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| The Beatles in 1964;
clockwise from top left: John Lennon, Paul
McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. |
Music
Music is a form of entertainment that puts sounds
together in a way that people like or find interesting.
Most music includes people singing with their voices or
playing musical instruments, such as the piano, guitar,
or drums.
The word music comes from the Greek word μουσική (mousike),
which means "(art) of the Muses". In Ancient Greece the
Muses included the goddesses of music, poetry, art, and
dance. Someone who makes music is called a musician.
What is music?
Music is sound that has been organized by using rhythm,
melody or harmony. If someone bangs saucepans while
cooking, it makes noise. If a person bangs saucepans or
pots in a rhythmic way, they are making a simple type of
music.
There are four things which music has most of the time: |
- Music often has pitch. This means
high and low notes. Tunes are made of notes that go up
or down or stay on the same pitch.
- Music often has rhythm. Rhythm is
the way the musical sounds and silences are put together
in a sequence. Every tune has a rhythm that can be
tapped. Music usually has a regular beat.
- Music often has dynamics. This means
whether it is quiet or loud or somewhere in between.
- Music often has timbre. This is a
French word (pronounced the French way: "TAM-br"). The
"timbre" of a sound is the way that a sound is
interesting. The sort of sound might be harsh, gentle,
dry, warm, or something else. Timbre is what makes a
clarinet sound different from an oboe, and what makes
one person's voice sound different from another person.
|
|
History
Even in the stone age people made music. The first music
was probably made trying to imitate sounds and rhythms
that occurred naturally. Human music may echo these
phenomena using patterns, repetition and tonality. This
kind of music is still here today. Shamans sometimes
imitate sounds that are heard in nature. It may also
serve as entertainment (games), or have practical uses,
like luring animals when hunting.
Some animals also can use music. Songbirds use song to
protect their territory, or to attract a mate. Monkeys
have been seen beating hollow logs. This may, of course,
also serve to defend the territory.
The first musical instrument used by humans was probably
the voice. The human voice can make many different kinds
of sounds. The larynx (voice box) is like a wind
instrument.
The oldest known Neanderthal hyoid bone with the modern
human form was found in 1983, indicating that the
Neanderthals had language, because the hyoid supports
the voice box in the human throat.
Most likely the first rhythm instruments or percussion
instruments involved the clapping of hands, stones hit
together, or other things that are useful to keep a
beat. There are finds of this type that date back to the
paleolithic. Some of these are ambiguous, as they can be
used either as a tool or a musical instrument.
The first flutes
The oldest flute ever discovered may be the so-called
Divje Babe flute, found in the Slovenian cave Divje Babe
I in 1995. It is not certain that the object is really a
flute. The item in question is a fragment of the femur
of a young cave bear, and has been dated to about 43,000
years ago. However, whether it is truly a musical
instrument or simply a carnivore-chewed bone is a matter
of ongoing debate.
In 2008, archaeologists discovered a bone flute in the
Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, Germany. The five-holed flute
has a V-shaped mouthpiece and is made from a vulture
wing bone. The researchers involved in the discovery
officially published their findings in the journal
Nature, in June 2009. The discovery is also the oldest
confirmed find of any musical instrument in history.
Other flutes were also found in the cave. This flute was
found next to the Venus of Hohle Fels and a short
distance from the oldest known human carving. When they
announced their discovery, the scientists suggested that
the "finds demonstrate the presence of a
well-established musical tradition at the time when
modern humans colonized Europe".
The oldest known wooden pipes were discovered near
Greystones, Ireland, in 2004. A wood-lined pit contained
a group of six flutes made from yew wood, between 30 and
50 cm long, tapered at one end, but without any finger
holes. They may once have been strapped together.
In 1986 several bone flutes were found in Jiahu in Henan
Province, China. They date to about 6,000 BC. They have
between 5 and 8 holes each and were made from the hollow
bones of a bird, the Red-crowned Crane. At the time of
the discovery, one was found to be still playable. The
bone flute plays both the five- or seven-note scale of
Xia Zhi and six-note scale of Qing Shang of the ancient
Chinese musical system. |
- Prehistoric music - (before
writing)
- Ancient music - (before 350)
- Medieval music - About 350–1400
- Renaissance music - 1400–1600
- Baroque music - 1600–1750
- Classical music period -
1740–1820
- Romantic music - 1820–1900
- Modern period - 1900–today
|
Ancient times
It is not known what the earliest music of the cave
people was like. Some architecture, even some paintings,
are thousands of years old, but old music could not
survive until people learned to write it down. The only
way we can guess about early music is by looking at very
old paintings that show people playing musical
instruments, or by finding them in archaeological digs
(digging underground to find old things). The earliest
piece of music that was ever written down and that has
not been lost was discovered on a tablet written in
Hurrian, a language spoken in and around northern
Mesopotamia (where Iraq is today), from about 1500 BC.
