1 Chronicles 15:16

THE LEVITES APPOINT SINGERS AND INSTRUMENTALISTS

"And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries, and harps, and cymbals, sounding aloud, and lifting up the voice with joy. So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaia; and with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeeprs. So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were appointed with cymbals of brass to sound aloud; And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth; and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead. And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over the song: he instructed about the song, because he was skillful. And Berechiah, and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark. And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and Nethanel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark."

"The psalteries set on Alamoth ... the harps set on Sheminith" (1 Chronicles 15:20,21). It is not definitely known just what these instructions indicated.

The detailed description here of the ceremonies that accompanied David's bringing the ark to Jerusalem was the Chronicler's way of emphasizing the importance of that event. "The bringing of the ark into Jerusalem brought about a permanent centralization of the religion of Israel within Jerusalem."[2]