Towards a Semiotics of Musical Instruments. Outlines of the Problem. In spite of the promising recent development of comparative musicology (also including the study of musical instruments) and of semiotics (also including musical semiotics), there is no summarizing attempt to describe and analyze the "signs on musical instruments" phenomena, i.e. carved or painted parts of the instruments. The zoomorphic and anthropomorphic construction and forms of musical instruments, and of their parts, is

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... wide-ranging fi eld of study. The paper shows some examples of ancient and folk music instruments, by using the common (Peircian) terminology in describing their signs in the proper sense of the word. Animal shells used as bodies of instruments, snake-and dragon-formed instruments, amorous heads on string instruments, human heads and devilish forms of bagpipes, paintings on piano's wooden cases, emblems or coats of arms of the builders of the instruments -just there are some cases of signs of musical instruments. There are further allusions to musical signs as well.