The music of Gor, or much of it, is very melodious and sensuous.
Much of it seems made for the display of slaves before free men,
but then, I suppose, that is exactly what it is made for.
Dancer of Gor, page 180

I might mention, I have never on Gor seen any written music; I do not know if a notation exists; melodies are passed on from father to son, from master to apprentice.
Nomads of Gor, page 153

~Caste of Musicians~

Musicians are part of the Singers and Poets Caste; their colors are Aqua and Red.

The ranking of Musicians is:

1. Czehar Players

2. Flutists

3. Kalika Players

4. Kaska Players

5. The last on the list being the man in charge of miscellaneous instruments.

Among Gorean musicians, incidentally, czehar players have the most prestige; there was only one in this group, I noted, and he was their leader; next follow the flutists and then the players of the kalika; the players of the drums come next; and the farthest fellow down the list is the man who keeps the bag of miscellaneous instruments, playing them and parceling them out to others as needed. Lastly it might be mentioned, thinking it is of some interest, musicians on Gor are never enslaved; they may, of course, be exiled, tortured, slain and such; it is said, perhaps truly, that he who makes music must, like the tarn and the Vosk gull, be free.
Nomads of Gor, page 154

The Caste Singers and Poets while highly prized in most cities on Gor were not as high regarded in others. For instance they were not welcomed guests in the city of Tharna. But in other areas of Gor it was a criminal offense to enslave one of the Caste of Musicians. "The Caste of Poets is not so bad," I said to Linna. "Of course not," she said, "but they are outlawed in Tharna."
Outlaw of Gor, page 105

One might note also, in passing, that slaves are not permitted to play Kaissa. It is for free individuals. In most cities it is regarded, incidentally, as a criminal offense to enslave one of the caste of players. A similar decree, in most cities, stands against the enslavement of one who is of the caste of musicians.
Beasts of Gor page 44

~Musical Instruments~

"To one side, across a clearing from the fire, a bit in the background, was a group of nine musicians. They were not as yet playing, though one of them was absently tapping a rhythm on a small hand drum, the kaska; two others, with stringed instruments, were tuning them, putting their ears to the instruments. One of the instruments was an eight-stringed czehar, rather like a large flat oblong box; it is held across the lap when sitting cross-legged and is played with a hom pick; the other was the kalika, a six-stringed instrument; it, like the czehar, is flat-bridged and its strings are adjusted by means of small wooden cranks; on the other hand, it less resembles a low, flat box and suggests affinities to the banjo or guitar, though the sound box is hemispheric and the neck rather long; it, too, of course, like the czehar, is plucked; I have never seen a bowed instrument on Gor; also, I might mention, I have never on Gor seen any written music; I do not know if a notation exists; melodies are passed on from father to son, from master to apprentice. There was another kalika player, as well, but he was sitting there holding his instrument, watching the slave girls in the audience. The three flutists were polishing their instruments and talking together; it was shop talk I gathered, because one or the other would stop to illustrate some remark by a passage on his flute, and then one of the others would attempt to correct or improve on what he had done; occasionally their discussion grew heated. There was also a second drummer, also with a kaska, and another fellow, a younger one, who sat very seriously before what appeared to me to be a pile of objects; among them was a notched stick, played by sliding a polished tem-wood stick across its surface; cymbals of various sorts; what was obviously a tambourine; and several other instruments of a percussion variety, bits of metal on wires, gourds filled with pebbles, slave bells mounted on hand rings, and such. These various things, from time to time, would be used not only by himself but by others in the group, probably the second kaska player and the third flutist. Among Gorean musicians, incidentally, czehar players have the most prestige; there was only one in this group, I noted, and he was their leader; next follow the flutists and then the players of the kalika; the players of the drums come next; and the farthest fellow down the list is the man who keeps the bag. of miscellaneous instruments, playing them and parceling them out to others as needed. Lastly it might be mentioned, thinking it is of some interest, musicians on Gor are never enslaved; they may, of course, be exiled, tortured, slain and such; it is said, perhaps truly, that he who makes music must, like the tarn and the Vosk gull, be free."
Nomads of Gor, Pages 153 - 154

• Cymbals
  

  On the thumb and first finger of both her left and right hand were golden finger cymbals.
  Tribesmen of Gor, page 8
  There was a clear note of the finger cymbals, sharp, delicate, bright, and the slave girl danced before us.
  Tribesmen of Gor, page 8
  The drums, the cymbals, the trumpets, were now quite close.
  Captive of Gor, page 209

• Czehar
  

  The czehar is a long, low, rectangular instrument. It is played, held across the lap. It has eight strings, plucked with a horn pick.
  Kajira of Gor, page 108

