Modern Methods Re-create Ancient Sounds

Some super heavyweight computing power rests at the foundation of a project dedicated to rocking the tunes old school style. Really, really old school: first and second century A.D., in fact.

As reported at ScienceDaily, the ASTRA (Ancient instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application) team is well on their way to virtually re-creating a suite of musical instruments that, in physical form, have been lost to us for centuries.

Archaeological evidence combined with massive calculating capacity of networked computers working in tandem are bringing these ancient instruments back to life, and soon, to stage.

Conceptually, string, reed and brass instruments are familiar to us, but the exact construction of these ancient Greek instrument are as alien to us as some of their names: the barbiton, the aulos, the salpinx. Examples of these instruments found through archaeological excavation provide enough clues to the nature of their material, construction and geometry to artificially model the sounds that they would produce.

Modeling of the epigonion (a stringed instrument) is complete; the salpinx (brass) and the aulos (double reed, as with an oboe) are next in line for completion, hopefully by the end of the summer.

The computation involved in re-creating the sounds of these lost instruments comes through the participation and support of EGEE, a mammoth network of linked computers allowing access by its users to 80,000 computers.

And when the extensive modeling is completed, the Lost Sounds Orchestra will then be set to take the stage with series of live performances, where the cutting edge of modern computational technology will help unearth long lost and nearly forgotten sounds to once again grace the ear.

Photo courtesy of Jastrow, via Wikimedia Commons