PART TWO: MUSIC UNIT 1:INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF MUSIC
Key unit competence: Be able to appraise the history of Music
Introductory Activity
1. Brainstorm different concepts in Music and define them.
2. Using different resources, discuss the History of Music in
different ancient times to date (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque,
Classical, Romantic, and the Modern period) from the point of
view of style and the famous composer(s) at each period.
3. Choose a work from any music style of a pioneer as a model andperform it before the peers
1.1. Definition of concepts
Activity 1.1
1. Brainstorm different concepts related to Music and define them
2. Make research from different resources and find other concepts
related to Music
3. Listen to different voices produced by different things including
animals, musical instruments, vehicles and other people who are
speaking loudly in noisy places.
a. What do you understand from them?
b. Differentiate between sound and noise
3. Choose a choral song of your preference. Try it individually and
then in groups of more than four. What do you find as difference of
the qualities of the two?
1.1.1.What is Music
Music is defined as sounds that are arranged in a way that is pleasant or
exciting to listen to.
It is evenly a combination of sounds that are pleasant to the ear both inmelody and rhythm.
1.1.2.Ballet
Ballet is defined as a theatrical presentation of dancing usually with Music,
sometimes in the form of a story.
1.1.3.Dance
It is a sequence of rhythmic steps or movement usually performed to Music
for pleasure or as a form of social interaction.
1.1.4.Ensemble
A group of musicians, dancers, actors and others who perform together.
1.1.5.Harmony
Two or more notes played simultaneously to produce a chord. It is also
defined as a relationship between two distinct musical pitches played
simultaneously.
1.1.6.Movement
In Music, movement is defined as an art of moving the parts of the body or
moving from one place to another through a dance.
1.1.7.Orchestra
It is a large group of musicians who play together on various instruments in
different sections, usually including some from strings, woodwind, brass and
percussion.
1.1.8.Pitch
Pitch is defined as a highness or lowness of a musical sound.
1.1.9.Rhymes
Those are repetitive words with the same sounds used especially in Music
and poetry.
1.1.10.Rhythm
Rhythm is defined as a repetitive arrangement of short or long sounds in
Music.
1.1.11 Sound
A sound is a regular vibration transmitted through an elastic liquid and gas
with frequencies capable of causing the organs of hearing to detect it. When
the vibration is not regular, it is said to be noise.
1.1.12.Monophony
It is the simplest of musical textures, consisting of a melody or tune, typicallysung by a single singer or played by a single instrument player.
1.1.14 Homophony
A melody accompanied by chords.
Application activity 1.1
1. Define the following terms:
a. Music
b. A pitch
c. Harmony
d. Dance
2. Differentiate sound from noise
3. Explain other concepts that you found on the internet
4. According to the number of melodies available how do you
differentiate monophony from polyphony?
5. Create your own songs and sing them as monophony andpolyphony
1.2.The main periods of Music
Activity 1.2
1. Go to the internet and search the evolution of Music from the
ancient times to date, and then present your findings before the peers.2. Name the famous musicians you know from the ancient times.
1.2.1 Medieval music (6th – 14th century)
During the medieval period, Music was characterized by the plainsong
liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church, the largest part of which was
“Gregorian Chant.”For example: SALVE REGINA
Source: “Salve Regina”, International Marian Research Institute, University
of Dayton”. Campus.udayton.edu.
The songs of that period were named Gregorian chant due to the mostcomposer of the time was Pope Gregory I.
During the 9th century, several developments took place where the church
made efforts to unify chant traditions and suppress many of them in the favor
of the Gregorian liturgy, then the earliest polyphonic music were sung.
During that period many schools evolved where Music was taught, musical
notation was developed and till the 14th century, there were many music
forms where most of them were composers of one to three voices likely with
musical instrument accompaniment.
Other famous composers of the medieval period were Guillaume De Machaut
and Francesco Landini.
1.2.2 Renaissance music (15th -17th century)
The renaissance Music is a vocal and instrumental music, written and
performed in Europe during the renaissance era. Consensus among music
historians has been with the end of medieval era, and to close it around 1600
with the beginning of the Baroque period.
The beginning of renaissance music started in the mid-15th century in Northern
Europe especially in France, Netherland and Belgium. The style of Music
was still polyphonic and there were different forms of sacred composition,
including: the motet and the laude. There were also secular forms such as:
the chanson the frottola and the madrigal.
