CHAPTER 1: MUSIC IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY

Music in the Life and Philosophy of Ancient Greece

Greek writers have constantly influenced Western Music, though few examples of Greek
music exist
Poetry and music were considered to have the same basic elements
o Many epics and plays were sung
Much day-to-day music for work and home, musical competitions very important
Acoustics and mathematical relationships of harmonic series discovered by Pythagoras in
6
th
century BCE
Music and Doctrine of Ethos
Belief that music can powerfully affect human character and behavior
Music with different ethos was used for different situations (music used to worship
different gods was vastly different)
Ex. Listening to noble music would give someone a noble, virtuous character, lascivious
music gave some a debauched life
Catharsis: emotional release from music
Different instruments, rhythms, melody, and mode were used in different situations to
create a certain ethos
Characteristics of Music
Connection of music and words important
o Musical rhythm corresponded to rhythm of poetic verse
o Instruments commonly used as accomp, even could have been instrumental
interludes
Mostly doubled vocal line: no evidence of complex textures
Plenty of evidence for improvised instrumental music

Greek Music Theory
Major contributions to music theory
Fundamental unit was the tetrachord: 4 consecutive pitches spanning a fourth
o 3 different ways to divide tetrachord (4 genera, genus, singular)
Diatonic: b c d e
Chromatic: b c d-flat e
Enharmonic: b c-flat c e
To make melodies spanning larger than a 4
th
, tetrachords were put together end-to-end to
create Greater Pitch System
o 2 tetrachords put together would share 1 note and become conjunct tetrachords

B c d e
E f g a
Add 1 wholetone to the end of the conjunct tetrachord to create an octave
Put 2 conjunct tetrachords together separated by a wholetone to create 2 octaves

A* b c d e b c d e
E f g a e f g a

Focused on 1 octave to reduce redundancy
o Took octaves from Greater Pitch System to form different tonos (scales)
As many as 15 tonos had been proposed
o Mese: the note which all other notes in that scale were compared to determine that
notes function
o Use of a particular array of pitches within the characteristic tonos determined the
musics ethos

Music in Ancient Rome
Political and militaristic power moved from Greece to Italian peninsula in last century
BCE
o Roman music was built on its Greek heritage
More inclined to pursue music as pleasure instead of for its philosophical and theoretical
ideas
Musical works become more grand and elaborate
o Large ensembles, increased complexity, virtuosity, Asian influences
Improvements in brass instruments to be used in battle
Music was grouped with maths and sciences in academic curriculum
Boethius classified music in 3 categories:
o Musica Mundana: music of the spheres, product of motions of sun, moon, stars,
planets, humans couldnt hear because we are corrupt
o Musica Humana: gave harmony to human existence, human harmony governs life
by keeping everything in proportion
o Musica Instrumentalis: all sounding music, presents concrete image of the order
of the universe
Music became less important in 5
th
century when Rome fell, ancient documents
disappeared and Christian culture took over