TODAY IS ... the start of the Greenwich International Early Music Festival.

The event, which runs at the Old Royal Naval College until Saturday, is billed as the world's largest early music fair.

This annual fixture is attended by some of the early music scene's biggest names.

As well as concerts, master classes, workshops and instrument demonstrations, it also features an exhibition with around 100 exhibitors from across the world.

To get you in the mood here are some early music facts:

  • Did you know the most famous violins in the world were made of wood with tiny holes? It is thought that the reason a Stradivarius violin sounds the best is because the wood that was used was stored in the sea in Venice. The water made tiny holes appear in the wood. The varnish also had special ingredients in it.
  • Did you know that bagpipes were not invented by the Scottish? The Romans were playing bagpipes during the Roman empire in the First Century AD - long before the Scots started. The bagpipes were made of sheepskin or a cow's stomach and a few hollow stalks to make pipes.
  • Did you know the people of the Stone Age played bone flutes?
  • The oldest piece of written music ever found is from 408 BC. The music was sung by a choir in an ancient Greek play called Orestes which was written by Euripides.
  • Music notes started being used in the 13th century. They came from signs called Neumes which were used in Greek texts.
  • The first type of music was spoken words set to music (chanting). The first time lines were used to show where the notes go was about the year 1000.
  • The oldest instrument ever created was the harmonica 60,000 years ago, preceding the human voice

Click here for more details on the early music festival

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