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Jazlyn Perez- Martin

Mr. Bogardus

Senior Project

05 October, 2017

The Evolution of Music

No much comes to mind when listening to music, besides the meaning of the lyrics or

how good the beat was, but there is more to music then those two elements. It is important to

understand how and where music comes from and its components to truly appreciate what we

listen to today. Throughout history, music evolved as different genres of music as a host of

cultural reasons; fortunately, todays advanced technology allows music lovers to listen to the

same music in a much more convenient format. With the help of technology. Music has become

visual and a bigger form of entertainment.

Native American music was one of the earliest forms of music ethnomusicologist have

knowledge of why they created music. Native American music, or tribal music, was used for

ceremonial purposes, healing rituals, and a way to reenact stories. Music for them was a form of

expression; their beliefs, thoughts, and traditions. Tribal music was made possible with their

percussion instruments, flutes, and of course, their voices (Native American Music). Vocals

were the heart of tribal music and was regularly off-key with flowing irregular rhythms. No

harmony is found in this style of music. Vocalist were passionate when it came to

performances- multiple people sang at once, or solos. Men and women had their own style of

performing songs; men would sing together at once, dancing in a circle, and women would sing

in call-and-response, while dancing in place. Native Americans were known for their complex
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performances. The tension and release vocals created when joined with percussion was unlike

any other form of musical art. Every tribe in America had its own unique element when it came

to their musical structure; Eskimo tribal music (Inuit) had more simple musical build-up

compared to other Native American tribes. Inuit tribal music was created by playing a drum

made of caribou skin or walrus skin. The skin of the caribou or walrus would be stretched out

over the hollow era of a tree stump and the finished product would be called a qillatu. Vocals for

the Inuit tribe were traditionally called throat singing. Ethnomusicologists believe that throat

singing was not a form of music, but traditionally a game played between the Inuit women. The

throat game was played between two women who would face each other by either standing or

crouching down. One female would start by becoming the leader and creating a short rhythmic

motive that had short silent gaps in-between and the other female would respond with her own

rhythmic motive that best fit in the rhythmic gaps. The game would be played to showcase

female vocalists abilities to compete when exchanging vocal motives. The first player to run out

of breath or was unable to keep up with the rhythmic motive would lose (Pennington). The

winner was the player who would beat a large number of people. Tribes that had more

complex sounding music were the; Hopi, Pueblo, and Zuni of the Southwestern part of the

country, but mainly the tribe of Pueblo. For the tribe of Pueblo, music was an important part of

life. Music was a daily part of the tribe, especially among the youth. The younger members of

the tribe would sing while; they played games, had social dances, gambled, and chores activities-

such as grinding corn. Each specific task had its own song and when it came to bedtime, mothers

would sing lullabies to their children. Lullabies are monophonic melodies- one single melody

being played. Music was also created with percussion instruments and flutes to pleasure the tribe

or when performing a basic ritual that was built up of power and life from the performers.
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Melodies would follow a melodic structure like the structural outline of their geographic

surroundings, which they called home. Music was a tradition among the Native Americans, but

music was a far different during the Dark and Middle Ages.

It was during the Dark and Middle Ages (476-1450), the Catholic Church was the center

of power followed by the State. Music during this period was sacred to the church and was only

used to praise God. Religious music was sponsored through the church by patronages and

monasteries. The music of early Christianity was formatted as Old Roman or Gregorian chants

which featured: monophonic- one single voice, and nonmetric melodies which were set to follow

the early catholic churchs modes of scales. Although monophonic, chant melodies fell into three

categories; syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic- based on how many notes were set by each

individual syllable of text. Syllabic text settings represented one syllable per pitch in a chant,

following the original monophonic structure. Nomadic text setting was structured as one syllable

per every two or three pitches and Milimatic text settings were multiple notes per syllable.

Music was well enjoyed during service hours and both men and women could compose chants.

Hildegard of Bingen was a well-known female composer of Old Roman chants and was the head

of her monastery that belonged to a small town in Western Germany. Her poetry was

characterized by brilliant imagery and creative language and composed songs celebrated the lives

of local saints, such as Saint Rupert. Hildegard was most known for praising the Virgin Mary,

who she would often be compared to a blossoming flower (Machlis 71). Coming from one of

her chants, the term Alleluia- from the Hebrew words Praise be to God" The original Alleluia

chant was divided into three sections; the first phrase featured the term Alleluia by all vocalists.

