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In a study based on the MEG collection, published in 1919, the anthropologist and doctor Georges Montandon attempted to trace the origins and descent of musical instruments throughout the world. He grouped the instruments in ensembles, presented as plates of photographs and drawings. The study ends with a geographical sketch map showing the distribution of different types of instruments across the world.
As the study was read in scientific circles, the MEG’s instrument collection, classified in this manner, was widely quoted and used by researchers working on rational classification. The diffusionist approach was later abandoned to the benefit of comparative organology and contextual inventories.
The sound of stringed instruments depends on several factors, the main two being the material used for the strings (metal, plant fibres, leather, nylon, etc.) and the way they are played (plucked, bowed or struck). The greatest diversity of string instruments is found in Africa and some, such as the harp lute are specific to that continent. In various parts of Asia, the development of particularly rich musical repertoires is closely related to the development of instrument making. The vielle, a bowed stringed instrument, is emblematic of numerous musical traditions in Europe, where the instrument varies in shape and name.
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