Music History
Music HistoryMusic has been a great influence in the lives of many people through lyrics and rhythm. There are many different styles that can be performed by either a male or female. Music has been around for many years and is constantly changing. 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. “The primary requirement of any notation is that it be suited to the music it represents (Gerboth).” The simplest texture of music is monophonic or single voiced texture. Gregorian chant is an example of monophonic texture. “All music up to about a thousand years ago, of which we have any knowledge, was monophonic (Machlis 295).” Its melody is heard with out a harmonic accompaniment or other vocal lines and attention is focused on the single line (Machlis 295). “To this day the music of the Oriental world - of China, Japan, India, Java, Bali, and the Arab nations -is largely monophonic (Machlis 295).” Polyphonic or many-voiced texture is when two or more melodic lines are combined. Most Medieval polyphonic music is anonymous, though some composers were so important that their name was preserved along with their music (”Historical”). The polyphonic texture is based on counterpoint: the art and science of combining in a single texture two or more simultaneous melodic lines, each with a rhythmic life of its own (Machlis 295-96). The development of counterpoint took place at a time when composers were mainly occupied with religious choral music, which was by its nature, many-voiced (Machlis 296). Polyphony had to be written in a way that would indicate the rhythm and pitch precisely. It brought the emergence of regular meters that enabled different voices to stay together. Polychoral music is music for several chiors singing in answer to each other across the huge resesses of the church (Frowler 122). Homophonic texture is a single-melody with chords (Machlis 296). Homophonic means “same” or similar sounding. Its texture is based mainly on harmony. This texture dominated the Classical style. The Medieval period was the longest and most distant period of musical history and consists of almost a millennium’s worth of music (“Historical”). One of the difficulties in studying Medieval music is that a system for notating music developed only gradually (”Historical”). A musical notation system was started in the 12th or 13th century. Notation in music, for several centuries, only indicated what pitch (or note) to sing. The Renaissance (1400-1600) began in 14th century Italy (Kirshner) and its name means rebirth. A cultural break with Medieval tradition was the Renaissance idea of humanism. “The Renaissance was a time of brilliant accomplishments in literature, science, and the arts (Frowler 445).” During the Renaissance there is an increase in individualism that is reflected by the changing role of the composer (“Historical”). In late Renaissance instrumental music went toward...
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