During renaissance, there was invention of printing which influenced more
the musical style. Before Palestrina, the most composer of the 16th centurywas Josquin Des Prez. (Robert, 1994)
By the middle of the 16th century, there was the counter-reformation Council
of Trent (1545-1563) exemplified in Music of Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina.
The famous composers included: Andrea, Giovanni and Claudio Monteverdi.
In this period, they raised polyphonic forms built on the protestant chorales
which replaced the Roman Catholic Gregorian Chants as a basis of sacred
music. The end of renaissance was characterized by a style known as
monody and a corresponding staged dramatic form known today as opera.
The major and minor modes began to predominate over the old Church
mode.
1.2.3 Baroque period (1600-1750s)
The Baroque era took place when the first opera was written. The Baroque
era witnessed the creation of a number of musical genres which would
maintain a hold on composition for years to come, yet it was the Classical
period which saw the introduction of a form which has dominated instrumental
composition to the present day: sonata form. With it, came the development
of the modern concerto, symphony, sonata, trio and quartet to a new peak ofstructural and expressive refinement.(Bukofzer&Manfred,F. 1947).
Important composers were: Bach, Archangelo, Couperin, Frescobaldi,
George Frederick Handel, Lully, Claudio Montevaldi, George Phillip and
Antonio Vivaldi.
1.2.4 Classical music era
Music of the classical period was characterized by homophonic texture.
During that period, instrumental music quickly replaced opera and other
forms. However, Opera did not disappear. In that period, Wolfgang AmadeusMozart was the most influential.
At the end of Classical period Ludwig Van Beethoven and Frantz Schubert
were transitional composers leading into the Romantic period.
1.2.5 Romantic music
The Romantic era was the golden age of the virtuoso, where the most
fiendishly difficult music would be performed with nonchalant ease, and
the most innocuous theme in a composition would be developed at great
length for the enjoyment of the adoring audience. The emotional range of
Music during this period was considerably widened, as was its harmonic
vocabulary and the range and number of instruments which might be called
upon to play it. Music often had a ‘programme’ or story-line attached to it,
sometimes of a tragic or despairing nature, occasionally representing such
natural phenomena as rivers or galloping horses.
The late 19th century saw a dramatic expansion in the size of orchestra and
in the role of concerts as part of urban society. Famous composers of thesecond half of the 19th century include: Johann Strauss, Verdi and Wagner.
1.2.6 The Modern music
During this period, radio gained popularity Worldwide, new media and
technologies were developed to record, capture, reproduce and distribute
Music. Music performances became increasingly visual with the broadcast
and recording of music videos and concerts.
Music of all kinds became portable. Headphones allowed people sitting next
to each other listen to entirely different performances or share the same
performance. There was the invention of musical amplification and electronic
instruments, especially the synthetizer.
In the early 20th century, many composers including Rachmaninoff, Richard
Strauss, Giacomo Puccini, and Edward Elgar, continued to work in forms
and in a musical language that derived from the 19th century.
However, modernism in music became increasingly prominent and important;
among the most important modernists were Alexander Scriabin and Claude
Debussy.
Different styles on Music were developed such as:
• Blues:
Blues musicians such as Muddy Waters brought the Delta Blues, played
mostly with acoustic instruments, from the Mississippi delta north to cities
like Chicago, where they used more electric instruments to form the Chicago
Blues.
• Country music:
Country music, once known as Country and Western music, is a
popular musical form developed in the southern United States, with roots in
traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues.
• Disco:
Disco is an up-tempo style of dance music that originated in the early 1970s,
mainly from funk, salsa, and soul music. Its name is derived from the Frenchword discothèque.
• Hip Hop:
Hip hop music, also referred to as rap or rap music is a music genre formed
in the United States in the 1970s that consists of two main components:
rapping (act of being MC) and the act of being a DJ (audio mixing and
scratching).
• Jazz:
Jazz has evolved into many contrasting subgenres including smooth
jazz, Bebop, Swing, Fusion, Dixieland and free jazz. Jazz originated in the
early 20th century out of a combination of the Blues, Ragtime, Brass Band
Music, Hymns and Spirituals, Minstrel music and work songs.
• Polka:
The polka, which first appeared in Prague in 1837, continued to be a popular
form of dance music through the 20th century, especially in Czechoslovakia,
Poland, and areas of the United States with a large population of central-
European descent.
• Rock and roll:
Rock and roll developed from earlier musical forms including rhythm andblues, which had earlier been called race music, and country music.
