Music History Essay, Research Paper

Music has been a great influence in the lives of many people through wordss and beat. There are many different manners that can be performed by either a male or female. Music has been around for many old ages and is invariably altering. Music has been divided into six periods: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Twentieth Century.

Music is written in symbols that represent musical sounds. The system of written symbols is called Musical Notation. & # 8220 ; The primary demand of any notation is that it be suited to the music it represents ( Gerboth ) . & # 8221 ;

The simplest texture of music is single-channel or individual sonant texture. Gregorian chant is an illustration of single-channel texture. & # 8220 ; All music up to about a thousand old ages ago, of which we have any cognition, was single-channel ( Machlis 295 ) . & # 8221 ; Its tune is heard with out a harmonic concomitant or other vocal lines and attending is focused on the individual line ( Machlis 295 ) . & # 8220 ; To this twenty-four hours the music of the Oriental universe & # 8211 ; of China, Japan, India, Java, Bali, and the Arab states -is mostly single-channel ( Machlis 295 ) . & # 8221 ;

Polyphonic or many-voiced texture is when two or more melodious lines are combined. Most Medieval polyphonic music is anon. , though some composers were so of import that their name was preserved along with their music ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . The polyphonic texture is based on counterpoint: the art and scientific discipline of uniting in a individual texture two or more coincident melodic lines, each with a rhythmic life of its ain ( Machlis 295-96 ) . The development of counterpoint took topographic point at a clip when composers were chiefly occupied with spiritual choral music, which was by its nature, many-voiced ( Machlis 296 ) . Polyphony had to be written in a manner that would bespeak the beat and pitch exactly. It brought the outgrowth of regular metres that enabled different voices to remain together. Polychoral music is music for several chiors singing in reply to each other across the immense reticuloendothelial systems of the church ( Frowler 122 ) .

Homophonic texture is a single-melody with chords ( Machlis 296 ) . Homophonic means & # 8220 ; same & # 8221 ; or similar sounding. Its texture is based chiefly on harmoniousness. This texture dominated the Classical manner.

The Medieval period was the longest and most distant period of musical history and consists of about a millenary & # 8217 ; s worth of music ( & # 8220 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . One of the troubles in analyzing Medieval music is that a system for notating music developed merely bit by bit ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . A musical notation system was started in the 12th or thirteenth century. Notation in music, for several centuries, merely indicated what pitch ( or note ) to sing.

The Renaissance ( 1400-1600 ) began in 14th century Italy ( Kirshner ) and its name means metempsychosis. A cultural interruption with Medieval tradition was the Renaissance thought of humanitarianism. & # 8220 ; The Renaissance was a clip of superb achievements in literature, scientific discipline, and the humanistic disciplines ( Frowler 445 ) . & # 8221 ; During the Renaissance there is an addition in individuality that is reflected by the altering function of the composer ( & # 8220 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . In late Renaissance instrumental music went toward an independency from vocal music ( Ulrich ) . Most of the popular vocals were played on the luting. The Renaissance, in the humanistic disciplines, was on of the most advanced and active periods in the history of Western adult male, based partially on the philosophic motion called humanitarianism ( Ulrich ) .

The Baroque period ( or Middle Ages ) ( 1600-1750 ) is divided into three fifty-year periods, early, in-between, and late Baroque. Music of the Baroque epoch was characterized by the enormousness of proportion, rich counterpoint, great splender and a extremely ornamented melodious line ( Mautz ) . Baroque music is frequently extremely flowery, colourful and amply textured when compared with its predecessors ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . The term Baroque came from a Gallic word for an progressive or irregular pear

cubic decimeter ( Frowler 448-49 ) . “The early Baroque was a clip of intense experimentation, led in big portion by Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi ( “Historical” ) .” Many facets of the Baroque art were determined by faith ( Sullavin ) . “The strength and immediateness of Baroque art and its individuality and item – observed in such things as the converting rendition of fabric and tegument textures – do it one of the most compelling periods of Western Art ( Sullavin ) .”

Major events of the early seventeenth century were related to the innovation of a new method of composing called monodic manner. Monodic manner music was for one vocalist with an instrumental concomitant. It was achieved by a group of Florentene authors, creative persons, and instrumentalists known as the Camerata, a name derived from the Italian word for & # 8220 ; salon & # 8221 ; ( Machlis 354 ) .

Opera was born around 1600, the beginning of the Baroque epoch. Opera was considered by many to be the individual most of import accomplishment of the Baroque period ( Machlis 354 ) . The first great opera was Orfeo, ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) , by Claudio Monterverdi and was foremost performed in 1607.

The Classical period ( 1750-1825 ) centres about the accomplishments of the four Masterss of the Viennese school & # 8211 ; Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert ( Machlis 228 ) . Vienna was the most of import centre of the classical period. The growing of the public concert was one of the most of import developments of the classical period ( & # 8220 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . Writing music was much more simpler than it was in the Baroque period ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . Composers were now able to last with out being the employee of one individual or household and concerts were no longer limited to put pulling suites. Composers besides started forming concerts that featured their ain music. This would frequently pull big audiences. The size of the orchestra was bit by bit expanded, by composers, to suit the expanded musical version. & # 8220 ; Although chamber music and solo plants were played in the place or other intimate scenes, orchestral concerts seemed to be of course designed for large public infinites ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . & # 8221 ; The popularity of the public concert had a strong impact on the growing of the orchestra.

During the Romantic period ( 1825-1900 ) typical symphonic music & # 8217 ; s were extended from 30 proceedingss to good over an hr ( Ulrich ) . Gifted performing artists & # 8211 ; peculiarly piano players, fiddlers, and vocalists & # 8211 ; became tremendously popular. In add-on to seeking the sights and sounds of other topographic points, composers began researching the music of their native states. When patriotism became a driving force in the late Romantic period composers wanted their music to show their cultural individuality ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) . colour was an of import characteristic of Romantic music ( & # 8221 ; Historical & # 8221 ; ) .

Music has been around for many old ages and has been through many alterations, non merely in the manners, but besides in the manner it is written, read, and American ginseng. It exists in all known societies and has many utilizations ( Nettl ) . Music plays a function in all societies, and it exists in a big figure of manners, each feature of a geographical part or historical epoch ( Nettl ) .

Frowler, Charles, & # 8220 ; Music! Its Role and Importance in Our Lives & # 8221 ; , New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994: 122, 445, 448-49.

Gerboth, Walter, & # 8220 ; Musical Notation & # 8221 ; , Encarta 97, Cadmium Rom, 1993-96.

& # 8220 ; Historical Periods & # 8221 ; , Classical Insites Conservatory, AOL, 1998.

Kirshner, Julius, & # 8220 ; Renaissance & # 8221 ; , Encarta 97, Cadmium Rom, Microsoft, 1993-96.

Machlis, Joseph, & # 8220 ; The Enjoyment of Music & # 8221 ; , New York: Norton, 1984: 228, 295, 296,

354.

Mautz, Nancy B. , & # 8220 ; Creative Impulse & # 8230 ; Baroque & # 8221 ; , World Wide Web, 12 Sept. , 1998.

Nettl, Bruno, & # 8220 ; Music & # 8221 ; , Encarta 97, Cadmium Rom, Microsoft, 1993-96.

Sullavin, Edward J. , & # 8220 ; Baroque & # 8221 ; . Encarta 97, Cadmium Rom, Microsoft. 1993-96.

Ulrich, Homer, & # 8220 ; Music & # 8221 ; , Encyclopedia Americana, 1979: Vol. 19.