Where is Music Come from And Where will It Go?

It is hard to trace back the birth of music. Historian think music may be born from ordered sequence of sound and beats from nature. Ancient people then imitated these kind of sound. Actually, even now we can find some of music trying to imitate these kinds of sound. The earliest music we know, which can be found in stone inscriptions, is located Ur ancient town in Mesopotamia from more than 4000 years ago.

early 14th-century English manuscript (British Museum)

In fact, we can not confirm the exact form and status of music until the invention of recording technique. However, it is possible to presume the procedure from sound to music for us according to musical scores, separate vocal and instrumental parts on cave, stone inscriptions, bamboo slip and parchment.

Thus we know that it is quite a long time when we recognise music, control it and then appreciate it. Even through, we can still find some of the ancient music today, such as Greek music, Christian music, and a huge number of classical music which were mainly written between fifteen and eighteen century. Numerous musical instruments are still widely used around world in different kind of music, like harp and djembe.

harp and djembe

People inherit those ancient musical works, and have never stopped to initiate new instruments and music form. Experimental music, as a music type, is to define this kind of initiation of music. Musician try to use different tools, objects or even follow different music theory to make sound become music.

As Pat (2011) said, The instruments and music travel the same miles and ages through out the world. The instruments, of course are also a part of sound(p.9). Most of music are presented by the specific traditional instruments – not only in western classical music, but also in asian traditional music. For example, the relationship between lute and pentatonic in China. Therefore, apart from music itself, musical instruments have been given liveness and emotion.

However, for what consideration the musician [ or composer ] chose the musical instrument to express their music? Moreover, how can we define the instrument as musical instrument? Can we play the same music using different instrument? If so, what it sounds like?

If musical instruments is a part of music, for what consideration the musician and composer chose the music instrument to express their music?

It is true that western classical musical instruments and music form has been a popular and mainstream of music today. However, why there are still people trying to play the traditional instruments, which have always had players and audience.

Traditional Musical Instrument Still Being Played

It is hard to define ‘music’ from sound. As in some way, any music is a kind of experimental art to sound.

G. Pat(2011), Musical Instrument, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, p. 9