Chapter 2 Ancient Influences Music seems to have existed since the human species began The oldest paintings on cave walls date from 32,000 BCE Even older ancient instruments exist Very little is known about ancient music from prehistoric times before people kept written records Even after record keeping began the history of music is difficult to trace because music was largely an oral tradition passed from one person to another by voice and instrument Most cultures had no methods of music notation or ways of writing music As a result music historians do not know how music sounded in ancient cultures Nevertheless records and artifacts provide some clues about how Western music developed 12
In ancient civilizations such as Greece people believed their gods created music and instruments 13
The oldest known instruments were flutes discovered in Germany that date from 43,000 to 42,000 BCE Ancient Egyptian tombs contain visual images such as paintings and carvings depicting musical instruments including horns flutes harps and percussion instruments In 1939 two trumpets unearthed from King Tut’s tomb were actually played during a radio broadcast An ancient Babylonian clay tablet dating from 2000 to 1700 BCE is the oldest example of understandable written music This tablet included some instructions for playing notes on a four-string lute Other fragments of notated music have survived from ancient Greece Some of the oldest existing song lyrics are the Psalms of David from the Old Testament of the Bible Their ancient tunes are unknown so these 14
psalms are often open to interpretation and sung to different music Music in Ancient Greece Greece is the ancient civilization with the most influence on Western music In Greek mythology the gods invented music and were the first musicians The ancient Greeks believed nine Muses or goddesses inspired art and science In fact the word music comes from the Greek word mousike meaning an art or science directed by the muses Ancient Greeks believed music and poetry were inseparable Music an essential part of Greek culture and rituals was included in the Olympics Games These games were both athletic and religious festivals Greeks also created singing competitions in which participants sang for a live audience and panel of judges Music was an important part of Greek education as well To the ancient Greeks studying music ANCIENT ORGANS The ancient Greeks invented the organ This organ used water to pressurize air for the organ pipes In 1931 archaeologists found an ancient Roman hydraulis organ Built in 228 BCE this organ belonged to a company of Roman firefighters Organs were a popular Roman instrument The organ was played during shows of public entertainment such as gladiator competitions Today organs are still used for public sporting events such as baseball games 15
