Ancient Rome had an
impressive and varied musical tradition. There were many different traditions in Roman music and many
different situations in which music was used by the Romans. The paper shows that music was often played at large events at which masses of people gathered, such as gladiatorial fights, festivals and banquets. There was also a tradition of popular music for stringed
instruments, such as the kithara, which greatly resembles our modern guitar. The paper shows that there was also a tradition of more refined classical-type chamber music that was played for the wealthy and the important citizens of Rome at gatherings and parties. In order to accommodate so many diverse styles of music, it was necessary that the Romans develop an impressive array of musical instruments proper to each style. The paper discusses the instruments developed by the Romans, including the lyre, the harp, the kithara, the lute, the flute, the panpipes and the tympani, as well as trumpets and vast array of
different percussive instruments. The paper shows that these instruments, many of which antedate Roman society, were employed in Roman music for a variety of different ends and with a series of different purposes, all of which testifies to the complexity and impressive diversity that comprises the Roman musical tradition.