Middle Ages
Another early piece of written music that has survived
was a round called Sumer Is Icumen In. It was written
down by a monk around the year 1250. Much of the music
in the Middle Ages (roughly 450-1420) was folk music
played by working people who wanted to sing or dance.
When people played instruments, they were usually
playing for dancers. However, most of the music that was
written down was for the Catholic church. This music was
written for monks to sing in church. It is called Chant
(or Gregorian chant).
Renaissance
In the Renaissance (roughly 1400-1550) there was a lot
of music, and many composers wrote music that has
survived so that it can be performed, played or sung
today. The name for this period (Renaissance) is a
French word which means "rebirth". This period was
called the "rebirth" because many new types of art and
music were reborn during this time.
Some very beautiful music was written for use in church
services (sacred music) by the Italian composer Giovanni
da Palestrina (1525-1594). In Palestrina's music, many
singers sing together (this is called a choir). There
was also plenty of music not written for the church,
such as happy dance music and romantic love songs.
Popular instruments during the Renaissance included the
viols (a string instrument played with a bow), lutes (a
plucked stringed instrument that is a little like a
guitar), and the virginal, a small, quiet keyboard
instrument.
Baroque
In the arts, the Baroque was a Western cultural era,
which began near the turn of the 17th century in Rome.
It was exemplified by drama and grandeur in sculpture,
painting, literature, dance, and music. In music, the
term 'Baroque' applies to the final period of dominance
of imitative counterpoint, where different voices and
instruments echo each other but at different pitches,
sometimes inverting the echo, and even reversing
thematic material.
The popularity and success of the Baroque style was
encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church which had
decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the
arts should communicate religious themes in direct and
emotional involvement. The upper class also saw the
dramatic style of Baroque architecture and art as a
means of impressing visitors and expressing triumphant
power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an
entrance of courts, grand staircases and reception rooms
of sequentially increasing opulence. In similar
profusions of detail, art, music, architecture, and
literature inspired each other in the Baroque cultural
movement as artists explored what they could create from
repeated and varied patterns. Some traits and aspects of
Baroque paintings that differentiate this style from
others are the abundant amount of details, often bright
polychromy, less realistic faces of subjects, and an
overall sense of awe, which was one of the goals in
Baroque art.
The word baroque probably derives from the ancient
Portuguese noun "barroco" which is a pearl that is not
round but of unpredictable and elaborate shape. Hence,
in informal usage, the word baroque can simply mean that
something is "elaborate", with many details, without
reference to the Baroque styles of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries.
Classical period
In western music, the classical period means music from
about 1750 to 1825. It was the time of composers like
Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van
Beethoven. Orchestras became bigger, and composers often
wrote longer pieces of music called symphonies that had
several sections (called movements). Some movements of a
symphony were loud and fast; other movements were quiet
and sad. The form of a piece of music was very important
at this time. Music had to have a nice 'shape'. They
often used a structure which was called sonata form.
Another important type of music was the string quartet,
which is a piece of music written for two violins, a
viola, and a violoncello. Like symphonies, string
quartet music had several sections. Haydn, Mozart and
Beethoven each wrote many famous string quartets.
The piano was invented during this time. Composers liked
the piano, because it could be used to play dynamics
(getting louder or getting softer). Other popular
instruments included the violin, the violoncello, the
flute, the clarinet, and the oboe.
Romantic period
The 19th century is called the Romantic period.
Composers were particularly interested in conveying
their emotions through music. An important instrument
from the Romantic period was the piano. Some composers,
such as Frederic Chopin wrote subdued, expressive,
quietly emotional piano pieces. Often music described a
feeling or told a story using sounds. Other composers,
such as Franz Schubert wrote songs for a singer and a
piano player called Lied (the German word for "song").
These Lieder (plural of Lied) told stories by using the
lyrics (words) of the song and by the imaginative piano
accompaniments. Other composers, like Richard Strauss,
and Franz Liszt created narratives and told stories
using only music, which is called a tone poem.
Composers, such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms used
the piano to play loud, dramatic, strongly emotional
music.
