Late 20th Century Music

Late 20th Century Music was an extension of the Early 20th Century. Lasting from 1950 to 2000, things such as films scores, music technology, genres, and music experimentation became more popular. Film scoring originally started in 1914 with The Oz Film Manufacturing Company sending their scores to Louis F. Gottschalk for their films, but didn't become widely popular until the 1950's. Scores beginning with Alex North's music for the play, A Streetcar Named Desire and Leonard Bernstein's music for the film, On the Waterfront. Since then, new advances in music and music technology expanded film scoring and it is on of the most profitable and popular businesses in Hollywood today.

Music technology was a key factor in advances for music. Multi-tracking, sound effects, and new ways of recording tracks are a just a few of the many new advances. An evolution from vinyl recorded were compact cassette tapes. The word cassette is French meaning "little box." Cassettes contain magnetic tape which is read by the wheels in the tape player. Philips was the first company to successfully make the first compact cassette tape in 1962. The only bad side to the cassette tape was that it did not have as good of quality as an 8-Track tape until the late 1970's. The compact cassette continued to improve in quality until the invention of the Compact Disc, or CD. The compact disc project began with Philips in 1970 with work on what was called the ALP (audio long play), an audio disc similar to vinyl records but with the use of lasers. The name "Compact Disc" was decided as the name to help sales with in mind of the success of the compact cassette. Philips' had a plan to have the CD be a 11.5cm diameter disc, but that idea had to be changed when their partner, Sony, insisted that the disc must hold all of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The final CD product was released in 1980 and was 12 cm in diameter. After CD's, things such as the MP3 player, the Zune, and the Apple iPod were invented in the 2000's.

Not only did new advances in music technology lead a great change in music culture, distinctions in types of music became popular. Music genres were created to distinct one type of music from another by their sounds, rhythms, and time periods. Genres such as Jazz, Funk, Pop, Rock, Classical, Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Country, Punk, Metal, Acoustic, Reggie, and Alternative Rock are just some of the many music genres. Experimentation was also a big part in classifying these genres. Bands such as the Beatles, who experimented with asymmetrical patterns; The Beach Boys, who experimented with close vocal harmonies; Black Sabbath, who experimented with tuning down their guitars and using horror-inspired lyrics; and Led Zeppelin, who experimented with heavy guitar sounds and blues-rock styles. All of these bands lead a great movement of a new kind of music along with instrumental composers such as Aaron Copeland, who experimented with a new feel of instrumental music, and John Williams, who experimented with film scoring and soundtracks.

The Late 20th Century was the beginning of a new freedom of musical experimentation and new music technology. The music is different from the time periods before it in so many ways, that it's hard to describe them all. Music in this time period lead a movement that is a major part of our entertainment world today.

Early 20th Century Music

The Early 20th Century music period was that of great change. Music in the Romantic Period was very serious and as time changed, it became less serious. Romantic music appealed to the general audiences while the Early 20th Century music was composed to appel to cartoons, movies, and a more comical side of life. Also, new advances in technology such as the radio, recording devices, and camera made it easier for more people to hear the new styles of music. New styles included: comteporary classic, which didn't consist of a similar theme throughout the music; folk music, consisted of themes that appealed to the nation in which it was written for; alternative rock, indepentdent from common rock music with having variations of typical rock music; blues, vocal and instrumental music that evolved from African spiritial music; country, developed in the southern US and with roots of folk and blues; and jazz, includes blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. These types of music deverged from the seriousness of Classical music into a new age of musical entertainment for all people.

A new style in particular became popular before the Romantic Period ended, but continued throughtout the Early 20th Century. His name is John Philip Sousa. This new style of music was called a march. A march is typically written in cut time starting with one key and then chaning over to a trio with a different, subdominant, key towards the middle of the march. One composer in particular is called the "March King." Born in 1854 in Washington DC, Sousa dedicated his life to composing marches. His first marches were to appeal to dancing and concert band settings. Then his marches moved towards being used in the military and for marching band. His marches are still very popluar and were the beginning of the change of appeal to music styles going into the 20th Century.

Besides new styles of music, new theory methods were invented. Things such as a tone row were new advances in theory. The theory is that a piece is composed where all 12 notes, octave to octave, all have equal importance. This same theory related to the compostition method of serialism. The creator of these theories, Arnold Schoenberg, believed in composing a piece of music based on numerical patterns. This method could be used in different ways such as using a random set of numbers and taking those numbers and corrilating them with the 12 notes of the tone row. With single digits directly corrisponding with the tone row, double or triple digits would be used to create chords. Another theory that developed in the Early 20th Century was poloytonality. Poloytonality was a new theory that was used to compose music with using more than one key and time signatures throughout the whole piece. Pieces would be composed having one line with one key signature and time signature and the others having something totally different. This created a unique kind of sound that was similar to many marching bands playing different music at the same time.

Overall, the music in the Early 20th Century set the foundation for the appeal of music that we see today. It changed from being formal and serious, to entertaining and fun.

