Music can provide immense pleasure for those who do not consider themselves musicians. Immanuel Kant placed music as one of the lower arts forms while Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel celebrated its expressive potential for conveying many varieties of emotion.
Studies suggest that music can promote prosocial behaviors and emotional intelligence development. Previous research has identified various functions, but more recent studies are beginning to identify some fundamental dimensions.
Origins
As difficult as it is to pinpoint its roots, music’s development remains unknown. Some believe it evolved simply as an extension of verbal communication; while others suggest that specific functions shaped its evolution.
Aristotle saw music as an expressive tool to stir emotion and stimulate thought. He held that music has moral worth, as he believed that its qualities revealed our true selves.
Church music has an illustrious past. Dating back to 600 CE, Schola Cantarum served to teach musicians musical notation – something composers took advantage of to transpose folk songs into mass services as well as develop unique styles like polyphonic (2 unrelated melodies/voices at once) Gregorian chants.
Forms
Form is the overall plan that guides every piece of music. This “big picture” connects all its pieces, such as song cycles, concertos or sonatas. Certain genres have signature forms – for instance the AABA song form associated with Tin Pan Alley composers in early 20th-century American popular music or blues improvisation that follows a repeating pattern are prime examples.
Form can be explored at many different levels of detail, from individual bars and phrases to movements and pieces. Musicians sometimes use letters to mark smaller sections within larger ones such as verses or refrains within larger works and bridge sections leading into choruses. A popular form is rondo which typically uses repeated themes with variations focusing on rhythm, melody or harmony as its foundation.
Instruments
Instruments used in music serve as primary conduits for communicating sound to create melodies or songs, with many sounds and styles represented across four main groups: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion.
Instruments have become a fixture in cultures around the globe due to the rapid spread of civilizations and contact between regions. Many of the earliest instruments were woodwinds such as an oboe or clarinet.
Other instruments used as examples include trumpet and cornet. Tubas and trombones are usually found in marching bands while flute or saxophone are more often found in concert halls. Instruments also help develop motor skills in students while simultaneously strengthening connections between right and left hemispheres of the brain by learning an instrument.
Composers
Composers create original musical works by crafting melodies, harmonies, rhythms and structures to express ideas or tell a tale through sound. Their repertoire may span multiple genres from classical to pop film score to jazz and everything in between.
Composers can begin their musical careers through self-taught learning; however, expert guidance may speed progress more rapidly. Furthermore, it’s crucial that composers acquire music theory, technology and business expertise as part of their education.
Many composers juggle both composition work and other professions, including arts administration, audio engineering, arranging, instrumental performance or teaching. By taking on such jobs as arts administration or audio engineering they build up their portfolio and make contacts that will aid them as composers – some even opt for composer-in-residence opportunities or mentorships to gain experience and recognition.
Audiences
People listen to music in various contexts, from sitting alone with headphones on at home to attending concerts. All these experiences create a music community which can be understood as an ongoing, dynamic process; its members make judgments regarding many aspects of its content; such as its ability to put them into a good or ecstatic mood, its lyrical content and capacity for communicating their own values through lyrics.
As technology changes, so too do people’s methods of accessing music. Streaming services provide access to classical and other traditional genres for global audiences while physical formats like vinyl and CD continue to thrive alongside streaming.