Editorial Policy

Purpose and scope

The library explains musical instruments — their history, construction, sound, playing and care — for curious general readers, students and musicians. It is an educational reference. It does not offer repair instructions, teaching methods or purchase advice.

Independence

• The library carries no advertising and no sponsored or paid-for entries.
• No entry recommends a product, a maker as a purchase, or a price level.
• Makers, brands and inventors are named only when they are part of the documented history.
• No entry calls an instrument the best, the greatest or the most popular unless an institutional source documents a specific, checkable claim.

Sourcing

Claims rest on institutional sources: museums, university collections, conservatories, orchestras, libraries and recognised reference works. Each entry lists its references at the end. Sources are read, not merely linked, and their content is expressed in original wording. Links are checked before publication.

Uncertainty and disagreement

The library distinguishes between what is documented, what is widely accepted and what is legend or conjecture. When the evidence does not support an exact date, place or inventor, entries give a range or state that the question is open. Competing accounts are presented as competing accounts.

People and voices

The library does not publish invented experts, performers, testimonials, reviews or comments, and it does not attribute quotations it cannot source. Historical figures are named only where the record supports it. Entries are issued under the neutral byline of the Atlas Musical Editorial Desk; no individual credentials are claimed.

Cultural care

Instruments cannot be separated from the communities that made them. Entries aim to describe traditions accurately and in context, to avoid exoticising language, to note where an instrument’s history includes appropriation or contested narratives, and to use the terms practitioners use.

Images and audio

Only images that are in the public domain or carry a licence that permits this use are published. Each image is stored with its author, source and licence, and is credited on the Image Credits page. Audio is published only where a verifiable licence and a clear credit exist.

Privacy and tracking

The library does not use advertising scripts or tracking of visitors. See the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Updates and corrections

Entries carry a publication date and a last-reviewed date. Errors are corrected promptly under the Corrections Policy.

Last updated 30 September 2026.