Music technology
Music technology is the study or the use of any device, mechanism, machine or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform
History
The earliest known applications of technology to music was prehistoric peoples' use of a tool to hand-drill holes in bones to make simple flutes.[1]
In Ancient Greece, instruments included the double-reed aulos and the lyre.
Numerous instruments are referred to in the Bible, including the
were also used.During the
During the Renaissance music era (c. 1400-1600), the printing press was invented, allowing for sheet music to be mass-produced (previously having been hand-copied). This helped to spread musical styles more quickly and across a larger area.
During the
In the
During the Romantic music era (c. 1810–1900), one of the key ways that new compositions became known to the public was by the sales of sheet music, which amateur music lovers would perform at home on their piano or other instruments. In the 19th century, new instruments such as saxophones, euphoniums, Wagner tubas, and cornets were added to the orchestra.
Around the turn of the 20th century, with the invention and popularization of the
The development of
The invention of multitrack recording enabled pop bands to overdub many layers of instrument tracks and vocals, creating new sounds that would not be possible in a live performance.
In the early 20th century, electric technologies such as
The invention of the miniature
With the development of powerful
Mechanical technologies
Prehistoric eras
Findings from
Ancient Egypt
In
Indus Valley
The
References in the Bible
According to the
Among the wind instruments used in the biblical period were the
The flute was commonly used for festal and mourning occasions, according to Whitcomb. "Even the poorest Hebrew was obliged to employ two flute players to perform at his wife's funeral."
Among the percussion instruments were
Ancient Greece
In
- the lyre: a strummed and occasionally plucked string instrument, essentially a hand-held zither built on a tortoise-shell frame, generally with seven or more strings tuned to the notes of one of the modes. The lyre was used to accompany others or even oneself for recitation and song.
- the sounding box at the bottom; it was held upright and played with a plectrum. The strings were tunable by adjusting wooden wedges along the cross-bar.
- the aulos, usually double, consisting of two double-reed (like an oboe) pipes, not joined but generally played with a mouth-band to hold both pipes steadily between the player's lips. Modern reconstructions indicate that they produced a low, clarinet-like sound. There is some confusion about the exact nature of the instrument; alternate descriptions indicate single reeds instead of double reeds.
- the Pan) is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the stopped pipe, consisting of a series of such pipes of gradually increasing length, tuned (by cutting) to a desired scale. Sound is produced by blowing across the top of the open pipe (like blowing across a bottle top).
- the incomplete short citation]
In the
Roman Empire
The Romans may have borrowed the Greek method
Roman instruments include:
- The incomplete short citation] In the military, it was used for "bugle calls". The tuba is also depicted in art such as mosaics accompanying games (ludi) and spectacle events.
- The cornu (Latin "horn") was a long tubular metal wind instrument that curved around the musician's body, shaped rather like an uppercase G. It had a conical bore (again like a French horn) and a conical mouthpiece. It may be hard to distinguish from the buccina. The cornu was used for military signals and on parade.[23] The cornicen was a military signal officer who translated orders into calls. Like the tuba, the cornu also appears as accompaniment for public events and spectacle entertainments.
- The tibia (Greek incomplete short citation]
- The bagpipe.
- Versions of the modern panpipes.
- The incomplete short citation]
- The citharawas the premier musical instrument of ancient Rome and was played both in popular and elevated forms of music. Larger and heavier than a lyre, the cithara was a loud, sweet and piercing instrument with precision tuning ability.
- The incomplete short citation]
- The hydraulic pipe organ ( contests and events in the arena, as well as stage performances.
- Variations of a hinged wooden or metal device, called a scabellum used to beat time. Also, there were various rattles, bells and tambourines.
- Drum and percussion instruments like timpani and castanets, the Egyptian sistrum, and brazen pans, served various musical and other purposes in ancient Rome, including backgrounds for rhythmic dance, celebratory rites like those of the Bacchantes and military uses.
- The sistrum was a rattle consisting of rings strung across the cross-bars of a metal frame, which was often used for ritual purposes.
- Cymbala (Lat. plural of cymbalum, from the Greek kymbalon) were small cymbals: metal discs with concave centres and turned rims, used in pairs which were clashed together.
Islamic world
A number of
The plucked and bowed versions of the rebab existed alongside each other.
