2. Once upon a time...

- 2. Once upon a time...
- HISTORY
- MUSIC THEORY
  - "Solfeggio"
  - Voices & Instruments
- SCALE-UP ACTIVITIES

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# HISTORY

## Music origins

We don’t know how everything started. Maybe by kicking the ground or hitting sticks and bones on surfaces, men could feel the rhythm and by imitating animals they could start singing.

It is believed that music in Prehistory was used as warnings, to send messages, etc., and it came from the gods.

In a drawing on the wall of the cave TRES FRËRES in the south of France, there is a man represented wearing animal skin and with a musical arch. (2000 BC approximately)

## Ancient civilizations

We know there was music in these civilizations thanks to the representations of musicians in instruments, but we don’t know how they sounded because scores were never found.

Music was very important and was used in religious celebrations, military actions, work, to accompany dances and as an entertainment.

Some of these civilizations:

- Mesopotamia (it is current Iraq), where the Sumerians, the Babylonians and the Assyrians lived. The music was performed by priests and priestesses, and they were mainly sung. But they began to organize popular parties, including military parades, which needed music. One of the kings, you surely know, Nebuchadnezzar, tell the books that made great parties where they used instruments and dancers.

- Egypt: the use of music was discovered thanks to the hieroglyphs found in the walls of the pyramids and the engravings where many instruments are depicted. The Egyptians used many instruments and songs from Mesopotamia. Their music are similar because dancers and musicians were sent as gifts. Everybody used music in parties, both in the palace and in town. However its study was only assigned to priests, as it had a divine origin.

- China: there exists a legend that says that music was invented by the yellow emperor Haung-Ti (3000 BC) who commanded to create a flute as big as his foot. When he made it sound, the pentatonic scale appeared. Music was so important that it has its own Ministry.

- India: information about music is found in Vedas (Hindu religious books). There was religious music as well as music for entertainment.

## Greece

From the very beginning Greek people used to sing popular songs and dance everywhere, but music started to be truly important when poems like the Iliad and the Odyssey were written, do you know them?

Music dealt mainly with gods, but also with love, criticizing politicians and even gossiping about social matters. There was a musician, the bard, who used to go from one town to another singing these stories.

There were musical competitions, like the Olympics, where people had to play the aulos or zither, or sing. Some of the musicians were famous and they even had fan clubs.

It’s in Greece where the base of musical theory started. Pythagoras, by using knowledge from civilizations like the Sumerians, constituted the beginning of our musical scale through mathematical relations.

If you want to know more, click on this link and find out about the world of math and music.

Besides this, philosophers like Plato and Aristotle considered music as something essential to train good citizens who could live in harmony in polis (Greek cities like Athens). They also explained that depending on the “Scale” (at that time it was called mode) people’s characters may be influenced.

But the most important genre of the period was drama, where theatre, music and dance were included. Plays were performed in theatres outdoors where dancers and choirs were used. It is the predecessor of opera and musicals. It was in these performances where music reached its entire splendor.

We know about music in Greece thanks to these dramas, as they used some symbols (alphabetic notation) that indicated the different notes to be sung.

## What’s a myth?

Let's play as if we were detectives, looking for information about myths in Greece.

What was a myth?

What gods are related to music?

Are there any myths about music?

### Feedback

In order to carry out this research, we will work in groups of 3-4 people. We can use both the Internet or books from the library.

## Rome

Rome (8000 BC – 4th century AD) invaded Greece and copied many things from there, music among them.

But the importance given to music in Greece was not the same in Rome. For example, the aulos was usually played by professionals in Greece whereas in Rome anyone would play it but without any knowledge about it. Therefore music deteriorated a lot.

In Rome music was used to accompany the different performances, like in the circus, horse races or the amphitheater (where gladiator battles took place). Big choirs and brass instruments groups were used.

A Roman emperor called Nero is known for playing the zither and singing while Rome was burning. He caused this fire.

As Asterix used to say: These Romans are crazy!

