Music technology (mechanical) showing their ancient form. (see photo) The flute was commonly used for festal and mourning occasions, according to Whitcomb. "Even the poorest Hebrew was obliged to employ two flute-players to perform at his wife's funeral." The shofar (the horn of a ram) is still used for special liturgical purposes such as the Jewish New Year services in orthodox communities. As such, it is not considered a musical instrument but an instrument of theological symbolism which has been intentionally kept to its primitive character. In ancient times it was used for warning of danger, to announce the new moon or beginning
Reedless wind instrument a clarinet functions mostly as a wind instrument (aerophone), some percentage of the sound production may be attributed to the beating of the reed, which, although not considered an idiophone, does contribute, to a slight degree, non-aerophonic components to the initial sound production. In reedless wind instruments the solid matter from which the instrument's body is made takes on the role only of containing the fluid (air) that makes the sound. Whereas wind instruments use compressible fluid (air), a new category of instruments, called hydraulophones, use less-compressible fluid (water). Hydraulophones in their most pure form, are reedless. These are called