History of Music

The history of music has spanned many different periods. One of the longest periods was the Medieval Era. This period, almost one thousand years, includes the Gregorian Chants. These melodic chants, consisting of only one line, were very serene. Chants that contained two or more melodic lines began to emerge towards the end of the Medieval Era. Among the instruments available to people at the time were bowed instruments like the vielle and the rebec, plucked stringed instruments like the lute, wind instruments like the recorder and trumpet, percussion instruments like the drums and organs.

During the Renaissance Era, vocals were still more important than instruments. It was during this point in the history of music that dance music became popular. It contained strong rhythm and was usually played at social gatherings. It was during the Baroque Era of the history of music that the instruments became as important that the vocals. The use of organs grew during this time and became associated with church music. Harpsichords also became popular during the Baroque Era and were the instrument often used when playing solo. The bassoon, flute and oboe were the primary wind instruments used. The Romantic Era in the history of music was a time of for both composers and musicians to experiment with different sounds and instruments. It was also during this time that vocalist starting to become very popular.

Over the years, there have been many different types of music: classical, opera, country, jazz, rock and roll, blues, rhythm and blues and folk. Rock and roll is one of the newest forms of music, being invented as a combination of blues, rhythm and blues and country. While it is only about 50 years old, it has grown faster than any other type of music in history. The use of computers during the 20th century also changed music in many ways.