1.3 Importance of Music
Activity 1.3
Choose a song to be performed during the following ceremonies:
1. Birthday
2. Itorero
3. Marriage4. Death.
1.3.1 The role of Music in the society
Every society can be said to have some types of Music which like language
identifies the particular community. Music plays an important role in the
society. This includes:a. Music as major component in religious services.
b. Music is used as an important symbol of identity of a given cultural
group.
c. Music is used as medium for transmission of knowledge and values. In
this case, it holds history and is a tool for disseminating new ideas.
d. Music is used for enjoyment and leisure
e. Music is used for physical development through dancing and children’s
play songs.
f. Music enhances positive attitudes like co-operation and respect others
g. Music is used for therapeutically services because of its ability to soothe
(to make someone feel calmer and lesser anxious, upset or angry) or
relax.
h. Music is used for celebrating important events and occasions. In African
societies, the important stages of person’s life are marked with Music.
i. In early childhood years, it enhances memory in numeracy and literacy.j. In film making and social events, it creates or enhances desired moods.
1.3.2 The role of Music in education
a. Music is integrated in the teaching of other subjects. For example, in
Religious education, a memorable song may be used to emphasize the
moral objectives of a lesson.
In Mathematics, songs can be used to teach young children certain
topics such as numbers.
b. Singing enriches a person’s vocabulary
c. Music enhances creative thinking.
d. Sight singing, playing of instruments and music analysis enhances
logical reasoning and stretches the capabilities of the brain
e. Singing provides a break from monotony of the lectures. The variety
helps sustain concentration.
f. Music contributes to the achievements of the national goal of education.
It promotes national unity and nationalism through the performance of
cultural pieces from different communities.
g. Music contributes towards individual expression and self-fulfillment. It
provides an opportunity for talent development, enjoyment as well as
for sharing experiences with others
h. Learning to play musical instruments trains an individual to be patient,
disciplined and self-motivated. In the end, mastering these skills brings
about a sense of satisfaction and self-confidence. This leads to be
familiar with the desired values.1.3.3 Role of Music in national ceremonies
In modern society, Music is still used in most of the occasions mentioned
above. However, it is now also used in national ceremonies like Liberationday, Hero’s day, Women day, Labor Day, etc. During these occasions, Music
is used for the following purposes:
• To promote patriotism,
• To praise the country, the government and its people,
• To give thanks to God and worship God,
• To make the occasions colorful,
• As a tool for communicating and educating people on emerging issues
like HIV and AIDS.
• To honor those considered to be heroes of the nation
• For entertainment purposes
• To review political or development achievements• To remind of a people national history.
1.3.4 Role of Music in different occasions and ceremonies
In traditional African societies, a person goes through four rites of passages:
birth, initiation, marriage and funeral. Each of these rites was marked by
ceremony in which Music played an integral part. These rites of passage are
a. In birth occasion, the community, mainly represented by the womenfolk,
welcomed the newborn with gifts and adornment and lots of music. The
role of Music was simply to mark the occasion as well as to welcome
the newborn into the society. Music was also used to congratulate theparents for adding a “gift “to the community.
b. For initiation, song and dance was regarded highly in the period prior
to, during and after the ceremony. The role of Music was to mark the
occasion with songs that were only specific to this period.
c. The marriage rite of passage was marked by cultural ceremony. Music
was used to celebrate the occasion and entertain all those present. The
couple would also receive advice in form of song and dance about thecustoms and expectations of community.
d. The final rite of passage was marked with certain songs and dance
specific only to this period.
e. Certain other occasions were also marked with song and dance. Such
occasions include war, beer drinking parties, during work occasions like
milking, hunting, jogging in group.
1.3.5 Music is also used for commercial purposes
For examples:a. In advertisement to capture people’s attention;Application activity 1.3b. To highlight the worth of a product or service for purposes of marketing.
1. Create and sing at least 4 songs used in Rwandan society in the
following occasions:
a. Birth
b. Marriage
c. Jogging
d. Liberation day
2. Discuss the importance of Music to people with concrete
examples.3. Explain roles Music in teaching and learning.
End unit assessment 1
1. In order to better understand Music, it is necessary to define the
following terms:
a. Music
b. Dance
c. Rhythm
d. Pitch
e. Movement
2. Music has changed with time. It underwent different changes that
transformed it and related it with time.
a. Describe each period and associate each with a music style
and a famous composer
b. Select a style of one composer and perform it before the peers
3. Musical sound has different elements and properties
a. Create a song of your preferences and perform it respecting
different textures.
b. Differentiate sound from noise4. Describe the importance of Music and its implication in daily life.