Scan 131
The American history and encyclopedia of music, 1908
12 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1BONES — Sonorous Substances. Europe. Four pieces of the ribs of horses or oxen held in the hand, and struck together for the purpose of marking time in accompaniment to the voice or another instrument. Bones are of ancient use in England, and are alluded to by Shakespeare in the fourth act of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," as forming one means of rustic music. In figures described by Inigo Jones for the court masques, a character is represented playing upon the knicky-knackers of bone or wood. The term "knicky-knackers" used by the country folk may have had its origin in the name "Nakerer," for in Strutt's Sports and Pastimes a payment is recorded as being made to Janino C. Nakerer, one of the minstrels of Edward II. The minstrels frequently indulged in burlesque music, and Janino may have performed upon the bones.
3A rude instrument composed of several bones hung on a cord and played by rubbing with a stick was formerly used in Madeira to accompany the guitar. The name refers to castanets at times.
5BONYA — See banya.
7BOWED ZITHER or STREICH-ZITHER — Bowed Strings. Europe. As the name signifies, a form of zither played with a bow. The resonance box is heart-shaped and has a fretted finger-board across it. There are four strings, tuned like those of the violin. The instrument may be played as the zither proper. It is made in three sizes; treble, alto and bass. Because it lacks volume of tone, the streich-zither is quite unimportant. See zither.
9Box FIDDLE — See trapezoid fiddle.
11BUCCINA — Cup Mouthpiece. Ancient Rome. This was one of the instruments used by the Roman army. It was doubtless used by the infantry as distinguished from the lituus used by the cavalry. The bore was cylindrical, gradually expanding into a bell. The tube was curved to nearly a circle with the bell resting upon the shoulder of the player. The instrument is found depicted in many bas-reliefs of the period and during the excavations at Pompeii,
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.