The Arabic oud in Islamic music was the direct ancestor of the European lute.[35] The oud is also cited as a precursor to the modern guitar.[36] The guitar has roots in the four-string oud, brought to Iberia by the Moors in the 8th century.[37] A direct ancestor of the modern guitar is the guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar), which was in use in Spain by 1200. By the 14th century, it was simply referred to as a guitar.[38]
The origin of automatic musical instruments dates back to the 9th century when the Persian
In 1206, the Arab engineer
Middle Ages
During the
This quickly led to one or two lines, each representing a particular note, being placed on the music with all of the neumes relating back to them. The line or lines acted as a reference point to help the singer gauge which notes were higher or lower. At first, these lines had no particular meaning and instead had a letter placed at the beginning indicating which note was represented. However, the lines indicating middle C and the F a fifth below slowly became most common. The completion of the four-line staff is usually credited to Guido d' Arezzo (c. 1000-1050), one of the most important musical theorists of the Middle Ages. The neumatic notational system, even in its fully developed state, did not clearly define any kind of rhythm for the singing of notes or playing of melodies. The development of music notation made it faster and easier to teach melodies to new people, and facilitated the spread of music over long geographic distances.
Instruments used to perform medieval music include earlier, less mechanically sophisticated versions of a number of instruments that continue to be used in the 2010s. Medieval instruments include the flute, which was made of wood and could be made as a side-blown or end-blown instrument (it lacked the complex metal keys and airtight pads of 2010s-era metal flutes); the wooden recorder and the related instrument called the gemshorn; and the pan flute (a group of air columns attached together). Medieval music used many plucked string instruments like the lute, mandore, gittern and psaltery. The dulcimers, similar in structure to the psaltery and zither, were originally plucked, but became struck by hammers in the 14th century after the arrival of new technology that made metal strings possible.
Bowed strings were used as well. The bowed
Renaissance
The Renaissance music era (c. 1400 to 1600) saw the development of many new technologies that affected the performance and distribution of songs and musical pieces. Around 1450, the printing press was invented, which made printed sheet music much less expensive and easier to mass-produce (prior to the invention of the printing press, all notated music was laboriously hand-copied). The increased availability of printed sheet music helped to spread musical styles more quickly and across a larger geographic area.
Many instruments originated during the Renaissance; others were variations of, or improvements upon, instruments that had existed previously in the medieval era. Brass instruments in the Renaissance were traditionally played by professionals. Some of the more common brass instruments that were played included:
- Slide trumpet: Similar to the trombone of today except that instead of a section of the body sliding, only a small part of the body near the mouthpiece and the mouthpiece itself is stationary.
- Cornett: Made of wood and was played like the recorder, but blown like a trumpet.
- overtone series. They were also made in different sizes.
- Sackbut: A different name for the trombone, which replaced the slide trumpet by the middle of the 15th century
Stringed instruments included:
- Viol: This instrument, developed in the 15th century, commonly has six strings. It was usually played with a bow.
- Lyre: Its construction is similar to a small harp, although instead of being plucked, it is strummed with a plectrum. Its strings varied in quantity from four, seven, and ten, depending on the era. It was played with the right hand, while the left hand silenced the notes that were not desired. Newer lyres were modified to be played with a bow.
- Hurdy-gurdy: (Also known as the wheel fiddle), in which the strings are sounded by a wheel which the strings pass over. Its functionality can be compared to that of a mechanical violin, in that its bow (wheel) is turned by a crank. Its distinctive sound is mainly because of its "drone strings" which provide a constant pitch similar in their sound to that of bagpipes.
- Gittern and mandore: these instruments were used throughout Europe. Forerunners of modern instruments including the mandolin and acoustic guitar.
Percussion instruments included:
- Tambourine: The tambourine is a frame drum equipped with jingles that produce a sound when the drum is struck.
- Jew's harp: An instrument that produces sound using shapes of the mouth and attempting to pronounce different vowels with one's mouth.
Woodwind instruments included:
- Shawm: A typical shawm is keyless and is about a foot long with seven finger holes and a thumb hole. The pipes were also most commonly made of wood and many of them had carvings and decorations on them. It was the most popular double reed instrument of the Renaissance period; it was commonly used in the streets with drums and trumpets because of its brilliant, piercing, and often deafening sound. To play the shawm a person puts the entire reed in their mouth, puffs out their cheeks, and blows into the pipe whilst breathing through their nose.
- Reed pipe: Made from a single short length of cane with a mouthpiece, four or five finger holes, and reed fashioned from it. The reed is made by cutting out a small tongue but leaving the base attached. It is the predecessor of the saxophone and the clarinet.
- Hornpipe: Same as reed pipe but with a bell at the end.
- Bagpipe/Bladderpipe: It used a bag made out of sheep or goat skin that would provide air pressure for a pipe. When the player takes a breath, the player only needs to squeeze the bag tucked underneath their arm to continue the tone. The mouth pipe has a simple round piece of leather hinged on to the bag end of the pipe and acts like a non-return valve. The reed is located inside the long metal mouthpiece, known as a bocal.