• Double Flute
  

  He then, for two or three minutes, played soft, full melodious tunes, sensuous, inviting tunes.
  Dancer of Gor, pgs. 283-284
  There was suddenly near us, startling us, another skirl of notes on a flute, the common double flute.
  Magicians of Gor, page 120

• Drums
  
  
  • ~Kaska~
    

    The drummer's fingers light on the taut skin of his instrument, the kaska, then adjusting it, then trying it again, then tapping lightly, then more vigorously, with swift, brief rhythms, limbering his wrists, fingers and hands.
    Dancer of Gor, page 180

  • ~Red Hunters' Drum~

    The drum of the red hunters is large and heavy. It has a handle and is disklike. It requires strength to manage it. It is held in one hand and beaten with a stick held in the other. Its frame is generally of wood and its cover, of hide, usually tabuk hide, is fixed on the frame by sinew. Interestingly the drum is not struck on the head, or hide cover, but on the frame. It has an odd resonance. That drum in one hand of the hunter standing now in the midst of the group was some two and one half feet in diameter.
    Beasts of Gor, pgs. 261-262

  • ~Tarn Drums~

    The sound of the great tarn drums reached us, those huge drums whose signals control the complex war formations of Gor's flying cavalries.
    Tarnsman of Gor, page 130

  • ~Tabor~

    A girl on a flute and a sudden pounding on twin tabors, small, hand drums, called my attention to the square of sand at the side of which sat the musicians.
    Explorers of Gor, page 133
    One wiped the flute, the other was addressing himself to the tabor, loosening some pegs, relaxing the tension of the drumhead. The drumhead is usually made of verr skin, as most often are wineskins.
    Vagabonds of Gor, page 36

• Herlit-Bone Whistle
  

  These rattles were then joined by the fifing of whistles, shrill and high, formed from the wing bones of the taloned Herlit.
  Blood Brothers of Gor, page 40

• Kalika
  

  The other was the kalika, a six-stringed instrument; it, like the czehar, is flat-bridged and its strings are adjusted by means of small wooden cranks; on the other hand, it less resembles a low, flat box and suggests affinities to the banjo or guitar, though the sound box is hemispheric and the neck rather long; it, too, of course, like the czehar, is plucked; I have never seen a bowed instrument on Gor
  Nomads of Gor, page 153

• Lyre
  

  Miles of Vonda then picked up the lyre, which she had used earlier in entertaining us. With its strap he slung the small, lovely, curved, stringed instrument about her body, the strap over her right shoulder, the instrument behind her left hip. The delicacy of the instrument, with its suggestion of refinement, gentility and civilization, contrasted nicely with the barbarity of her luscious, enslaved nudity, the shreds of her tunic and her helpless, steel-clasped wrists.
  Guardsman of Gor page 271

• Notched Stick
  

  Among them was a notched stick, played by sliding a polished tem-wood stick across its surface.
  Nomads of Gor, page 153

• Sistrum
  

  Sistrum is a rattle used for dancing
  There was an accompaniment by sistrums.
  Marauders of Gor, page 33

• Trumpet
  

  We heard music in the distance, trumpets, drums, and cymbals.
  Captive of Gor, page 209
  Behind him came musicians, with their trumpets, and cymbals and drums.
  Captive of Gor, page 209

  
  ~Songs~
  
  
• Archaic Hymns
  

  They were young male slaves, purchased by initiates, castrated by civil authorities and, in the monasteries, trained in song. I supposed, to one versed in music, their soprano voices were very beautiful, Here in the far north, of course, in Kassau, to have any such boys, properly trained in the archaic hymns, indicated some wealth. I did not think such singers existed even in Lydius. The High Initiate of Kassau obviously was a man of expensive tastes.
  Marauders of Gor page 33

• Block Melodies
  

  The reference to "block melodies" had to do with certain melodies which are commonly used in slave markets, in the display of the merchandise. Some were apparently developed for the purpose, and others simply utilized for it. Such melodies tend to be sexually stimulating, and powerfully so, both for the merchandise being vended, who must dance to them, and for the buyers.
  Vagabonds of Gor, page 37

• Blue Sky Song
  

  Some of the Tuchuks began to sing the Blue Sky Song, the refrain of which is that thought I die, yet there will be the bosk, the grass and sky.
  Nomads of Gor, page 263

• Melody of the Caravans of Tor
  

  Her fingers touched the six strings, a note at a time, and then a melody, of the caravans of Tor, a song of love.
  Assassin of Gor, page 264

• The Hope of Tina
  

  The "Hope of Tina," a melody of Cos which would surely be popular with most of the fellows present, on the other hand, was an excellent choice. It was supposedly the expression of the yearning, or hope, of a young girl that she may be so beautiful, and so feminine, and marvelous, that she will prove acceptable as a slave.
  Vagabonds of Gor, pgs. 37-38

