (tuba) of ancient Rome. Pitch could be controlled to a limited degree by the tightness of the lips, like a bugle.

Could Gorean manufacturing design, develop, construct and distribute instruments with springs, pads, plungers, arms and levers? I’m sure that they probably could. Would they see a need to do so? I do not think so. Can I support that judgment from any text found within the books? Not for all the tea in Bazi. Such instruments just do not "feel" Gorean to Me, somehow. Still, however basic I believe the instruments of Gor to be constructed, I do not want you to think that I consider Gorean music "primitive". I most certainly do not! Remember that most of these musicians live for 300 or 400 years. I’m sure that they spend much of that time perfecting their craft.

As for Myself, I have spent many hours researching ancient and medieval instruments. I have investigated scales and practiced the few musical techniques known to be in use in Earth’s long distant past. Much of this information has been lost to time, of course. So much of what has been found is also incomplete. Fortunately, there are much wiser heads than mine pursuing this very same knowledge (although for very different reasons). And, it could be argued; a thing being a certain way on Earth 2,000 years ago doesn’t necessarily mean that it is that way on Gor. That is un-deniable; all of this only gives Me a starting point.

This month’s piece is Lara_10. I named it that because it was the tenth attempt I made trying to imagine the sort of music I might hear there. The people I have met from Online Lara seem to think it’s reasonably close, but then I’m KoRoBan and they might just be pretending <grin>.

I do wish you all well

Strummer

A Musician in the Caste of Entertainers

Koroban@mailcity.com

lara10.mid (midi 5.4KB - 5,537 bytes)

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