The middle section was sung by the lead vocalist followed by other vocalists singing the featured

term in a repetitive matter once the leaders musical phrase ended, capturing Jewish roots. With
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the preexisting chants of the Dark Age, polyphonic- multi voiced music, grew from 1000 - 1450.

European cities emerged as centers of art and culture and architecture captured the great art and

culture that was spreading. The gothic cathedral, Notre Dame in Paris, became known as the

center of polyphonic musical performances. French polyphonic traditions exploded during the

fourteenth century. A new view of art called contemporary was formed by Philippe de Vitry.

Philippes philosophy established music that broke away from the past elemental usage and gave

way to French Ars Nova causing it so spread all over France and Italy. French Ars Nova raised a

movement of singers and composers in Italy and during the last three decades of the fourteenth

century; allowed notation and compositional innovation among French composers. Ars Nova

focused on using complex notation to capture the precision of difficult performances. Complex

performance contrasted the earlier fourteenth century notation system. The Middle Ages and the

Renaissance Era flew by, giving birth to new musical elements and lineups that opened doors to

the Baroque and Classical period. The Baroque era brought to light a genre of music that

flourishes in popularity - Classical music.

The Baroque period (Seventeenth Century to mid-eighteenth Century) was the time when

the modern orchestra was formed. Most musicians still worked for the Catholic church during

this time but upper class members would employ musicians to play in their homes for personal

access to entertainment. Music became an immature hobby for musicians as higher class

members begin to employ them for balls and court events. The early Baroque music style was

influenced by the Extravagant vs. Structure of King Louis. With the ideology of Extravagance

vs. Structure, music composers wrote in two ways; Modal and Tonal. Modal music was made up

of a diatonic scale that were neither focused on a major or minor key. The harmony of this build

up seemed nonfunctional compared to the structure of tonality. Tonal music during the Baroque
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era was a buildup of harmony played with a chord structure that fit the key of the overall piece.

Homophony- a melody plus a clear chord structure under, was an idea that was born from tonal

music arrangement and functional chords became a most in classical music by 1690. Composers

wrote more pieces of music during this time, allowing instrument players to perform more

ranged music that was not specified for a certain instrument. Instrumental players would join to

play the pieces. Orchestra groups were made up of small numbers of members. The string

instruments used in orchestras were; violins, violas, cellos and the upright bass. Orchestras

became extremely popular among the higher-class members and dedicated their time to water

musicians. Rich members of society would listen to music from players who played in boat like

structures, a very famous concept during the Baroque era (DeCristofaro, Jason. Classical

Era.). Composers later begin to write music for the orchestra, brass and woodwind instruments

in mind. Writing music for different instruments would bring together the groups of instruments,

creating the Symphony. Growing symphonies would become chamber groups. Joining different

instruments allowed composers to write more structured music- Baroque structure. This style of

music adds small details to the music to give it an extra flair for the listeners in the court. J. F

Bach was a famous composer during this time and was known for his melodic concepts in his

pieces. Bach would take melodies and repeat them throughout the piece by changing the keys.

Classical period (Mid-eighteenth Century tell 1830) composers constructed their pieces in a well-

structured format. The structure of classical music was highly influenced by the classical art of

the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Program music- instrumental music that tells a story, was

highly used and very popular when it came to composing music for orchestras, symphonies, and

chambers. The growing length of musical pieces allowed orchestras, symphonies, and chamber

groups to grow. The philosophy of bigger is better lead to new musical forms such as tone
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poem and large-scale (Dobney). Instrumental sections of each group begin to double and triple

in size allowing composers to write multi movement work. Programs were handed before a

concert to aid people on the overall story composers intended to get through to the audience.

Centuries passed, music changed, and styles of music was favored differently in each

culture.With the discovery of the New World, a new culture thrived from the historical

discovery, American culture. With the growing history of political wars, and physical wars, the

African American culture grew. Jazz music originated in African American communities in New

Orleans around the early twentieth century. Jazz originated from both Africa and Europe;

African elements from Jazz were its expressive rhythms and emotions through an instrument.

European elements in jazz music was harmony. Chords that accompany what is being played by

the piano in jazz harmony is inspired by classical music (The Instrumental History of Jazz.).

