The history of music essays

The history of music essays There are many preconceptions of what the history of music is. Some people think it is mainly a biography of composers lives, but they are wrong. The history of music is primarily the history of musical style. In order to appreciate this, it is essential to become acquainted with the different sounds and to hear them in their contexts. Fashions in history change with the generations, like fashions in musical tastes. We can speak or write many words about music but it is either successful or not by its ability to move us, stimulate us, or entertain. It can also enlarge our capacity for spiritual experience. It is hard for people of today to imagine how music sounded many centuries ago because instruments have changed dramatically over the years. Some modern performances claim to be H.I.P (Historically, informed performance) by using replicas of old instruments but we do not know if this is what it really sounded like because instruments were made differently using different tools. Today we use machines to make instruments. Music has always existed even when there was only primitive life. In some communities music first appeared in rituals. In religious rituals both voice and musical instruments were used and music was not written down but was passed on orally. The instruments were very limited and were easily made. As time went on music started to be written down on parchment and music instruments started becoming more complex. Composers started becoming famous in the Baroque period and composers in the Baroque period all wrote in the same style. In each period a composer started off a new type of music and other composers copied. The history of music is the history of music styles and there have been many styles through the centuries, for example in western music, there were many periods of different styles of music for example, the Classical, Baroque and Romantic period. ...