What Is Music for Us?

Music History and Evolution

Music has been used as a form of entertainment from the dawn of time. Music has evolved over the years and is impacted by a community’s culture. Based on the various cultures and techniques used in the composition, several genres have arisen over time in both Western and Eastern countries. There are various musical periods that can be used to describe developments in music composition. Music eras include the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th century. Composers, rhythms, musical beats, and instruments have evolved since the Baroque era, and newer styles have been embraced.The changes in the music are attributed to the changes in the music composition. The eras include; Baroque, Classical, Romantic and the 20th century music eras. The composers, the rhythms and the musical beats and instrument changed from the initial era, Baroque up to date newer styles have been adopted. The changes in the music are attributed to the changes in the technology, diversification of cultures, the changing preferences of the audience and interaction of different music components (Shuker, 2016).

Baroque Music

The Baroque music is the initial recognized music era in the history of music. Baroque music extends from 1600 to 1750 and included composers like Bach, Vilvaldi and Handel. Some of the genres produced in this era include; the opera, cantata, sonata, oratorio. All these genres had a correlation with the European originality (Lena & Peterson, 2008). Music in this era had tuneful and properly organized melodies with dramatic actions in the presentation. The volume in the music was usually low giving perception of sacredness of the piece of art. Other characteristics associated with this era include; different instrumental sounds, monody and the concept of basso continuo and little or no information on the performance technique to be used (Bukofzer, 2013).

Philosophies of Baroque Music

Within the Baroque period, several concepts remain essential in identifying the music in the Baroque period. Firstly, there was a common belief of music as a tool of communication with a potential to arouse emotions (Bukofzer, 2013). Patronage during the era determined the success of a composer or a performer.

Classical Music Era

The classical music period existed from 1775-1825 with three dominant composers featuring in the music era. Franz Joseph, Wolfgang Amedeus and Ludwing Van Beethoven were the main contributors to the development of classical music. Both the liturgical and secular music were composed in the period and distinction made through the tunes and rhythms adopted. The Classical style used homophonic and a light texture. It was also melodic and ornamented and the instruments used were almost similar to those used in the preceding Baroque period, the violin and the harpsichord that made the music quality much better. The music styles in the period comprised of the crescendo, diminuendo and sforzando which were dynamic and used a variety of keys, rhythm and melodies. Open places were preferred in the performance of the Classical music and it was a good form of entertainment (Lena & Peterson, 2008).

The Romantic Era

The third era from Baroque music is the Romantic era that arose during the period 1825 to 1990s. It covers a wider time period compared to the earlier periods due to the industrialization revolution in the Western countries. In France, for instance, the impact of the Romantic era was big due to the French Revolution. The expressions by composers were felt as they were performing art freely and at a personal level (Schellenberg & Von Scheve, 2012). The bright impression and warm melodies in the music made the music livelier. New instruments such as the piano were introduced yielding a larger dynamic trait and better sound. A wider scale of musical keys and dynamics made music composition have good tempos. One piece that is well known in the classical musical era is the “Swan Lake” by Tchaikovsky and is characterized with wider key scales and dynamics and used ballet (Radocy & Boyle, 2012).

The 20th Century Music Era

The twentieth century music era is the type of music composed in the periods of 1900-1999. It is during this period that musical diversity was realized. Freedom of thoughts and creativity and new forms of music were invented while others were re-invented. Technology and accessibility of resources gave room for the inventions in the music world (Shuker, 2016). A combination of chords and percussion instruments. The political and social aspects of the society were a source of inspiration for a diversified form of musical styles. The music in this era sounds more modern but has some traces of styles used in the Romantic era. The nations’ attitude created music in the century with less of the composers’ feelings. Expressionism and impressionism are the styles used in the period (Katz, 2010).

21st Century Music

The music period starts in 2000 to present and is dynamic representing the art music produced. Several genres have come up; Acappella, African hip hop, African-American music, rock, country music, Jazz, Metal, Dancehall, Dance pop among many others. The beats are much better due to the modern technology used in production. The composers have freedom on their creativity and the content in most cases involve real life experiences unlike the fairy tales in the historical periods (Katz, 2010).

Conclusion

Music revolution since the ancient times is characterized mainly by the instruments used, the rhythm, the codes used and the music composers. Modern music has better sounds and more diversified as a result of the technology updates. The themes in the historic music eras differed across all the musical eras giving another difference. However, some of the aspects in the original forms of music are still present in the modern music forms thus strong cultural identity.

References

Bukofzer, M.F (2013). Music in the Baroque Era- from Monteverdi to Bach. Read Books Ltd.

Lena, J. C., & Peterson, R.A. (2008). Classifications as culture: Types and trajectories of music

genres. American sociological review, 73(5), 697-718.

Katz, M. (2010). Capturing sound: how technology has changed music (Vol 1). University of

California Press.

Radocy, R. E., & Boyle, J. D. (2012). Psychology foundations of musical behaviour. Charles

C Thomas Publisher.

Schellenberg, E.G., & Von Scheve, C. (2012). Emotional cues in American popular music:

Five decades of the top 40. Pychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, 6(3), 196.

Shuker, R. (2016). Understanding popular music culture. Routledge.