## What did you learn about ancient civilizations?

Read and complete:

It is believed that history of music started in the Cloze (1):
JXUwMDBiJXUwMDI3JXUwMDFiJXUwMDAxJXUwMDBiJXUwMDQ1JXUwMDYxJXUwMDI2JXUwMDAy , when people realized that by hitting the ground or one stone with another they could produce sound. At that moment music was used to Cloze (2):
JXUwMDJiJXUwMDE2JXUwMDBiJXUwMDBhJXUwMDQ0JXUwMDRkJXUwMDA4JXUwMDE2JXUwMDAwJXUwMDEyJXUwMDA2JXUwMDAyJXUwMDE2 . We know about some instruments because they were depicted in a cave in the south of Cloze (3):
JXUwMDFlJXUwMDM0JXUwMDEzJXUwMDBmJXUwMDBkJXUwMDA2 .

Music developed in the ancient civilizations of Cloze (4):
JXUwMDE1JXUwMDI4JXUwMDE2JXUwMDFjJXUwMDFmJXUwMDFmJXUwMDFiJXUwMDE1JXUwMDBjJXUwMDA0JXUwMDA4 , Egypt, China and Cloze (5):
JXUwMDExJXUwMDI3JXUwMDBhJXUwMDBkJXUwMDA4 . Later Cloze (6):
JXUwMDFmJXUwMDM1JXUwMDE3JXUwMDAwJXUwMDA2JXUwMDA2 , mainly, and Rome, developed the bases where our musical theory lays.

In Mesopotamia and Egypt Cloze (7):
JXUwMDI4JXUwMDAyJXUwMDFiJXUwMDBjJXUwMDE2JXUwMDA3JXUwMDA3 and priestesses studied music because it was considered something divine, but everybody could play it in parties and dances that were not religious celebrations. These two civilizations were very similar and used to give presents to each other like dancers and musicians. Cloze (8):
JXUwMDE2JXUwMDJiJXUwMDA3JXUwMDE3JXUwMDE2JXUwMDBiJXUwMDA5JXUwMDA1JXUwMDBhJXUwMDBiJXUwMDFmJXUwMDAwJXUwMDFiJXUwMDEz was a king in Cloze (9):
JXUwMDE1JXUwMDI4JXUwMDE2JXUwMDFjJXUwMDFmJXUwMDFmJXUwMDFiJXUwMDE1JXUwMDBjJXUwMDA0JXUwMDA4 who used to throw big parties with music. These parties were registered in the books of the moment. In Egypt we discovered music through Cloze (10):
JXUwMDMwJXUwMDAxJXUwMDBjJXUwMDE3JXUwMDFkJXUwMDA4JXUwMDBiJXUwMDE1JXUwMDA5JXUwMDE4JXUwMDFi in tombs.

These two civilizations influenced Greece, where the bases of the current musical theory were laid. Cloze (11):
JXUwMDA4JXUwMDI5JXUwMDBkJXUwMDFjJXUwMDA5JXUwMDA2JXUwMDA4JXUwMDFkJXUwMDEzJXUwMDEy developed the scale and philosophers like Plato and Cloze (12):
JXUwMDE5JXUwMDMzJXUwMDFiJXUwMDFhJXUwMDA3JXUwMDFiJXUwMDFiJXUwMDE4JXUwMDA5 considered music as something essential to educate good citizens who lived in polis, Greek cities. It was so important that there were even competitions like the Cloze (13):
JXUwMDE3JXUwMDIzJXUwMDE1JXUwMDE0JXUwMDFkJXUwMDE5JXUwMDBhJXUwMDEw and musicians were very famous.

Cloze (14):
JXUwMDFjJXUwMDM2JXUwMDEzJXUwMDBjJXUwMDBj was a mix between theatre, music and dance. There’s evidence of this in the books found where there was Cloze (15):
JXUwMDM5JXUwMDBkJXUwMDFjJXUwMDE4JXUwMDA5JXUwMDAzJXUwMDA3JXUwMDExJXUwMDFkJXUwMDBh notation, symbols indicating notes placed above words in poems.

Cloze (16):
JXUwMDBhJXUwMDNkJXUwMDAyJXUwMDA4 imitated everything that was done in Greece. Music was used in Cloze (17):
JXUwMDNiJXUwMDBhJXUwMDFiJXUwMDExJXUwMDE2JXUwMDA2JXUwMDE2JXUwMDE2 , amphitheaters during gladiator’s battles and in theatre performances. They used big Cloze (18):
JXUwMDNiJXUwMDBiJXUwMDA3JXUwMDA2JXUwMDFiJXUwMDAx accompanied by brass instruments.

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