Many composers began writing music for bigger
orchestras, with as many as 100 instruments. It was the
period of "Nationalism" (the feeling of being proud of
one's country) when many composers made music using
folksong or melodies from their country. Lots of famous
composers lived at this time such as Franz Schubert,
Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms,
Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Richard Wagner.
Modern times
From about 1900 onwards is called the "modern period".
Many 20th century composers wanted to compose music that
sounded different from the Classical and Romantic music.
Modern composers searched for new ideas, such as using
new instruments, different forms, different sounds, or
different harmonies.
The composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) wrote pieces
which were atonal (meaning that they did not sound as if
they were in any clear musical key). Later, Schoenberg
invented a new system for writing music called
twelve-tone system. Music written with the twelve-tone
system sounds strange to some, but is mathematical in
nature, often making sense only after careful study.
Pure twelve-tone music was popular among academics in
the fifties and sixties, but some composers such as
Benjamin Britten use it today, when it is necessary to
get a certain feel.
One of the most important 20th-century composers, Igor
Stravinsky (1882-1971), wrote music with very
complicated (difficult) chords (groups of notes that are
played together) and rhythms. Some composers thought
music was getting too complicated and so they wrote
Minimalist pieces which use very simple ideas. In the
1950s and 1960s, composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen
experimented with electronic music, using electronic
circuits, amplifiers and loudspeakers. In the 1970s,
composers began using electronic synthesizers and
musical instruments from rock and roll music, such as
the electric guitar. They used these new instruments to
make new sounds.
Composers writing in the 1990s and the 2000s, such as
John Adams (born 1947) and James MacMillan (born 1959)
often use a mixture of all these ideas, but they like to
write tonal music with easy tunes as well.
Electronic music
Music can be produced electronically. This is most
commonly done by computers, keyboards, electric guitars
and disk tables. They can mimic traditional instruments,
and also produce very different sounds. 21st-century
electronic music is commonly made with computer programs
and hardware mixers.
Jazz
Jazz is a type of music that was invented around 1900 in
New Orleans in the south of the USA. There were many
black musicians living there who played a style of music
called blues music. Blues music was influenced by
African music (because the black people in the United
States had come to the United States as slaves. They
were taken from Africa by force). Blues music was a
music that was played by singing, using the harmonica,
or the acoustic guitar. Many blues songs had sad lyrics
about sad emotions (feelings) or sad experiences, such
as losing a job, a family member dying, or having to go
to jail (prison).
Jazz music mixed together blues music with European
music. Some black composers such as Scott Joplin were
writing music called ragtime, which had a very different
rhythm from standard European music, but used notes that
were similar to some European music. Ragtime was a big
influence on early jazz, called Dixieland jazz. Jazz
musicians used instruments such as the trumpet,
saxophone, and clarinet were used for the tunes
(melodies), drums for percussion and plucked double
bass, piano, banjo and guitar for the background rhythm
(rhythmic section). Jazz is usually improvised: the
players make up (invent) the music as they play. Even
though jazz musicians are making up the music, jazz
music still has rules; the musicians play a series of
chords (groups of notes) in order.
Jazz music has a swinging rhythm. The word "swing" is
hard to explain. For a rhythm to be a "swinging rhythm"
it has to feel natural and relaxed. Swing rhythm is not
even like a march. There is a long-short feel instead of
a same-same feel. A "swinging rhythm" also gets the
people who are listening excited, because they like the
sound of it. Some people say that a "swinging rhythm"
happens when all the jazz musicians start to feel the
same pulse and energy from the song. If a jazz band
plays very well together, people will say "that is a
swinging jazz band" or "that band really swings well."
Jazz influenced other types of music like the Western
art music from the 1920s and 1930s. Art music composers
such as George Gershwin wrote music that was influenced
by jazz. Jazz music influenced pop music songs. In the
1930s and 1940s, many pop music songs began using chords
or melodies from jazz songs. One of the best known jazz
musicians was Louis Armstrong (1900-1971).
Pop music
"Pop" music is a type of popular music that many people
like to listen to. The term "pop music" can be used for
all kinds of music that was written to be popular. The
word "pop music" was used from about 1880 onwards, when
a type of music called music was popular.
Modern pop music grew out of 1950s rock and roll, (for
example Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard) and
rockabilly (for example Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly).