The saxophones, trumpet, and piano used in Jazz comes from Europe. Jazz evolved from songs

African slaves sang during hard labor. Labor songs were originally spiritual or African American

folk songs. Jazz music was a way to show individual freedom from slavery. Improvisation

became a highly-used style among Jazz musicians when performing. An expression felt by a

musician would be shared among other players through call-and-response, like a conversation

between instruments, expressing the emotion of the piece. In Jazz, the spontaneous expression

changed as the piece went on, unlike classical music, which was well structured and played as it

was written. Jazz music contrasted structure and became highly popular when it came to live

performances. Louis Armstrong was an important jazz players who was known for his great jazz

performances and improvisations on the trumpet. Like most musicians during this time, he was

very expressive when he played and made sure the audience could feel what he played in that

moment. No matter how long music has been around for, there is no match when it comes to live
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instrumental performances compared to electronic performances. Without the invention of

advanced technology, we wouldnt have the easy access to music today.

Technology has advanced throughout history, just like music. Audio has come a long

way compared to the nineteenth and twentieth century and has allowed individuals to have a

better and faster access to the music we hear today. The digital era we know today has allowed

the world of music to grow in a form of entertainment and elements are shared among different

styles of music that originated from different cultures (Bracketti). Social media is an important

part of music today. The industry has allowed the discovery of new musicians. The digital era

has allowed the accessibility of different genres of music easier. Social media became such a life

stream need for individuals and it still is to this day, but because of it, music has become easier

to access and has become a lifestyle of entertainment. YouTube, which is a small branch of

social media, has grown in popularity as a resource to listen to music as well as watching it. With

the help of technology, music became visual. People can hear and see how music moves. Music

videos are easy to access through social media and because of music videos, people enjoy visuals

during musical performances. DJs have made it possible for music lovers to hear music and

visually aid the audience. With the help of advance technology, lights have becoming a huge

part of selling a musical performance, that is in a live performance or even a party. They lay out

is important as well to allow them to get a grasp of the full experience (Marcos) (See diagram).

Light programming is a small of root of what music has given birth to and well enjoyed, still, to

this day. A concert is nowhere near as fun as it would be without the visuals behind a performer,

which creates an atmosphere many enjoy. Light technician is a root from light programming

where light is used for special effects and cues for actors on stage. Without light programming,

modern musical performances would lack the spontaneous visual effect we love today.
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Light structure for shows.

With the evolution of music; music has morphed from religious point-of-view to a

platform of entertainment. Music has become easier to access with help of modern technology

and elements, such as call-and-response, structure, and program has come to life with the aid of

light programming and music videos. Music has come a long way, and will continue to grow as

time goes by. With technology, music influencers from all around the world can bring two styles

of music together in just one click of a button.

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Works Cited

Bracketti, Alex. !0 Ways Tech Has Changed How We Consume Music. Complex, Complex

Media , 18 July 2013, www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/07

/10-ways-tech-has-changed-how-we-consume-music/+.

DeCristofaro, Jason. The Baroque Era. Arts and Sciences Division, Music Appreciation, 11

September 2017, AB Tech Community College, Sycamore Building Room 109, 340

Victoria Rd, Asheville, NC 28801

DeCristofaro, Jason. Classical Era. Arts and Sciences Division, Music Appreciation, 25

September 2017, AB Tech Community College, Sycamore Building Room 109, 340
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Victoria Rd, Asheville, NC 28801

Diagram, An Introduction To DMX Lighting Control- Take Your Lighting To A Whole New

Level.

Dobney, Jayson Kerr. Nineteenth- Century Classical Music. Nineteenth- Century Classical

Music, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2004,

www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/amcm/hd_amcm.htm+

Freeman, Brian. Music of the Pueblos, Apache, and Navaho. Edited by Donald N.

Brown,Drumhop.com, 2017, drumhop.com/music.php?page=250+.

Machlis, Joseph/ Forney Kristine. Enjoyment of Music: Shorter Version. twelfth ed., W W

Norton & Co Inc., 2000.

Marcos Olguin, Sergio. Light programming. 16 September 2017, 523 N. Louisiana Ave.

Asheville, NC 28806

Native American Music. Indians.org, AIHF & Indians.org, 2017,

www.bing.com/cr?IG=8CDF28DCB7B240EEB5491383B10E89EF&CID=26C9A9DB8

B8D6C0C141AA29A8A8B6D50&rd=1&h=1_YcOu2O43adqQNTkyttdWRGjDsJkqLR

KjLZ6PC4Jso&v=1&r=http%3a%2f%2findians.org%2farticles%2fnative-american-

music.html&p=DevEx,5069.1.

Pennington, Leighann. Music of Inuit. All about the Inuits: For Kids!, Leighann Penningtor,

July 2017, 4:25PM, sites.google.com/site/inuitforkids/home/music-of-inuit.

The Instrumental History of Jazz. Jazz in America, National Center for History in the Schools,

UCLA, www.jazzinamerica.org/LessonPlan/5/1/249.