The Romantic Period - Composers and How They Changed Music

The Romantic Period, known for its emotional music, lasted from 1815-1910. The music in the Romantic Period differed from the periods before it by adding more passion and expression in the music. Different composers such as Richard Wagner, experimented with new chords such as the Tristan chord. The Tristan chord consits of an augmented fourth, augmented sixth, and an augmented second above the root note. Wanger used this chord in his work Tristan und Isolde. Besides creating new chords, other composers, including Wanger, used the Cyclic form. Cyclic form is a method of composing pieces with multiple movements.
Claude Debussy was another composer who created and experimented with new things. He created the whole-tone and pentatonic scales. The whole-tone is a scales in any key consisting of 7 total notes with the scale raising a whole-step for each new note. This gave a dream-like feeling to the music. The pentatonic scale is a scale in any key consisting of the root, the second, third, fifth, sixth, and the octave. This type of scale, in my opinion, gives a happy-like feeling to the music because there are no half steps in the scale. However, there are minor pentatonic scales that are used from minor scales that can give the music a sad feeling.
One composer in particular who used expression in his music was Hector Berlioz. In one of his most famous works, Symphonie Fanstastique, he used a new idea in music called the idée fixe. This simply means obsession or fixed idea. The idée fixe he used was a simple melody, usually played by a flute or oboe, as a reminder of his beloved. In all movements of the piece, the melody would appear when the lover thought of his beloved. In the next to last movement, March to the Scaffold, the lover is being executed. On his way to the scaffold, you hear minor and major sounds. Minor symbolizing that death is near and major symbolizing that the townspeople are happy he is about to die. Right before he is hung, the executioner takes off the mask and you her the idée fixe. The lover has just realized that he beloved is the one about to kill him. This is just one example of how the music was used to express emotions.
The Romantic Period was a time of great composers and new advances in music. As you have read, many composers created new methods of music and put them into some of their major works. New types of scales and chords revolutionized the music of the time and gave a base for new musical experiments in the future. As a result, many pieces from this era are still very popular today.

The Baroque Period

The Baroque Period went from 1600-1750. Many musical developments occurred during the time period. One thing was the beginning of the orchestra and orchestral music. The orchestral was formed by Claudio Monteverdi, an Italian composer. Two types of orchestral music he created was the basso continuo and early forms of instrumental opera. The bass continuio was a type of music that had a bass line accompaniment with a harpsichord as the main line. Early opera music consisted of combining poetry, music, and stage visuals.
The instruments used in the Baroque orchestra were flutes, violins, and other woodwinds. Other instruments included the theorbo and the harpsichord. The theorbo is a plucked string instrument. It has a long necked lutes and is typically a bass instrument.
Other types of music in the baroque period were fugues, cantatas, overtures, oratorios, and suites. Fugues were philharmonic pieces with a certain number of voices that is related to the others voices by tonal and harmonic lines. The fugue was created by JS Bach. Cantatas are vocal compositions with accompaniment with several movements. Overtures are instrumental introductions to dramas, choral pieces, or instrumental compositions. The overture wasn't developed until the late 1700's. Oratorios were musical compositions that included an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Perhaps the most famous oratorio is George Handel's Messiah. Suites are ordered sets of instrumental or orchestral pieces that are extracts from bigger compositions.
Many instruments were created during the baroque period. The organ, which was used in mostly church services. Woodwinds included the flute, the oboe, the recorder, the bassoon, and the contra bassoon. Brass included the trumpet, the sackbut(close to a modern trombone), the trombone, and the horn. The woodwinds were mostly used for orchestras while the brass was mostly used for town bands. String instruments included the lute, the violin, the viola, the viol, the violoncello, the contrabass, and the harp. These instruments were used primarily in the orchestra. All of the these instruments were great developments in the Baroque period.
Music and art related in this time period. Music was developing into a way of expressing emotions through music and acting. Art was developing into paintings that express human emotion as well.
The Baroque period was full of musical developments and advances. The music from this time era was experimenting with many new instruments and method. The composers of the time made amazing compositions and created methods that we still use today. This period is the basis of today's modern music.

Reniassance Art and Music

The Renaissance Era was full of art, inventions, and discovery. The era went from the 14th to 16th century. In this time period, many artists became available and they painted some magnificent pieces of art. The famous painting of Mona Lisa was painted by artist Leonardo da Vinci. This painting was the only painting in this era of a person smiling.
Another famous painting was the School of Athens by artist Raphael. The painting’s meaning is to describe knowledge. Each of the four walls in the painting means something different. They are as follows: Seek Knowledge of Causes, Divine Inspiration, Knowledge of Things Devine, and To Each What Is Due.
The artist Michelangelo painted Crucifixion of St. Peter as to show the pain and suffering St. Peter endured while being crucified. He showed details in the viewers’ faces to show the look in their faces that they knew someone was going to die.
An artist not heard of very often is the German artist Albrecht Altdorfer. Altdorfer painted mostly religious scenes and some landscape scenes. One of his famous paintings was The Resurrection. The scene was that of Jesus Christ coming back to life from the dead and showing the amazement on peoples’ faces.
Music in the Reniassance Era was developing more as the period progressed. Instruments such as the slide trumpet (similar to a modern day trombone) and the cornett were invented duirng this time period. Other instruments such as the transverse flute, the bagpipes, and the voil were also invented during this time era.
Music in this time period was mostly played in Cathlic Mass services and for special events. The most popular music was secular music. This non-sacred music was played for entertainment in the streets rather than in the church. Music was also first printed via the printing press during this time era.
Some composers of the Reniassance included William Bryd who wrote
Parthenia, Josquin de Prez who was hired bt the Queen of England to write music, and Claudio Monteverdi who made a series of books containing different pieces he wrote. There are many other artists and these are just a few to name.
The Reniassnace Era was full and music and art and in many ways, they related to each other. Beginnings of music and art in this era have shaped the styles and methods we use today.

