Monday, 8 November 2010

Music

  

"There is no noise, only sound." (John Cage, 20th-century composer)

Music is a form of art form whose medium is sound. The word derives from the Greek word – Mousike – which means: ‘(art) of the Muses’. It’s also one of the Performing Arts; the others being dance, opera, drama, magic, spoken word and circus and it’s divided into 8 genres: Drama, Tragedy, Comedy, Tragicomedy, Romance, Satire, Epic and Lyric.

 

Music is originated from the Paleolithic era, commonly known as the Stone Age, which dates back roughly to 2.6 to 2.5 million years ago even thought the ‘age’ of music can be determined fairly easily, the culture from which it was originated can’t. It’s estimated that is originated from Asia, more specifically China, where it was found one of the earliest and oldest collections of prehistoric musical instruments, dating back from between 7000 and 6600 BC.

 

Roughly until the beginning of the Renaissance music (1300 – 1470), music was used as a form of a complement in plays, poems and stories. It was during this time that music as a true form of art was made, it was also the catalyst to the musical compositions and the Baroque music. It was during this period that classical music was born.

Music was a bit unchanged until the middle of the 20th century, when the forms of commercial music was formed with the aid of the Radio era. Many more styles of music were born, such as the blues, jazz, rock, etc. This styles and, more recently called, genres still live today but much of the music it’s used commercially.

"The border between music and noise is always culturally defined. By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be." (Jean-Jacques Nattiez, musicologist)




Andreia Pinto, nº 3