
	WiseDude.com Country Western Music History


	Home
	Animals
	Art & Music
	Business and Economy
	Classic Books In Short
	Computers
	Expert Advice
	Food
	Health and Medicine
	History
	Inventions and Discoveries
	Personal Finance
	Personalities
	Science and Engineering
	Sports
	Miscellaneous

The Early History Of Western Music

Western music has its own system of notes and scales that gives it its unique character. And this unique character has been developed over the ages with several people contributing their skills.

Ancient period
The earliest western music can be traced to that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Several philosophers of the time have discussed the style of music that had prevailed then. They believed that music had its origins in divinity, with Apollo being designated as the God for music. At first, the music of the ancient Greeks and Romans was what is now described as monophonic - one melody played or sung by a single artist. Soon that gave way to what is now described as heterophony - one or more musicians performing at the same time, playing or singing a variant of the chosen melody.

The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, music was mostly associated with the church. Ancient Greek and Roman music petered out as the church discouraged it. Early church music appears to have been inspired by Jewish religious practices. Pope Gregory I is reputed to have settled the use of music in church rituals in a certain order and assigned significance of associating particular chants with specific rituals. This type of chant came to be known as Gregorian chant was adopted all over Europe.

The next development in this sphere was the organum - where an independent voice melody pitched higher that the chant melody was incorporated. Then came the incorporation of four or five independent voices.

Early Western Music

With so many musicians involved in the same piece of music but with different roles to play, the need for some sort of a guideline was felt. Musical notation was born and finer nuances were developed with time.

Church Music
Music though nurtured in the church was not restricted to inside the church only. Music using similar techniques developed outside the church too. A variety of instruments - string, keyboard and percussion were used to produce varied effects.

Many innovations were seen on the musical scene. One noteworthy development was the ars nova (Latin for new art) in the 14^th Century. Many complexities were woven into the existing music and a new rhythmic dimension was added. Music assumed a polyphonic stature with many features combining to form one melodious whole. This period took the focus on music out of the church. Various forms like the rondeau, the balata, the caccia among others sprung up all over Europe.

The Italian composer Francesco Landini was a well-known musician of this period.

The Renaissance Period
The Renaissance period brought some simpler styles of music into being. John Dunstable from England was one of the pioneers in this effort. Chansons, motets and masses were the names given to the different kinds of musical compositions of this period. Composers from the Netherlands contributed a lot to this style of music.

The opera, developed by Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, incorporated various features of the different prevailing styles of music. The cantata and the oratorio were the other popular styles that developed during this period.

Arcangelo Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Dietrich Buxtehude, Heinrich Schütz, Henry Purcell, Jean Baptiste Lully were among the notable names in the field of Western music during the 17^th and 18^th centuries.

WiseDude.com Country Western Music History

The Early History Of Western Music

WiseDude.com
Country Western Music History