Music is the discipline of arranging musical sounds in time to create a composition either through the components of harmony, rhythm, melody or timbre. It is also one of the most universal artistic aspects of all human cultures. The history of music goes far back into history when mankind first began to use musical instruments for communicating and creating rhythms. Ancient Egyptians, Greek and Romans were the first to use musical instruments as the primary means of communication.
The earliest musical instrument probably was the flute: The flute was discovered in 1737 by Charles II of Sweden. The flute’s discovery is often attributed to the king of Sweden himself. The flute is an example of a classical musical instrument that has been around for a long time.
Other musical instruments: used by early humans include the lute, the mandore, sitar, keyboard, harp, and uillettes. These instruments did not differ much from each other except for their shape. They all have the same basic components, namely strings (usually made of wood), a head (either wooden or metal) and a body. Music then comes into play when the performers (the players) strum the strings and make beats with the body. This basic architecture of a musical instrument is often found in other musical traditions as well.
- Today, modern instruments such as the guitar, the violin, the piano, the drums, and the like, still perform some of the same functions and roles as the original types of instruments mentioned above.
- Some modern music, such as pop music and Jazz music, borrows from classical music.
- Pop music and Jazz music share many of the same vocabulary and structures as classical music.
- Music written specifically for the instrument is called orchestral music.
In the Romantic period: music became more abstract and this contributed to the growth of music appreciation throughout Europe. The Romantic Period in European history is characterized by the dominance of music and its composers during the “age of love.” During this time, music writers were famous for their romantic poetry. For example, Sir Philip Sidney wrote most of his famous romantic poetry while sitting on a bed covered with silks.
The oldest known musical instrument is the divje babe flute: which is found in a tomb located at Boso, Czech Republic. Divje babe flute (in English: “divje baby”) is believed to be the oldest known musical instrument. It was found inside a wooden chest, which had been created sometime around 1200 years ago during the Tivoli period. The exact origins of the divje baby flute is not known, but it is assumed that the flute was created due to the resonances produced by the lips of certain species of songbirds. There are indications that flutes from this time period were used as a funeral ceremony in some areas of Europe. The earliest known flute is thought to have been played by the Vikings.