Indian Theatre: History, Features, and Evolution
Indian Theatre: A Historical Look
Indian theatre began as a narrative art form that combined music, dance, and acting. Theatrical performances included recitation, dance, and music. Brahma created the Natya Veda for the pastime of Gods, according to Bharat Muni’s Natya Shastra, by combining elements from the four Vedas. Natya Shastra is the first formal treatise on dramaturgy and was written between 200 BC and 200 AD. It describes ten types of plays, ranging from one-act to ten acts, and covers all
Read MoreBallroom Dancing: Types, Techniques, and History
What is Ballroom Dancing?
We can say that dancing is a social grouping of people, whether in public or private parties. To dance also involves making changes with your feet, body, and arms, following a certain rhythm. In the modalities of dance, there is a regular succession of steps and positions to the rhythm of the music that is called choreography.
Ballroom dancing refers to couples who have a particular sequence choreographed to the beat of different modalities. Ballroom dances can be defined
Read MoreMusical Instruments of Ancient Assyria and Elam
Music in Ancient Assyria
We know that certain songs were accompanied by the flute (*hallhallatu*). In the ancient East, it was considered the sacred instrument par excellence. Despite the lack of documents, the musicologist Fetish reached, after many studies, the hypothesis that their music must have had a diversity of modes and tones, and they had to know your system and tonal color.
String Instruments
The oldest instruments known to the Assyrians are from the time of Assurnasirpal. Nine-stringed
Read MoreEvolution of Vocal Music: From Antiquity to Romanticism
Greece: The Origin of Western Music
The first ideas about music were not born in the Middle Ages, but earlier, in Greece. Without them, it is inconceivable to produce the first 1500 years of music history.
Like other art forms, music comes together in its beginnings to religion and the service of mankind.
The Greeks left us a whole complex musical theory, melodic principles with the writings of Pythagoras and Aristoxenus, and an interpretation of music as a phenomenon linked to human beings, their
Read MoreMusical Instruments of the Middle Ages: A Historical Overview
Musical Instruments of the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, many instruments were performed on several occasions, such as by troubadours and minstrels to accompany their songs, liven up parties, or even in church musical ensembles.
Plucked String Instruments
- Harp: Was triangular with ten or twelve strings.
- Psaltery: An instrument of the zither family, played with a plectrum. It is triangular in shape and small in size. After the thirteenth century, it became popular to play with a bow, and in the
Music’s Evolution: From Oral Tradition to the Digital Age
Oral and Written Transmission of Music
Item 3: Throughout history, there have been two primary channels for disseminating music: oral and written. Oral transmission was the norm in Europe until the 9th century, when the first musical documents appeared. One of the main effects of oral transmission is that the material is often modified during the learning process. However, with the expansion of the repertoire and the emergence of the first polyphonic works, it became necessary to use written notation.
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