In the 1960s, The Beatles became a famous pop music
group. In the 1970s, other styles of music were mixed
with pop music, such as funk and soul music. Pop music
generally has a heavy (strong) beat, so that it is good
for dancing. Pop singers normally sing with microphones
that are plugged into an amplifier and a loudspeaker. |
|
Musical notation
"Musical notation" is the way music is written down.
Music needs to be written down in order to be saved and
remembered for future performances. In this way
composers (people who write music) can tell others how
to play the musical piece as it was meant to be played.
Solfège
Solfège (also called solfa) is the way tones are named.
It was made in order to give a name to the several tones
and pitches. For example, the eight basic notes "Do, Re,
Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do" are just the names of the eight
notes that confirm the major scale.
Written music
Music can be written in several ways. When it is written
on a staff (like in the example shown), the pitches
(tones) and their duration are represented by symbols
called notes. Notes are to put on the lines and in the
spaces between the lines. Each position says which tone
must be played. The higher the note is in the staff, the
higher the pitch of the tone. The lower the notes are,
the lower the pitch. The duration of the notes (how long
they are played for) is shown by making the note "heads"
black or white, and by giving them stems and flags.
Music can also be written with letters, naming them as
in the solfa "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do" or
representing them by the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
The Standard Notation was made to simplify the lecture
of music notes, although it is mostly used to represent
chords and the names of the music scales.
These ways to represent music ease the way a person
reads music. There are more ways to write and represent
music, but they are less known and may be more
complicated. |
|
How to enjoy music
By listening
People can enjoy music by listening to it. They can go
to concerts to hear musicians perform. Classical music
is usually performed in concert halls, but sometimes
huge festivals are organized in which it is performed
outside, in a field or stadium, like pop festivals.
People can listen to music on CDs, Computers, iPods,
television, the radio, cassette/record-players and even
mobile phones.
There is so much music today, in elevators, shopping
malls, and stores, that it often becomes a background
sound that we do not really hear. Sometimes it is good
to listen more closely to music: by trying to hear the
different instruments and what types of notes the
instruments are playing.
By playing or singing
People can learn to play an instrument. Probably the
most common for complete beginners is the piano or
keyboard, the guitar, or the recorder (which is
certainly the cheapest to buy). After they have learnt
to play scales, play simple tunes and read the simplest
musical notation, then they can think about which
instrument for further development. They should choose
an instrument that is practical for their size. For
example, a very short child cannot play a full size
double bass, because the double bass is over five feet
high. People should choose an instrument that they enjoy
playing, because playing regularly is the only way to
get better. Finally, it helps to have a good teacher.
By composing
Anyone can make up his or her own pieces of music. It is
not difficult to compose simple songs or melodies
(tunes). It's easier for people who can play an
instrument themselves. All it takes is experimenting
with the sounds that an instrument makes. Someone can
make up a piece that tells a story, or just find a nice
tune and think about ways it can be changed each time it
is repeated. The instrument might be someone's own
voice. |
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| Future Stuff |
| Composers and
Musicians -
Armstrong Louis, Bach Johann Sebastian, Beatles The,
Beethoven Ludwig van, Brahms Johannes, Chopin Frédéric,
Dvořák Antonín, Handel Georg Frideric, Mozart Wolfgang
Amadeus, Piaf Édith, Presley Elvis, Puccini Giacomo,
Schubert Franz, Stravinsky Igor, Tchaikovsky Petr, Verdi
Giuseppe, Vivaldi Antonio, Wagner Richard, ABBA, Celine
Dion, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, John
Williams, Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, John Lennon,
Paul McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, Eric Clapton, Keith
Urban |
| Genres -
Blues, Classical music, Electronic music, Flamenco,
Genres, Hip hop, Jazz, Music, Opera, Reggae, Rock music,
Samba, Song, Symphony |
| Musical
Instruments - Accordion,
Alto saxophone, Bagpipes, Bass drum, Bass guitar,
Bassoon, Bongo, Brass instrument, Carillon, Cello,
Clarinet, Contrabassoon, Cor anglais, Cornet, Cymbal,
Double bass, Drum, Electric guitar, Electric piano,
Euphonium, Flugelhorn, Flute, Guitar, Harmonica, Harp,
Harpsichord, Horn, Lute, Lyre, Mandolin, Oboe,
Percussion instrument, Piano, Piccolo, Pipe organ,
Recorder, Saxophone, Snare drum, String instrument,
Synthesizer, Timpani, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Tubular
bells, Vibraphone, Viola, Violin, Wind instrument,
Woodwind instrument, Xylophone, Zither |
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