- Panpipe: Designed to have sixteen wooden tubes with a stopper at one end and open on the other. Each tube is a different size (thereby producing a different tone), giving it a range of an octave and a half. The player can then place their lips against the desired tube and blow across it.
- Transverse flute: The transverse flute is similar to the modern flute with a mouth hole near the stoppered end and finger holes along the body. The player blows in the side and holds the flute to the right side.
- Recorder: It uses a whistle mouthpiece, which is a beak-shaped mouthpiece, as its main source of sound production. It is usually made with seven finger holes and a thumb hole.
Baroque
During the Baroque era of music (ca. 1600-1750), technologies for keyboard instruments developed, which led to improvements in the designs of pipe organs and harpsichords, and to the development of the first pianos. During the Baroque period, organ builders developed new types of pipes and reeds that created new tonal colors. Organ builders fashioned new stops that imitated various instruments, such as the viola da gamba. The Baroque period is often thought of as organ building's "golden age," as virtually every important refinement to the instrument was brought to a peak. Builders such as Arp Schnitger, Jasper Johannsen, Zacharias Hildebrandt and Gottfried Silbermann constructed instruments that displayed both exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful sound. These organs featured well-balanced mechanical key actions, giving the organist precise control over the pipe speech. Schnitger's organs featured particularly distinctive reed timbres and large Pedal and Rückpositiv divisions.
Harpsichord builders in the Southern Netherlands built instruments with two keyboards that could be used for transposition. These Flemish instruments served as the model for Baroque-era harpsichord construction in other nations. In France, the double keyboards were adapted to control different choirs of strings, making a more musically flexible instrument (e.g., the upper manual could be set to a quiet lute stop, while the lower manual could be set to a stop with multiple string choirs, for a louder sound). Instruments from the peak of the French tradition, by makers such as the Blanchet family and Pascal Taskin, are among the most widely admired of all harpsichords and are frequently used as models for the construction of modern instruments. In England, the Kirkman and Shudi firms produced sophisticated harpsichords of great power and sonority. German builders extended the sound repertoire of the instrument by adding sixteen-foot choirs, adding to the lower register and two-foot choirs, which added to the upper register.
The piano was invented during the Baroque era by the expert harpsichord maker
Classicism
From about 1790 onward, the Mozart-era
They sent pianos to both Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven, and were the first firm to build pianos with a range of more than five octaves: five octaves and a fifth (interval) during the 1790s, six octaves by 1810 (Beethoven used the extra notes in his later works), and seven octaves by 1820. The Viennese makers similarly followed these trends; however the two schools used different piano actions: Broadwoods were more robust, Viennese instruments were more sensitive.
Romanticism
During the
The piano continued to undergo technological developments in the Romantic era, up until the 1860s. By the 1820s, the center of piano building innovation had shifted to
One innovation that helped create the sound of the modern piano was the use of a strong iron frame. Also called the "plate", the iron frame sits atop the
Other important advances included changes to the way the piano is strung, such as the use of a "choir" of three strings rather than two for all but the lowest notes, and the implementation of an over-strung scale, in which the strings are placed in two separate planes, each with its own
20th- and 21st-century music
With
The 20th-century orchestra was far more flexible than its predecessors.
Electric and electro-mechanical
Electric music technology refers to
Electric piano
An
Electric guitar
An
Hammond organ
The
Electric bass
The
Electronic or digital
Electronic or digital music technology is any device, such as a
A
References
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- ^ a b Whitcomb, Ida Prentice. Young People's Story of Music, Dodd, Mead & Co. (1928)
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Sources
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- Ulrich, Homer; Pisk, Paul Amadeus (1963). A History of Music and Musical Style. Harcourt, Brace & World. ISBN 9780155377202.
- Werner, Eric (1959). The Sacred Bridge: The Interdependence of Liturgy and Music in Synagogue and Church During the First Millennium. London; New York: Dobson; Columbia University Press.
Further reading
- Campbell, Murray; Greated, Clive; Myers, Arnold (2004). Musical Instruments. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Cunningham, Mark (1998). Good Vibrations: a History of Record Production. London: Sanctuary Publishing Limited.
- Edmondson, Jacquelin. Music In American Life.
- Holmes, Thom (2008). Electronic and Experimental Music. New York: Routledge.
- Kettlewell, Ben (2002). Electronic Music Pioneers. USA: Pro Music Press.
- Taylor, Timothy (2001). Strange Sounds. New York: Routledge.
- Weir, William (21 November 2011). "How the Drum Machine Changed Pop Music". Slate. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- "An Audio Timeline". Audio Engineering Society. Retrieved December 8, 2015.