Humanity has always had a strong thirst for art. At the dawn of civilization, people understood that they like the sounds which nature produced. That is why, the idea to try to reproduce these sounds appeared. There is no use denying the fact, that these attempts were the beginning of music as the phenomenon. Since that time, it had become an integral part of human society. Moreover, very often it was such a powerful remedy that it could change the mood of a person or inspire him/her to create something unusual.
Having realized power and beauty of this very measure, people did not want to forget or refuse it. That is why, great number of musical instrument appeared. Their main aim was to help people produce new sounds and enjoy them. Moreover, new pieces of music were created with the help of different instruments. With this in mind, it seems interesting to analyze peculiarities of this very issue.
First of all, it should be said that music is one of the most important parts of the life of every person. There is no use denying the fact that there is hardly a person in the world who does not have his/her favorite melody or rhythm. There are several reasons for such a great popularity of music. First of all, it can help a person to achieve the mood he/she needs. Different kinds of music influence a person in different ways. Calm and slow music makes a person relaxed and peaceful.
Listening to such type of music, a man does not want to move or perform some kind of activity. However, situation is different if a person listens to very fast and energetic music. He/she becomes energetic to. Moreover, the desire to act appears. This aspect of music is widely used by composers and people who want to control society. It is easy to remember military marches and the mood which they create. People, who listen to them, become strong-willed and even aggressive. The desire to fight appears.
However, music had to overcome great number of difficulties and travel a long way to obtain all its modern characteristics. First of all, it should be said that first musical instruments were very primitive and were not able to produce some complicated sounds. That is why, people tried to create new instruments which would be able to sound better. Different epochs can be characterized by different level of the development of music. One of the most important achievements in music was made by Guido of Arezzo, who started to write down notes in the way which is still used nowadays, though some improvements were made (Epperson, para. 11). Musical notation created by him, allowed people to create magnificent masterpieces and write them down for people to be able to reproduce them.
“The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe” (Berger 8).This statement can be applied to the issue of music to. The way in which people create music can serve as the reflection of the things in which they believe. Music can serve as the characteristic of a person or the epoch in which it was created. Themes of the Middle Ages are very solemn as they were created mainly by people who were connected with Church and that is why they should be very serious and make people think about some internal things.
However, the age of the New History came and music of those time can serve as the reflection of peculiarities of this epoch. Great number of waltzes, operas and other not so serious pieces of music appeared. Blistering development of pop music and different alternative genres are peculiar to modern age. That is why, it is possible to say that a person can also be characterized according to the type of music he/she listens to.
Additionally, much information can be obtained from the musical texts. There is no use denying the fact that people, who write texts for songs, try to reflect the most important problems of their age or show the issues which are of a great interest for people. Evolution of musical texts can show the process of the development of society and its interests. Middle Ages can be characterized by some religious texts which were supported by music, while there is a great number of almost senseless songs in modern age. With this in mind, it is possible to say that differences in the style and sense of songs and music are influenced by the peculiarities of the epoch in which it was created.
Having analyzed information connected with the issue of music, it is possible to make several conclusions. First of all, it should be admitted that music is an integral part of human life which helps people to enjoy these magnificent sounds. Moreover, it is very important remedy which influences creation of a certain mood and attitude to a situation. Being reflection of the epoch in which it was created, music can help to determine the main peculiarities of the age or even a person.
Works Cited
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series. London: Penguin Books, 1990. Print.
Epperson, Gordon. “Music“. Encyclopedia Britannica. n.d.. Web.