you're a pianist today, you may have a teacher who had a teacher who had a teacher who studied with franz liszt, there were centuries in between what people performed back then and what they're trying to do today. (herreid) manuscripts from before the 16th century do not indicate the instrumentation. a piece might have four parts, with no words, maybe meant for instruments but it won't say. the composers either didn't care what instruments it was played on or it was so obvious to the people at the time that it would be appropriate for recorders, say, or for viols, or for a lute ensemble, that this information just doesn't come to us. one of the most important sources of information is iconographical sources, meaning paintings, illuminations, and manuscripts sculptures from the time which show actual musicians from the middle ages and renaissance playing music. and by looking at these, we can gain a lot of information about how instruments were being held, what the instruments actually looked like. many of these instruments, especially from earlier periods, don't survive as museum instruments. t