Music, Technology and Society

Music, Technology and Society

Music and the relationships of music have changed drastically in our society. The course of studies and the evaluations of the applications of the technology of music, the making and the listening of music have changed in the way we listen to music, the styles of music in our society and in the media. The importance of the technology in music today, has, over the past century been charted through the study of musical examples and through viewing how human values are reflected in this century's timely music. There are very many different types of music that are listened to. There are readings, writings, lectures and discussions on all the different types of music.

Music is found in every know culture, past and present. It is also, already being composed for the future. It is widely varied between all times and places. Since scientists believe that the modern humans arrived in the African culture more than 160,000 years ago, around 50,000 years ago, it is believed that the dispersal of music has been being developed between all cultures in the world. Even the most isolated tribal groups are thought to have had a form of music.

It has been scientists’ belief that music must have been present in the ancestral population prior to the dispersal of humans around the world. Therefore it is believed that music must have been in existence for at least 50,000 years, with the first music being invented in Africa and then evolving into becoming a fundamental constituent of human life. Any culture of music is influenced by the aspect of their culture, including their social and economic organization, climate, and access to technology. People express their emotions and ideas through their music. Music expresses the situations and how music is listened to and played. The attitude towards music players and composers varies between regions and periods of history. Music history" is the distinct subfield of musicology and history which studies music (particularly western art music) from a chronological perspective. ("History of Music")

The first music era know to man was the “Prehistoric Music.” This was quite possibly influenced by birds singing and other animal sounds as they were communicating with each other. It was developed with the backdrop of natural sounds. Some evolutionary biologists have theorized that the ability to recognize sounds not created by humans as "musical" provides a selective advantage. Prehistoric music was also commonly called “primitive music”, which was the name given to all music in preliterate (or prehistory) cultures. This began in very late geological history. The oldest known song was written 4000 years ago.

“Ancient Music” is the name that was given to the music that followed in the next era. Some of the instruments used then were “double pipes”, “bagpipes”, “seven holed flutes” and various string instruments.

Next was “Western Art Music”, (also know as “Early Music”). Early music is a general term used to describe music in the European classical tradition from after the fall of the Roman Empire, in 476 CE, until the end of the Baroque era in the middle of the 18th century. Music in this era was becoming extremely diverse. It encompassed many cultural traditions in a wide geographical area. The Roman Catholic Church was what unified these cultures in the Middle Ages.

Medieval music is what was developed after that, which was attested by artistic depictions and writings of music. The only repertory of music which has survived from before 800 to the present day is the plainsong liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church, the largest part of which is called Gregorian chant.

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