Back to: Jss2 Cultural and Creative Art (C.C.A)

History of Music

The history of where music first originated is long and complex. It is really difficult to ascertain where exactly it came from. If we consider sounding to be something that is both appealing and magical, with fluctuations in pitch that indicate a melody and some form of rhythm, then it stands to reason that music existed before the development of language and written words, even before the advent of humans. The melody may be heard in the chirping of birds, the lapping of waves on the shore, and the pitter-pattering of raindrops on the ground. The evolution of music among humans took place against a background of noises from the natural environment. The human voice is the first and only musical instrument in the history of man that is everlasting and unchanging. The grunting sounds of early humans were the origins of vocal music. Man has been known to make use of his voice since far before the conception and creation of any musical instrument. The human act of clapping and banging one’s hands on various instruments or objects is one of the origins of music. To make music, people employed a variety of natural percussion instruments, which may be defined as anything that produced a sound while it was being beaten.

Evolutionary periods of music

1. Medieval/middle ages

2. Renaissance

3. Baroque

4. Classical

5. Romantic

6. Modern/contemporary or 20th century 

Medieval/Middle Ages

Its major contribution to the growth of music was the emergence of two musical styles: monophonic and polyphonic. A single melodic line is used to generate the music that is considered to be of the monophonic style. Polyphonic music, on the other hand, is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct melodic lines.

The Renaissance

The Renaissance era is distinguished by the revival of the art of music. It brought in a wide range of changes, both in terms of the production of music and how it is perceived. A paradigm change occurred, with the focus shifting from the churches to the nobility and royals. This made music richer and more full, which was also reflected in the church choirs of the time, which got bigger and added more voice parts. A sort of music that is made with one melodic line and receives harmonic assistance from the keyboard, and which represents a transition between the polyphonic and homophonic styles of music, is called a shift between polyphonic and homophonic styles.

The Baroque era

The Baroque era was dominated by instrumental music. It engaged in a great deal of investigation and experimentation of the principal styles, genres, and instruments of music. It was around this time that opera and instrumental music began to emerge as distinct musical genres. They developed much of their work in a homophonic manner, which they accomplished by using a method in which melodic soprano lines were backed by bass lines.

Classical era

The classical era is the time documented an early appreciation of music from three types of music lovers and patrons, including;

The churches have maintained their traditions and practices from the time when they first contributed to the formation of music.

Aristocrats were royalty, nobles, and distinguished and significant individuals who patronized music for enjoyment, prestige, establishment, and acclaim.

The “middle class'” passion for music and search for narratives to which they could identify as contrasted with the “old myths” narratives.

The Romantic era

The Romantic era was marked by the use of music in narrative stories, as well as the expression of sentiments and ideas. This period lasted from around 1400 to 1600. Additionally, it was at this time that substantial advances took place, as well as the use of a variety of instruments, most notably wind instruments. During this period, melodies were known to be more dramatic, and richer in terms of the size of the orchestra, emotive, and expressive. Throughout the early romantic era, the piano continued to be one of the most important instruments, and it underwent a process of evolutionary transformation that brought it to new heights of creative expression.

The modern era

The modern era was characterized by a dramatic and amazing shift in musical perception, performance, and appreciation, which contributed to a musical revolution that occurred throughout this period. Composers were more open to experimentation, which led to the improvement and development of a wider variety of music styles. Composers throughout this period made use of the technological improvements that were available and worked to their advantage to improve the quality of their work. An enormous change took place in the manner in which people evaluated and listened to music, and this transition garnered recognition. The filming and broadcasting of concerts and music videos gave rise to a more visually engaging and easily transportable form of music. The development of headphones made it possible for individuals sitting next to one other to listen to completely different kinds of music and performances. This added a new dimension to the experience of listening to music and gave it a more dynamic quality.

Music Listening

One of the rare activities that engage all lobes of the human brain simultaneously is listening to music. Therefore, the act of listening to music is the training of the ear, an extension of the brain, in the ability not just to hear but also to listen and understand the overt and hidden message of a particular kind of music. This is accomplished by exposing oneself to a wide variety of musical styles and genres. Listening to music provides one with the opportunity to acquire the basic aspects of music, such as form, melody, and rhythm. By gaining an understanding of these elements, one may grow to enjoy a wide variety of musical styles.

Music Styles

There are many different types of music, including rock and roll music, disco music, fuji music, calypso music, juju music, reggae music, blues music, country music, gospel music, highlife music, jazz music, pop music, afro-beat music, and makosa music, to name just a few.

Types of Music

Music is categorised based on its purpose. Music may be broken down into a variety of categories, such as religious music, secular or popular music, classical music, vocal music, instrumental music, folk music, martial arts music, chamber music, and so on.

Instruments used in Playing Music

There are five main groups of instruments that can be used to make music. Stringed instruments, wind instruments, brass instruments, percussion instruments, and traditional musical instruments make up this group.

1. String instruments are characterized by their ability to be played by either plucking or bowing the string. They are the essential building blocks of the symphony. Violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass are the names of these instruments.

2. Woodwind: The instruments in this section are played by blowing air into them to create music. The fact that they were traditionally crafted using wood is what gives rise to the name “woodwind” for these instruments. However, some of them are constructed using different kinds of materials. Recorder, flute, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, and bassoon are the names of the instruments that belong to this category.

3. Brass: The sound produced by the instruments in this category is produced by the player blowing air into the instrument. They are constructed from of brass and sometimes silver. Instruments such as the trumpet, cornet, trombone, English horn, French horn, baritone, tuba, sousaphone, and euphonium are included in this category.

4. Percussion: You may play percussion instruments by hitting them or by shaking them. These percussion instruments are known as the timpani, tabular bells, cymbals, and triangle. In addition to it, there is guitar and a keyboard-piano.

5. Traditional Instruments: Traditional instruments may be broken down into four groups. They are referred to as chordophones, idiophones, membranophones, and aerophones respectively.

Anatophone: This is a device that was developed more recently. It involves thumping one’s chest, drumming one’s fingers, clapping one’s hands, and stomping one’s legs.

Singing

Breath Control: The capacity to hold one’s breath for as long as one wishes. It is necessary to have adequate breathing in order to have excellent control of one’s breath.

Breathing This is an exercise in inhaling and exhaling. In order to maintain one’s singing for an extended period of time, it is possible that one will need to breathe in through one’s lips rather than through one’s nose. The lungs, which are located inside the hollow of the chest, receive the air that we breathe in. When you breathe in, your lungs expand, which presses down on your diaphragm, which in turn causes your stomach to expand. It is not the case that the breath travels immediately to the stomach. One must have a proper posture in order to have healthy breathing.

Posture: When singing, one should sit or stand in this position. The body should not be positioned in such a manner that it prevents the lungs from functioning at their full potential. If one’s posture is correct, they will be able to breathe easily, which will result in flawless wording.

Phrasing is the art of taking a given sentence and continuing it with the next breath. The space that is denoted by the use of punctuation marks in a piece of music is known as a phrase. In order to give one’s singing more depth and significance, it is best to take a breath before each and every punctuation mark.