Editing Mary Rose (section)

==== Musical instruments ====

Two [[fiddle]]s, a bow, a still [[shawm]] or ''douçaine'', three [[three-hole pipe]]s, and a [[Tabor (instrument)|tabor drum]] with a drumstick were found throughout the wreck. These would have been used for the personal enjoyment of the crew and to provide a rhythm to work on the rigging and turning the [[capstan (nautical)|capstans]] on the upper decks. The tabor drum is the earliest known example of its kind and the drumstick is of a previously unknown design. The tabor pipes are considerably longer than any known examples from the period. Their discovery proved that contemporary illustrations, previously viewed with some suspicion, were accurate depictions of the instruments. Before the discovery of the ''Mary Rose'' shawm, an early predecessor to the [[oboe]], instrument historians had been puzzled by references to "still shawms", or "soft" shawms, that were said to have a sound that was less shrill than earlier shawms.{{sfnp|Montagu|2005|pp=226–230}} The still shawm disappeared from the musical scene in the 16th century, and the instrument found on the ''Mary Rose'' is the only surviving example. A reproduction has been made and played. Combined with a pipe and tabor, it provides a "very effective bass part" that would have produced "rich and full sound, which would have provided excellent music for dancing on board ship".{{sfnp|Foster|2005|pp=240–241}} Only a few other fiddle-type instruments from the 16th century exist, but none of them of the type found on the ''Mary Rose''. Reproductions of both fiddles have been made, though less is known of their design than the shawm since the neck and strings were missing.{{sfnp|Alburger|2005|pp=242–249}}