History of Western Music

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History of Western Music

• Packet 2

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Western Music and Non- Western Music

• Western music-Music that has its origins in
  Europe
• Western music is not limited to Europe, but
  includes any music that was influenced by the
  region.
• Any part of the world that was colonized by a
  European nation is most likely influenced by
  European music, therefore considered Western
  music
• Any nation can have both Western and Non-western
  muscial traditions within its borders
• In this chapter we will learn about the history
  of Western music

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Ancient Greek and Roman Music

• The music that we all enjoy today can be traced
  back to ancient Greece and Rome
• Music played an integral role in the lives of
  ancient Greeks
• The word music comes from the muses, the
  daughters of Zeus and patron goddesses of
  creative and intellectual endeavours.
• Muse-any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek
  mythology presiding over song and poetry and the
  arts and sciences.

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Ancient Greek Musical Instruments

• the lyre a strummed and occasionally plucked
  string instrument
• hand-held chordophone
• built on a tortoise-shell frame
• generally with seven or more strings tuned to the
  notes of one of the modes.
• The lyre was used to accompany others or even
  oneself for recitation and song.

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Ancient Greek Musical Instruments

• The kithara-also a strummed string instrument,
• more complicated than the lyre.
• It had a box-type frame with strings stretched
  from the cross-bar at the top to the sounding box
  at the bottom
• it was held upright and played with a plectrum.
• The strings were tunable by adjusting wooden
  wedges along the cross-bar.

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Ancient Greek Musical Instruments

• The aulos-usually double, consisting of two
  double-reed (like an oboe) pipes,
• not joined but generally played with a mouth-band
  to hold both pipes steadily between the player's
  lips.

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Ancient Greek Musical instruments

• The pan pipes, also known as panflute and syrinx
  (Greek s?????),
• an ancient musical instrument based on the
  principle of the stopped pipe
• consisting of a series of such pipes of gradually
  increasing length
• Sound is produced by blowing across the top of
  the open pipe (like blowing across a bottle top).

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Ancient Greek Musical Instruments

• The hydraulis, a keyboard instrument, the
  forerunner of the modern organ.
• the instrument used water to supply a constant
  flow of pressure to the pipes.
• the air to the pipes that produce the sound comes
  from a wind-chest (air chamber) connected by a
  pipe to a dome
• air is pumped in to compress water
• the water rises in the dome, compressing the air,
  and causing a steady supply of air to the pipes

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Roman Music

• Very little survives about the music of the
  Romans.
• The Romans are not said to have been particularly
  creative or original when it came to music.
• They did not attach any spiritual ethos to music,
  as did the Greeks.
• Ethos-the distinguishing character, sentiment,
  moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person,
  group, or institution
• Early fathers of the Christian church were aghast
  at the music of theatre, festivals, and pagan
  religion.
• Music of the Greeks was suppressed once
  Christianity became the official religion of the
  Roman empire.
• Eventaully though, Greek ideals and customs
  (including music) were adopted by the Church

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• Empire- a major political unit having a territory
  of great extent or a number of territories or
  peoples under a single sovereign authority.
• Ancient Rome was an empire until the year 476.
• This marked the beginning of the Medieval Era.
• The Medieval Era was a time of much confusion.
  It was a period of feudalism. The main authority
  in the west was the Catholic Church.
•  the system of political organization prevailing
  in Europe from the 9th to about the 15th
  centuries having as its basis the relation of
  lord to vassal with all land held in fee and as
  chief characteristics homage, the service of
  tenants under arms and in court, wardship, and
  forfeiture