If you love music, you probably think you know everything there is to know about it. But there are always a few interesting facts that even the most knowledgeable music lovers don’t know. Here are 10 of them:
1. The world’s oldest known musical instrument is a flute that was made from the femur of a cave bear. It was found in a cave in southwestern Germany and is believed to be at least 43,000 years old.
2. The world’s loudest sound was made by the Krakatoa volcano when it erupted in 1883. The sound was so loud that it was heard 3,000 miles away and caused permanent hearing damage to some people.
3. The world’s longest lasting note is “E” which is played by a clinched fist on a piano. It can be held for up to 45 minutes.
4. The world’s largest drum is 24 feet in diameter and is located in Jamaica.
5. The world’s smallest violin is just 2.75 inches long and was made by a German luthier in 1741.
6. The world’s largest working piano is located in Sydney, Australia and is 22 feet long, 9 feet wide and weighs 1.1 ton.
7. The world’s most expensive viola was made by Stradivarius and is valued at $45 million.
8. The world’s oldest known musical composition is a 4,000-year-old song called “Hurrian Hymn No. 6.” It was written for a stringed instrument called the lyre and was found on a clay tablet in modern-day Syria.
9. The world’s largest musical instrument is a pipe organ that was built in 1892. It has more than 33,000 pipes and is over 32 feet tall.
10. The world’s largest harmonium was built in 1876 and has more than 1,000 pipes.
