Instrumentation

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-music/waits.htm

SO, sometimes I get to writing and reading and wondering about the things that provide the richness to the background (which might not be surprising, since that is the essence of world building), and get inspired to put together a post.  I've written about how technological advances spread and impact one another (granted, it was a long time ago, maybe I should revisit that).  We have all seen how tools develop as technologies improve and innovative thinkers and tinkerers add their touches.  It's important to remember that these innovations touch all aspects of our lives.  One aspect that I've done a little digging on is music, more specifically instruments.
    There are times when you want to do a little more than just add a lute player to a scene to give it depth.  Sure, the lute is a forerunner of today's guitar (though just like regular evolution, the one doesn't just magically become the other without overlap) and easy for the average reader to imagine, but there are so many other sounds that may lend a distinct air to a scene that it seems a shame to always go for easy.  Quite naturally, all of today's instruments had forerunners (and bastard cousins) which may add a taste of authenticity to your ancient realm.
    While the lute may have become the soloist's instrument of choice, it's generally too fragile to rough travel (bad for adventurers) and can be expensive to maintain.  Their construction was the realm of highly trained individuals.  Learning to play would also require a master's guidance.  On the plus side, they are surprisingly light... However, try replacing your broken f-string in some backwater burg on a foggy night and you might run into some issues.

http://home.earthlink.net/~curtis_bouterse/id7.html

    Patrick Rothfuss describes a fair number of instrumental options at the local performance space in his work, but so many of them are stringed.  Clear bias, I say.  We've become so enamored with the rock-god guitar player image that we fail to remember the wide variety of other instruments which have graced our world.  Happily, there are plenty of instruments that are more durable than the lute and perfect for your party of adventurers.
    You've seen drums.  What's wrong with percussion?  Conga players the world over will tell you of their versatility.  Keep the thing dry and you're good to go.  Even if the head gets damaged, how easy is it to find a supply of fresh skins to stretch?  Snare drums are a little out of reach in most Fantasy settings, technologically speaking, but armies have long used drums to provide a marching tune for their warriors.  Need a new set of sticks to play with?  Just get out your old whittling knife, or beat on the damn thing with your hands.  If you want to produce a wide range of tones, get yourself a xylophone, folks have been building them (and their kin) for more than a thousand years.

http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=24010

    Flutes and horns (wooden, or actual horn) are universal and pretty damn durable too.  You can find them in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  Mastering them, much like anything else, may not be easy, but almost anyone can learn the basics.  Today the recorder is still used to teach grade school kids how to play music.  The only real issue is that you can't exactly sing while performing.  Then again, some folks aren't great singers, so perfect for them.  Furthermore, using music as break, or an interlude, for storytelling has a long tradition.
    Sure sure, there is nothing wrong with a guitar solo.  All I'm saying is that there is a whole world of music out there.  Just because around every campfire today you can find some teenager with a guitar doesn't mean that we need to include them in our stories.  I love watching episodes of the Sharpe's series of films where someone just strikes up a tune on a pipe, or lets loose with a marching song.  It sets a tone for a simpler time.  Hell, musically, the Medieval period was a simpler time.  Go give a look and see if changing your instrumentation might not just change the feel of your writing and your world.


References

general article - http://www.thefinertimes.com/Middle-Ages/instruments-in-the-middle-ages.html
lute history - http://www.art-robb.co.uk/hist.html
xylophone history - https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Xylophone/History
images with audio - http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrumt.html
brass - http://www.aswltd.com/guidebr.htm
composers - http://www.themiddleages.net/life/composers.html