Music History I

1
Music History I

• Lecture Notes 1

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Music History Goals

• Grasp the evolution of musical style and the
  changing uses of music within the Western
  tradition
• Gain a broad understanding of the nature of
  music, its role in society, and the ways these
  have changed over time
• Accept the challenge to think critically about
  music

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Features of the Text(HMWC)

• Comparative timeline
• An outline
• A summary of style differences
• Key terms highlighted in text in glossary
• Composer Profiles
• Primary Evidence boxes
• Focus boxes
• Examples, tables and diagrams
• Discussion questions at end of each part

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Why Study Music History?

• Greater understanding of the emotional power of
  music and its role in society
• Richer understanding of basic elements of music
• Sense of changing musical styles over time
• Basis for exploring new works and repertories
• Greater ability to talk and write about music

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Now thats old!

• Earliest musical instrument dates from ca. 34,000
  BCE
• Found in southwestern France

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Music in the Bible

• Earliest example of musical performance Moses
  led Israelites in a song of praise and
  thanksgiving (Exodus 15) Miriam played the
  tambourine and led the women in dancing Miriams
  song of response is recorded in Exodus 1521
• Worship music attending the entrance of the Ark
  of the Covenant into the Temple (2 Chron. 5) 120
  priests playing trumpets Levitical singers and
  their family members played cymbals, harps and
  lyres
• The glory of the Lord filled the house of God

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Socrates

• The unexamined life is not worth living.

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Prologue Timeline(in HMWC)

• Reign of King Davidca. 1010 970 BCE
• Time of Homer (Iliad, Odyssey)ca. 800
• Pythagoras (number sound)ca. 580 500
• Destruction of 1st Temple586
• Socrates, Plato, Aristotle on music and music
  educationca. 450 325
• Aristoxenus on ear discernmentca. 364 304
• Our Lord Jesus Christca. 6 BCE ca. 30 CE

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Ancient Greece

• Construction of the Parthenon5th c. BCE
• Most important venue for music theater
• 3 inseparable elements word, music, dance
• Monophony a single melodic line
• Polyphony 2 or more simultaneous melodic lines
  of equal importance
• Tetrachord 4 notes inside interval of a 4th
• 3 genera diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic

10
Music Therapy

• David plays the harp to cure Saul of his state of
  torment by the evil spirit. An angel hovers above
  David as he plays.

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Roman Empire

• 200 yr. control of the Mediterranean world and
  Western Europe begins with the reign of Emperor
  Augustus in 27 BCE
• Brought stability and prosperity
• Decline began in the 3rd century

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More on Ancient Greece

• Most important musical instruments lyre (many
  types), aulos, syrinx, horns, drums, several
  types of idiophones (idiophones?)
• Platos advice about teaching music to young
  people Learn just enough for social use and
  appreciation as an art, but not to cultivate it
  as a profession
• Ex. of Greek notation on p. 9 (HMWC)
• Plato on the Doctrine of Ethos (page 14)

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The Byzantine Empire

• Also known as Eastern Empire
• Endured until the fall of its capital to the
  Turks in 1453
• The capital has had 3 names Byzantium,
  Constantinople, Istanbul
• Located on the SW coast of the Black Sea in
  present day Turkey

14
Instruments of Ancient Rome

• Brass tuba and cornu (horn) used mostly for
  military purposes
• Hydraulic organ powered by water pressure used in
  civic ceremonies and with gladiators
• Street musicians are playing the aulos (double
  flute), small cymbals, tambourine
• Picture of a tuba (trumpet) on p. 13 of MWC

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The Power of Music

• Belief in music of the spheres in Western
  thought for 2000 years
• With music Orpheus lulls Charon to sleep and
  persuades Pluto to release Euridice from Hades
• Doctrine of Ethos Music has the power to effect
  certain emotions and behaviors in the listener

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Aristotle vs. Plato

• Aristotle believed that music should be a part of
  the education of the young
• Plato held to a more restrictive approach to
  musical education and practice

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Bad for American Youth

• Ragtime
• Jazz
• Rock and Roll
• Heavy Metal
• Rap

18
The Medieval Era

• Spans a millennium from the fall of the Roman
  Empire in 476 CE to the early 15th century
• Medieval means between the ages
• The time frame in MWC 476 - 1450

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Ancient Mesopotamia

• Bone flute on page 6 of HWM, found in Germany,
  dates from ca. 36,800 BCE
• A reconstructed bull lyre is depicted on page 8.