From time immemorial, through art, people have embodied their feelings, thoughts and experiences. Some drew masterpieces of painting, depicting objects of inspiration, everyday life, as well as episodes from their own biographies that fell into memory. Others built various structures and monuments, giving them some symbolic significance. The most extraordinary of them began to be called miracles of the world. The pages of future poems, novels, epics, one by one, came out from under the hands of the third, where by every moment of the plot a strong, appropriate, in the opinion of the author, word was chosen.
However, there were those who found inspiration in the sound. They created special tools to express their overwhelming emotions. It is these people who are called musicians.
What is music?
Nowadays, the concept of "music" is given a huge number of definitions. But if you argue objectively, then this is a form of art, the main subject of which is this or that sound.
It is noteworthy that in many ancient languages this word means "the activity of muses."
The Soviet scientist Arnold Sohor, in turn, believed that music peculiarly reflects reality, and also has an effect on a person through meaningful and specially organized pitch and time sequences of sound, the main components of which are tones.
A brief history of music
Since ancient times, people have loved music. In the territory of ancient Africa with the help of various songs, which are part of the rituals, they tried to connect with spirits, gods. In Egypt, music was used mainly for religious hymns. There were such concepts as “passions” and “misetrias,” which were equated with genres. The most famous works of Egypt were the "Book of the Dead" and "Pyramid Texts", describing the "passions" of the Egyptian god Osiris. The ancient Greeks were the first people in the world who in their culture were able to achieve the highest expression of music. It is worth adding here the fact that they were the first to notice the existence of a peculiar pattern between mathematical quantities and sounds.
Over time, music has formed and developed. It began to stand out several main areas.
According to the classical theory, by the 9th century the following musical genres existed on earth: Gregorian choral (that is, various kinds of church songs, liturgies), bard song and secular music (a hymn is a vivid example of such a genre). In the process of human interaction, these genres gradually mixed with each other, forming new, unlike the previous ones. So, at the end of the XIX century, jazz appeared, which became the ancestor of many modern genres.
What musical signs and symbols exist?
How can you record sounds? Musical musical signs are conditional graphic symbols which are located on a musical staff. Their main function is to indicate the height, as well as the relative duration of a particular sound. It's no secret that musical notation is the practical foundation of music. However, it is by no means given to everyone. Studying musical signs is a rather time-consuming process, the fruits of which can only be tasted by the most patient and assiduous.
If we now begin to delve into the features of modern notation, then this article will become, to put it mildly, very large. To do this, you need to write a separate, rather voluminous work about musical signs and symbols. One of the most famous symbols is, of course, the “treble clef”. During its existence, it has become a kind of symbol of musical art.
What are musical instruments and what are they?
Items that make it possible to extract various kinds of sounds necessary to create a work are called musical instruments. Instruments that exist today, in accordance with their abilities, purpose, sound qualities are divided into several main groups: keyboards, percussion, wind, string and reed.
There are many other classifications (a striking example is the Hornbostel-Sachs system).
The physical basis of almost any instrument that produces musical sounds (with the exception of various electrical devices) is the resonator. As it can be a string, the so-called oscillatory circuit, a column of air (in a certain volume) or any other object that can store energy transferred to it in the form of vibrations.
The resonant frequency sets the first overtone (in other words, the fundamental tone) of the sound that is currently being produced.
It is worth noting that a musical instrument has the ability to simultaneously reproduce the number of sounds equal to the number of resonators used. The design may include a different number of them. Sound extraction begins when energy is introduced into the resonator. If the musician needs to stop the sound forcibly, then you can resort to such an effect as damping. If some instruments are used, the resonant frequencies can be changed. Some instruments that produce non-musical sounds (such as drums) do not use this device.
What are musical works and what are they?
In a broad sense, a piece of music, or, as it is called, an opus, is any play, improvisation, folk song. In other words, almost everything that can be transmitted through the ordered vibrations of sounds. As a rule, it is characterized by a certain internal completeness, material consolidation (through musical signs, notes, etc.), a kind of peculiar motivation. The uniqueness is also important, which, as a rule, is based on the feelings and feelings of the author, which he wanted to present to the audience of his work.
It is worth noting that the term “musical work” as an established concept appeared in the field of art relatively recently (the exact date is unknown, but somewhere in the region of the 18th-19th centuries). Until that moment, he was in every way replaced.
For example, Wilhelm Humboldt and Johann Herder used the word “activity” instead of this term. In the era of avant-garde, the name was replaced by “event”, “share”, “open form”. Currently, there are a huge number of different musical works. We offer to consider the most famous, interesting and unusual of them.
I. Song (or song)
A song is one of the simplest but most common pieces of music in which a poetic text is accompanied by a simple a melody that is easy to remember.
It is worth noting that the song is one of the most developed areas in the sense that at the moment there are a large number of different forms, genres, etc.
II. Symphony
A symphony (translated from Greek - “harmony, elegance, harmony”) is called a musical work, which is primarily intended to be performed by an orchestra, which can be wind, string, chamber, as well as mixed. In some cases, vocal or chorus may be included in the symony.
Often this work is brought closer to other genres, thereby forming mixed forms (for example, symphony-suite, symphony-poem, symphony-fantasy, etc.)
III. Prelude and Fugue
Prelude (from the Latin prae - “upcoming” and ludus - “game”) is a small work that, unlike others, does not have a strict form.
Mainly preludes and fugues are created for instruments such as harpsichord, organ, piano
Initially, these works were intended so that musicians had the opportunity to "stretch themselves" before the main part of the performance. However, later they began to be singled out as original independent works.
IV. Tush
This type is also quite interesting, since not so much attention is paid to it. Touche - (from the French “key”, “introduction”) is a piece of music performed as a sign of greeting. The term was first used in the middle of the 18th century in Germany.
The main purpose of such a work is to attract the attention of the audience to what is happening, as well as the introduction of appropriate emotional coloring in the event (as a rule, these are various ceremonies). Often a piece of music is performed by a brass band in greeting. Surely everyone heard the carcass that was performed at the time of the presentation of the awards, etc.
In our article today, we looked at what musical instruments, signs, and pieces are. We hope that it was useful and informative for readers.