Medieval Music

The Middle Ages, otherwise known as the Medieval Period, was full of darkness and death in England. Due to the cold, artic temperatures in England at this time, illness was prone to strike many homes. With all of the sickness and death, England didn't have much room to advance. Musical advances were not common in the majority of England except in Monk societies. Different kinds of music the Monks used were: plainsong, parallel organum, free organum, melismatic organum, and counterpoint. Plainsong, or plainchant, was the basis or these types and was known as monophonic. Gregorain Chant, named after Pope Gregory I, was used in Catholic Mass and other religious services. Parallel Organum, usually consisting of 4th and 5th harmonies, was used greatly in Notre Dame. People such as the trouvéres and the troubadours, spread this music throughout England. They would sometimes spread this music in the form of a motet. A motet is a vocal composition in polyphonic style, on a Biblical or similar prose text, intended for use in a church service.
Different instruments used in the Middle Ages were the Hurdy-Gurdy, a wooden string instrument; the Harpsichord, a stringed piano; the Lute, a guitar like instrument with wide body; and the Medieval Shawm, a wooden clarinet-type instrument. One of the main instruments used in the Medieval Period was the harp. The harp is a stringed aristocratic instrument used in all parts of Europe. The Troubadors used this instrument the most and would often sing lyrics along with playing the harp. The harpers would sometimes lead armies into battle and were not harmed by the enemy because they were respected by them. These instruments were used for mostly entertainment, but were used for other things as well.
Besides in England, music was advancing in other countries. In China, the musicians were developing pentatonic and diatonic compositions. Pieces included 12 notes to an octave and were mostly diatonic. To me, the most interesting advances were the rap developments in Scotland. Rap music originated in Scotish pubs back in the Middle Ages. The Scots would battle with insults back and forth. This came from the ancient art of Caledonia and it was called flyting.
Medieval music was different in all parts of the world. Some of the advances during this time are a basis to modern music and instruments we use today. In knowing how things such as theory and scales started back in this time period, is very interesting. Even with all of the death and darkness, music still survived and prevailed.

Ancient Music Before 300 A.D.

Throughout the ages, music has been used for many things. Such things are: entertainment, parties, gatherings, battles, ceremonies, rituals, and communication. Different cultures used music for various things. The Celts played instruments such as the bodhran, the feadan, the clarsach, and piob. The bodhran is a type of drum made from animal skin for the drum head and ash tree wood for the base. This is known as the oldest form of musical instruments in the world. The Celts used all of these instruments for entertainment, rituals, and gatherings. The Ancient Greeks used string instruments such as the Lyre. The Lyre or λύρα, has three or more strings and and soundbox. The Greeks used this mostly for entertainment. The Lyre has become a symbol of general music all over the world.

Another type of instrument the Greeks used was the Water Organ (ὕδωρ, hýdōr). The power of hydraulic pressure was used to make sound go through the pipes in the organ. The Greeks used the water organ for battles, ceremonies, and entertianment. The Ancient Egyptians used instruments such as hand-held drums, castanets(similar to Celtic bones excpet made with shells), rattles, and bells. Other instruments include flutes, trumpets, double and single reed woodwinds, and many string instruments such as the harp, lyre, and lutes(used with a bow). They used music for battles, ceremonies, and religion. These cultures are just a small example of ancient musical instruments.

Besides using instruments, ancient cultures used music notation. The Seikilos epitaph is the oldest form of notation recorded. It was found on the side of a tombstone in Turkey. The tune includes ancient notation and lyrics. The notation transcribed into modern notation is in the key of D and is in 6/8 time signature. The symbols on the notation each mean a specific note name and the marks above the symbols represent the type of note(quarter, eight, etc). The lyrics attached are placed below the notes to know where and what to sing with the notes.
The lyrics are as follows:
While you live, shine
Don't suffer anything at all;
Life exists only a short while
And time demands its toll.

Types of ancient music like this were taught in many places. For example, the music teacher, Terpander, is know as the founder of classical Greek music. He expanded the world of music in many ways. One of the things he did was increase the number of strings on the lyre from four to seven. Another thing he did was introduce new rhythms and new ways a using music.

Ancient music is a wonderful and interesting subject. There are so many things about the history of music I didn't know that I learned by doing this research assignment. The most interesting to me was the Seikilos epitaph. It is amazing how that old type of notation looks and how it is interpreted. I hope to expand my knowledge in the history of music by doing more reseach like this and doing some on my own.