Music Technology

Music Technology book cover — Technology Timelines

Music Technology — page 1 — Spreading News Before music players were invented songs were played by wandering musicians called minstrels They traveled around the country performing the latest songs and reciting poetry As well as providing entertainment minstrels also spread important news as they moved from town to town Introduction Sound is the main way people communicate We use our voice to explain ideas and songs are probably the oldest form of entertainment Sounds are waves or vibrations in the air Our ears pick up the vibrations and send signals to the brain which we hear as sound Until the 1800s every sound was unique once it was made it could never be heard again Recording technology changed all that Amphitheater In ancient times the best place to hear music was in amphitheaters These were built on the side of a curved hill The audience sat in a semicircle sometimes a full circle around the stage Sound bounced around the amphitheater so that all could hear it clearly 4

Music Technology — page 2 — Playing Loud The alpine horn is used in the mountainous regions of Switzerland The large size makes the horn very loud so it can be heard across the mountains A similar shape of horn was used in early music players to make sounds louder A DIFFERENT VIEW AN UNDERWATER CONCERT In 1855 the tsar of Russia Alexander II held a party around Kronstadt harbor and an unusual music system was designed to fill the area with sound A trio of musicians was lowered into the water inside a submarine Sound travels very well through water so when the band played its music was heard rising up out of the water 5

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