Reggae, Classical, Funk, Jazz, Opera, Pop, Rock, Folk, Hip Hop, Punk, Country, Techno…the
genres are endless.
We can’t really say how old music is, it dates back as far as history.
Oral singing was probably the initial form of music and created as a result of humans
expressing various feelings through sound.
Gasps of surprise, laughs of joy, tears of sadness, gulps of excitement…these, along
with the sounds of animals or nature all around and later on, the rhythms or patterns of tools
banging or clanging, added to feet stomping or hand-clapping, all culminating in the simplest
of tunes.
The earliest written songs, though, date back around 3000 years and were religious hymns,
written on clay tablets.
‘The Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal’ (or ‘h.6’ as it is more commonly known) is believed
to be the oldest piece of written melody in the world, aged around 3400 years.
Over time, more and more musical instruments have been developed and with the huge advances
in the digital world, so too has the actual sound of the music.
In general, the tempo is faster, the beat is livelier and the volume is higher!
We can hear it on the radio, on the TV, online, on the street, in bars/clubs, at concerts;
we all have access to music somehow.
Music bonds people to religions, to cultures, to friends, family, loved ones, to memories.
It is an essential part of society today, as it was hundreds of thousands of years ago
when tribes also got together to socialise and entertain.
I mean, there’s no party without music is there?
How do music trends change though?
Well, they are significantly influenced by history, for example, during the war, most
tunes told stories of people’s struggles and hardships; nowadays most pop music is
related to social media, politics, love, and the way people feel about each other because
that is how society is shaped.
We have to thank the great composers of the 17th & 18th century for their huge involvement
in the evolution of music.
Beethoven, Bach & Mozart are considered the top 3 masters of classical music.
Interestingly, Beethoven suffered with progressive hearing loss, but was still able to produce
some of his most famous works during this time.
Classical music may not appeal to the masses, but it actually helped to form the foundations
of modern day pop music.
Most classical tunes are built from the seven tones of the major and minor scale, and yes,
you’ve guessed it, so too is most pop music.
Who would have thought that artists like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson or Beyoncé would
feature in the same sentence as Ludwig Van Beethoven?
The 1920s saw the birth of Jazz and Blues, the 1950s was the rise of Rock n Roll, the
1970s & 80s were the time of Disco and Funk and the 1990s introduced us to Grunge, Hip
Hop & Pop, as we now know it today.
As long as there are humans and instruments, (digital or physical) music will continue
to evolve forever.