Today I went to a website to see what I could find on musical instruments in the Bible. The harp was really interesting. Here is what it looked like:


The definition of the harp was this:1. an ancient string instrument of ten strings used to accompany the voice. Standing almost three feet tall, the harp had of two sets of strings (five on each side of the instrument) that could be played in much the same manner as modern harps (by plucking with the fingers) or possibly with a bow. The harp was primarily a melodic instrument and most likely doubled or outlined the melodies sung by the singers. (http://www.musicofthebible.com/harp.htm)  In 1 Samuel 16:16, 23 the author records this when Saul is suffering from a tormenting spirit: "Let us find a good musician to play the harp for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering  you. The harp music will quiet you, and you will soon be well again....And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away."
This harp appears to be a tad more portable than the ones we have today. (Not nearly as many strings, for one thing.)
The flute is another one instrument mentioned in the Bible. In Isaiah 30:29: "But the people of God will sing a song of joy, like the songs at the holy festival. You will be filled with joy, as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem--the mountain of the Lord--to the Rock of Israel."
A few other instruments mentioned are the horn, the lyre, the tambourine, the trumpet. I couldn't get the picture of the lyre to fit in this post properly, but if you go to the above website I've linked to, you'll see it. In Daniel 3:5-6, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the people to bow down to him: "When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." Obviously music was also used by pagans to force believers into worshipping false gods.
The last instrument I want to talk about is the trumpet. Interestingly, the trumpet was silver, and it was not always considered a musical instrument.
TRUMPETS (chä-tsots-rot') [H2689] pl. 1. a pair of non-musical metal signaling devices used by the Levite priests to signal the breaking of camp, assembly and in conjunction with various ritual functions. Originally crafted as a pair out of a solid piece of beaten silver, the instruments consisted of a mouthpiece, a straight bore body terminating in a flared bell and measured about 45cm (17.75") from the bell to the mouthpiece. Like the shofar, sound is created by buzzing the lips on the mouthpiece while blowing. Also like the shofar, the calls of the two silver trumpets consisted of varying sequences of long and short tones.


So the trumpet was more involved in ritual functions, rather than celebratory or entertainment functions. I find all of  this very fascinating. When I was first learning to play viola (actually I started on violin, then switched to viola) the inside of the instrument always fascinated me. How those f-holes on the side could help produce such lovely music, and drawing a bow back and forth across a set of strings to produce such sound, has always been intriguing. The gift that God has given us with music, and with musical instruments is one of His greatest gifts to us.