• Singing at the Oars
  

  The men of Torvaldsland began to sing at the oars. The men of Torvaldsland sang with great voices. The men of Torvaldsland singing, the oars lifting and dipping, the serpent of Ivar Forkbeard took its way from the harbor of Kassau.
  Marauders of Gor, page 54

• The Ten Maids of Hammerfest
  

  On the Tuka the rowers were singing, lustily. They wore an odd assortment of garbs. Insignia has been torn from clothing. Crests had been ripped from helmets, identificatory devices pried from the convex surfaces of shields. It was not a song of Ar they sang, but a river song, a song of pirates and brawlers, "The Ten Maids of Hammerfest," in which is recounted the fates which befell these lovely lasses. I was mildly scandalized that the stout fellows of Ar, soldiers and gentlemen, as Gorean gentlemen go, would even know these lyrics, let alone sing them with such unabashed gusto.
  Guardsman of Gor, page 93

• Song of Tarl of Bristol
  

  I sing the siege of Ar, of gleaming Ar. I sing the spears and walls of Ar, of Glorious Ar. In the long years past of the siege of the city the siege of Ar of her spires and towers of undaunted Ar, Glorious Ar. I sing. I sing of dark-haired Talena of the rage of Marlenus Ubar of Ar, Glorious Ar. And of he I sing whose hair was like a larl from the sun of he who came once to the walls of Ar, Glorious Ar , he called Tarl of Bristol.
  And, as the torches burned lower in the wall racks, the singer continued to sing, and sang of gray Pa-Kur, Master of the Assassins, leader of the hordes that feel on Ar after the theft of her Home Stone; and he sang, too, of banners and black helmets, of upraised standards, of the sun flashing on the lifted blades of spears, of high siege towers and deeds, of catapults of Ka-la-na and tem-wood, of the thunder of war tharlarion and the beatings of drums and the roars of trumpets, the clash of arms and the cries of men; and he sang, too, of the love of men for their city, and, foolishly, knowing so little of men, he sang, too, the bravery of men, and their loyalties and their courage; and he sang then, too, of duels; of duels fought even on the walls of Ar herself, even at the great gate; and of tarnsmen locked in duels to the death over the spires of Ar; and yet another duel, one fought on the height of Ar's cylinder of justice, between Pak-Kur, and he, in the song, called Tarl of Bristol.
  Raiders of Gor, pgs. 225-226

• Songs of the Red Hunters
  

  That drum in one hand of the hunter standing now in the midst of the group was some two and one half feet in diameter. He was now striking on it and singing. I could not make out the song, but it had to do with the mild winds which blow in the summer. These songs, incidentally, are rather like tools or carvings. It is unusual for one man or woman to sing another's songs. One is expected to make up one's own songs. It is expected that every man will be able to make up songs and sing them, just as every man is supposed to be able to carve and hunt. These songs are usually very simple, but some of them are quite beautiful, and some are quite touching. Both men and women sing, of course. Men, interestingly, usually do the carving. The ulo, or woman's knife, with its semicircular blade, customarily fixed in a wooden handle, is not well suited to carving. It is better at cutting meat and slicing sinew. Also, carving ivory and bone requires strength. But women sing as well as men. Sometimes they sing of feasting clothes, and lovers, and their skill in quartering tabuk. Another man now took the drum and began to sing. He sang of a kayak-making song, customarily sung to the leather, wood, and sinew, with which he worked, that it not betray him on the polar sea. A fellow after him sang a sleen song, usually sung on the water, encouraging the sleen to swim to where he might strike them. The next song dealt with a rascal who, supposedly hunting for tabuk, lay down and rubbed his boots on a rock, later returning to his companions with a report of luckless hunting, indicating his worn boots as evidence of his lengthy trekking. From the looks cast about the room I gathered the rascal might even be present. One fellow at least, seemed quite embarrassed. He soon leaped up, however, and sang a song about the first fellow, something about a fellow who could not make good arrows. Two women sang after this, the first about gathering birds' eggs when she was a little girl, and the other about her joy in seeing the face of a relative whom she had not seen in more than two years.
  It is rather commendable, I think, that the red hunters make up songs. They are not as critical as many other people. To them it is often more important that one whom they love sings than it is that his song is a good song. If it is a "true" song, and comes from the heart, they are pleased to hear it. Perhaps then it is a "good song," after all. Songs, even simple ones, are regarded by the red hunters as being precious and rather mysterious. They are pleased that there are songs. As it is said. "No one knows from where songs come."
  Beasts of Gor, pgs. 262-263