Music Appreciation MUSC1303
Name: B. Ochirkhuu
Dr. Taylor
The EAV History of Music, Part I: Origins and Overview
Fill in the blank as you watch the video.
1. Music is often called a universal language.
2. Different cultures have different kinds of music.
3. In some cultures, music is part of every custom – something that most people participate in –
like religious worship.
4. In other cultures, music is primarily a profession for the talented few. This is especially true of
music that requires disciplined training in sophisticated techniques – often called art music.
5. Nearly all African music has religious roots.
6. Rhythmic complexity is a characteristic feature of African music.
7. Chordophones are instruments based on the principle of stretched strings.
8. Aerophones are instruments that require the blowing of air.
9. Membranophones are drums - instruments constructed by stretching a skin or membrane over
a frame.
10. Idiophones include the infinite variety of instruments that are struck, scraped or rattled.
11. Music in China has for thousands of years been tied to religion and philosophy.
12. In China, music is considered inseparable from poetry.
13. Late in the 1200s, drama, music, singing, dancing, and pantomime were combined on stage into
Chinese opera, which is still performed today.
14. Japanese music, like Chinese music, is closely linked to poetry and dance.
15. In recent years, Japanese musicians have made significant contributions to Western classical
music.
16. The island of Bali is the home of the monkey dance, a traditional ritual performance that
engages the participation of virtually an entire village.
17. Indian music is based on the ancient system of ragas, which are arrangements of notes
somewhat like scales. Each raga is associated with a particular emotion, or part of the body, or
time of day, or season.
18. Music in India has always been considered an essential part of an upper-class education.
19. Since the Muslims prohibited music during worship, Arabian music was mainly non-religious.
20. Before European colonists came to the Americas, the Indians of the western hemisphere had
their own music, which was mostly vocal.
21. The vivid color of Spanish
music combined with the throbbing rhythms of African music
are the strongest elements in Latin American music today.
22. Latin American music has given rise to many distinctive dance styles.
23. Music in all its amazing variety is one of our most valuable cultural legacies. Yet, today, many
unique lesser-known styles are being threatened with extinction.
24. Music has always been associated with magic, and by extension musician have often been
viewed as having magical powers.
25. Although we cannot date its beginnings, evidence of music as much as for thousand years old
has been found in Mesopotamia.
26. The ancient Egyptians probably learned something about music from the Mesopotamians.
27. The Old Testament describes King David as a composer, performer, and the one who soothed
King Saul by his music.
28. Psalms were often sung in one of the oldest musical forms we know: call and response.
29. The ancient Greeks held music in the highest esteem, relating it to science, mathematics,
politics, and philosophy.
30. Ptolemy, Pythagoras, and other Greek scientists and mathematicians were among the first to
develop music theory. For them, music was closely tied to astronomy.
31. As much as we know about the importance the Greeks placed on music, we know practically
nothing about the music itself.
32. The ancient Romans, whose civilization grew as Greek civilization declined, did not share the
Greek esteem for music. Music became mainly a form of mass entertainment, designed to
appeal to uneducated popular tastes.
33. Hidden away in the catacombs under the city of Rome, early Christians were strongly affected
by all these traditions as they shaped their own forms of religious observance, and of music.