Musical Instruments in the Bible

I remember the first time I heard a marching band. I was amazed by all the different sounds and instruments. My grandfather played the violin, which sounded so different from the band instruments. He would tell me that when many violins come together, it's called an orchestra. As a budding musician, I had to explore this variety of sounds. You can imagine how excited I was when I first heard a synthesizer. There are no limits to what you can create these days! The seed for my love of orchestration was definitely planted.

The Bible mentions many instruments that have disappeared or evolved into our modern versions. Two of the most well-known are the lyre and the harp. We remember that David played the lyre for King Saul, and all the angels are said to play the harp. Today, they would probably choose a guitar for their celebrations. After crossing the Red Sea, Miriam took her tambourine, and all the women followed her with dancing and singing to celebrate God’s glorious victory. Tambourines are a type of drum with cymbals on the sides. I could go on and on, mentioning the psalter, shofar, and sackbut, just to name a few. The trumpet, flute, and horn are still around, adding their rich tones to every band and orchestra. It’s just like our Lord to create such a wide variety of instruments that challenge us to learn how to play them!

I often tell people that there are countless chords, melodies, harmonies, rhythm patterns, styles, and structures. God is infinite, so music can be very simple or extremely complex. On top of that, you can choose which instruments play which melodies and how to blend them to express a mood or feature a solo with other sounds in the background. The combinations are limitless! This layering becomes the art of orchestration, which has been my favorite pursuit. It’s like painting with sound! I hope you enjoy all the possibilities that music offers, and may these sounds bless you in your worship of our marvelous Lord.