HISTORY OF MUSIC

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Welcome to Class !!

We are eager to have you join us !!

In today’s Cultural and Creative Arts class, We will be discussing The History of Music. We hope you enjoy the class!

Music in its characteristics of pleasant sounds and rhythmic movement is the easiest and fastest form of clean pleasure, excitement, recreation and intoxication that is lurked in every aspect of everyday life. Music is present in every culture, varied in its dependence on other aspects of the culture, life, style, climate and development. The origination of sound, music and dance may have been motivated and inspired by rituals same way it did for the cave drawings and paintings.

Evolutionary periods of music

Medieval/middle ages
Renaissance
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
Modern/contemporary or 20^th century

Medieval/middle ages: this was characterized by the beginning of musical notation. Its great contribution to the evolution of music was the development of the 2 styles of music namely, the monophonic and the polyphonic styles of music. The monophonic style of music is one created with a single melodic line. While the polyphonic is that created with 2 or more melodic lines.

Renaissance period: this is marked by the rebirth of the art of music. It brought about a variety of changes in the creation and perception of music. There was a paradigm shift from the churches to nobles and royalties. This influence created music that was richer and fuller which also reflected in the church choirs of then as the size of the choir grew and more voice parts were added. A shift between the polyphonic and the homophonic styles of music is a type of music created with one melodic line with harmonic support from the keyboard.

Baroque period: this period was dominated by instrumental music. It experienced a lot more research and experimentation of major music forms, style and instrument. This period was responsible for the development of opera and instrumental music. In their technique of using melodic soprano lines supported by bass lines, they created predominantly in a homophonic style.

Classical period: this period recorded an advance appreciation of music from 3 groups of music lovers and patrons which included;

The churches that remained consistent from their early contributions to the development of music.
The aristocrats that included royalties, nobles, prestigious and important people who patronized the art of music for recreation, status, establishment and praise.
The’ middle class’ love for music and quest for themes they could relate with against themes of ancient myths.

Romantic period: This period was characterized by the use of music in story tales, expression of feelings and ideas. It also experienced the major developments and the use of various instruments, especially the wind instruments. The melodies of this period were more dramatic, fuller in the size of the orchestra, emotional and expressive. The piano remained the major instrument during the early romantic period and passed through evolutionary changes to new heights of creative expression.

Modern period: this period brought about a musical revolution with radical and fantastic innovations on how music was perceived, performed and appreciated. Composers were more experimental, improving and developing more music forms. Technological advancements which were to the advantage of this period was employed by composers to enhance their compositions. A huge shift in how people assessed and listened to music gained appreciation. With the recording and broadcast of music videos and concert, music became more visual and very portable. The invention of headphones gave dynamism to the way music was listened to as it made it possible for people sitting next to each other to listen to entirely different types of music and performances.