What kind of music do they listen to?

[Immortal Sun]

Fair enough. We approach this from different enough angles that I won’t be much further help on the cultural front.

Perhaps. But finding out what I don't want to do is just as important as figuring out what I do want to do. So you've been tremendously helpful so far. Even [MENTION=4937]Celebrim[/MENTION] whose ideas are way out of line with what I'm planning has been extremely helpful, even if I don't utilize his ideas for the primary culture, I will likely purloin many ideas for cultural offshoots.

As for music, it might be useful to also get an idea of what Elven music sounds like.

Where are some elves when I need them!?

Also, this planet is theirs, right? So, no fear of going topside at night?

Yep. I haven't totally settled on the "how" of that though.

So, wood instruments would be a fairly new thing, but also a very ancient thing. Maybe look into rare string instruments and woodwinds, as well as weird inventions in those categories?

I'm not entirely sold on the "wood is new" idea. But I suspect this will come up when I look into "elven" music anyway.

 

[Celebrim]

Where are some elves when I need them!?

Enya. Loreena McKennit. Secretly elves. Also the Tolkien ensemble does some elvish music, and it's usually not as alien as I would like, but is probably a close approximation. Look for "Ai! Laurië Lantar".

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Perhaps. But finding out what I don't want to do is just as important as figuring out what I do want to do. So you've been tremendously helpful so far. Even [MENTION=4937]Celebrim[/MENTION] whose ideas are way out of line with what I'm planning has been extremely helpful, even if I don't utilize his ideas for the primary culture, I will likely purloin many ideas for cultural offshoots.

Where are some elves when I need them!?

Yep. I haven't totally settled on the "how" of that though.

I'm not entirely sold on the "wood is new" idea. But I suspect this will come up when I look into "elven" music anyway.

Glad I could help!

About wood, I just mean that they spent thousands of years on underground, and so would be likely a to lose focus on wooden instruments eventually. Then, they came to a world where they could freely spend time above ground. But maybe they used slaves to gather wood, and made instruments.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My guess is that quality wooden instruments- new and old- would be highly valued. Consider Stradivarius violins. Or modern Somogyi guitars.

But like us, they’d use their (magi)technical know-how to look for modern replacements to such a scarce material. (Especially if you’re talking spacefaring Drow.)

Even ignoring electric versions of acoustic instruments and synthesizers, there are some interesting materials being substituted for wood in acoustic instruments: Delta metal (a proprietary brass alloy) glass, carbon-fiber and richlite (another man made resin) have been used for fingerboards. Carbon fiber, steel and aluminum alloys, as well as wood laminated and even reconstituted wood (wood mixed with glue and other materials) have been used for instrument bodies.