- The Bin
The 'bin,' or 'vina,' may be regarded as the national instrument of India. The 'bin' is made of wood, and has seven strings, two of steel, the rest of silver, and these are plucked by the two first fingers of the performer, who wears little metal shields made for the purpose. It is tuned by pegs, and has two gourds suspended below, each usually measuring about fourteen inches across. These, being of irregular shape and gaily coloured, give a very picturesque look to the instrument. - The Kimmori
Another favourite instrument is the 'kimmori.' This also derives its sounding powers from gourds, of which three are usually slung from the tube forming the body. It is said by the natives to have been invented by one of the singers of the 'Brahma Loka,' or heaven of the Brahmins. The 'kimmori' is made of a pipe of bamboo or blackwood, with frets or screws, which should be fashioned of the scales of the pangolin, or scaly ant-eater, though more often they are made of bone or metal. It has only two strings, one touching the frets, the other carried above them. The tail-piece is always carved like the breast of a kite, and the instrument is frequently found sculptured on ancient temples and shrines, especially in Mysore, in the south of Hindustan. - The Hand-organ performance
After the horse has learned to take hold readily of anything offered to him, which knowledge he will have acquired if he has already learned to perform the tricks heretofore mentioned, the only additional instruction necessary will be to initiate him into the mysteries of turning the handle. When he has taken hold of the handle, gently move his head so as to produce the desired motion. If, when you let go of his head, he ceases the motion, speak sharply to him and put his head again in motion. With almost any horse a few lessons, and judicious rewards when he does what is required, will accomplish the object, and he will soon both be able and willing to grind out Old Dog Tray, or Norma, if not in exact time at least with as much correctness as many performers on this instrument. - Barbiton
Barbiton , an ancient stringed instrument known to us from the Greek and Roman classics, but derived from Persia. Although in use in Asia Minor, Italy, Sicily, and Greece, it is evident that the barbiton never won for itself a place in the affections of the Greeks of Hellas; it was regarded as a barbarian instrument affected by those only whose tastes in matters of art were unorthodox. It had fallen into disuse in the days of Aristotle, but reappeared under the Romans. - Barrel Organ
Large stationary barrel-organ worked by hydraulic power, from Solomon de Caus, Les Raisons des forces mouvantes (Frankfort-on-Main, 1615). The origin of the barrel-organ is now clearly established, and many will doubtless be surprised to find that it must be sought in the Netherlands as early as the middle of the 15th century, and that accurate and detailed diagrams of every part of the mechanism for a large stationary barrel-organ worked by hydraulic power were published in 1615 - Old English double curtail
The next step in the evolution produced the double curtail, a converted bass pommer an octave below the single curtail and therefore identical in pitch as in construction with the early fagotto in C. The instrument is shown the figure, the reproduction of a drawing in the MS. of The Academy of Armoury by Randle Holme,[16] written some time before 1688. - Bassoon
Bassoon, a woodwind instrument with double reed mouthpiece, a member of the oboe (q.v.) family, of which it is the bass. The German and Italian names of the instrument were bestowed from a fancied resemblance to a bundle of sticks, the bassoon being the first instrument of the kind to be doubled back upon itself; its direct ancestor, the bass pommer, 6 ft. in length, was quite straight. The English and French names refer to the pitch of the instrument as the bass of the wood-wind. - Basset Horn
Basset Horn: a wood-wind instrument, not a "horn," member of the clarinet family, of which it is the tenor. The basset horn consists of a nearly cylindrical tube of wood (generally cocus or box-wood), having a cylindrical bore and terminating in a metal bell wider than that of the clarinet. - How to hold the Cello
Most pupils are surprised I have no doubt, at the evident discrepancy seen in the plates usually published with 'cello schools, when compared with the manner in which our first class artists hold their instruments. - How to hold the Cello bow
The knuckles must not protrude in the least, the fingers also help by being allowed to bend easily at their middle joints, the upper phalanges having an almost horizontal position over the bow