The Evolution of Music
The Evolution of Music is a short audio clip with images showing the different styles and eras of music, and how music has evolved over many years.
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​This audio sequence explores how music was at first very simple, we have called this era "Indigenous". Indigenous music was mostly tribal in nature, consisting of drums and other percussion type instruments, along with various wind instruments such as horns and flutes, and any form of "tube" that could be blown into such as the Didgereedoo; arranged into various rhythms and beats.
"Medieval": now includes the first musical instruments made to create music which includes specific notes and tunes, such as the Lute and the concept of the "travelling minstrel". It is also characterised by choirs of human voices, as now with the building of churches and cathedral's, a new acoustic interior environment could be utilised and explored.
"Renaissance": in addition to the creation of new musical instruments, now has groups of musicians working together, with the concept of a group performance being utilised and explored.
"Classical": in addition to larger groups of musicians being formed, as well as a larger range of instruments being grouped together such as in an orchestra, music is now being written down and composed, so that ideas can be spread. Other musicians can now play other compositions via an organised system, instead of having to hear it played or have to learn by rote. Music is also now being written with an orchestra in mind rather than just one or a small number of instruments.
"Jazz": was a form of music that departed from the strict formal bounds of orchestral music, instead it was deliberately meant to be improvised, adaptive and thus creative in it's own right. It was a distinctive style beginning in the 1920's after World War I.
"Swing": was an adaptation of Jazz which as the name implies, was used for dynamic performance and dance music, as it's not the kind of music that you just listen too. Swing was a major expression of the late 1930's-1940's and during World War II.
"Rock": also initially known as "Rockabilly", was a blend of country, folk, and other "peoples" music (such as blues, skiffle) that didn't quite fit into Jazz. It began as a highly experiemntal form of music in the late 1950's, coming into it's dominant form in the early 1960's.
"Electronic Dance Music" (EDM): was a further adaption of various forms of Rock, Pop, and Disco, as a form of dance music for Nightclubs. EDM allows the person to "dance and forget", and have fun in an atmospheric/escapist environment.
In some respects the return to simplicity with EDM echoes the simplicity of Indigenous music.