Music and Its Influence Essay

These primitive musicians would not have known many of the modern terms such as octaves and pitch, but they invented quite possibly the most important aspect of music today – just whack it. Music is basically the control of sound. We can control this sound by varying the pitch, tempo, octaves, and dynamics and so on. There are thousands of ways that we can use music and to shape it to how we want to hear it. But how much has music influenced the way we think today? Why is it so popular? Music dates right back to the prehistoric eras where primitive instruments were constructed using items like bone and woodQuite literally, they would have used things like 2 bones and they would have ‘whacked’ them together. This would obviously have made a sound – either loud or quite depending on how hard you hit them together. Take these primitive bones and add on 8 or 9 thousand years of musical evolution and you get the modern day drum kit. In my own opinion; instrumentsHave come a very long way. In my research drums, guitars and pianos has change in the way it looks and sounds. Ask yourself! How far did music come from to now? First close your eyes and picture this, even today if you go to some native parts of Africa or Asia. you can see tribes of people performing primeval forms of music. They do this for both entertainment and their religious belief. This form of music normally consists of basic wind instruments and small, hand-made percussion instruments normally made from animal skin or fur. This has been kept traditional by the tribe as they have not been into contact with the outside world. They have managed to keep their precious tradition for thousands of years, and they will be able to keep it for years to come. Their music is the only real surviving traditional music from the early days, and that genre of music has slowly made its way into western culture. If we see a film about a jungle, normally the soundtrack is composed of instruments like bongos or shakers. This is because we instantly associate this sort of music with jungles and indigenous tribes. So whereas some parts of the world stayed traditionalist, other parts were taking music to the next step. Western cultures have used music for almost every aspect of life. Music was used for entertainment and religion. Some countries have unfortunately lost their culture and heritage thanks to more developed countries trying to expand their empires. Traditional drums and flutes have been replaced with more vibrant shakers and trumpets. It is no doubt that the way other countries have acted has greatly affected the distribution of music worldwide. I’m sure you’ll all agree when I say that music is changing very fast. It’s either that or we keep changing our tastes in music every five minutes – which is far more probable. Today if someone put on a record from just 10-20 years ago we’d probably think of that music as being incredibly old or very simple. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to watch some (if not most) of the early Top of the Pops because the music is so old. We think of this as being old, but in fact it is incredibly new. The music industry has become overwhelmingly popular ever since some of the pioneers of modern music. Before the War, there had never been a real music industry, but during the war many radio stations made the majority of their income by playing music because lots of music during that era was lyrically focused on subjects like peace and hope. This was undoubtedly something that people wanted to hear, so the music industry started to really form during this time. WHAT? I’ll just get the album when it comes out, thanks. After this, more and more businesses and corporations started to set up record labels and started to sign more and more artists to their label and then distributing their music in CD/Vinyl release and on the radio. Since then, technology of all sorts has had to shape the way it works so that it can keep up with the music industry. Many devices that once had no connections to music now play music and the radio due to customer demands. For example, a fridge with a built in radio. Record labels have got so big nowadays, that they are starting to charge excessive fees for artist’s music. Many bands/artists have recognized this and have made their own record labels so they can have their own means of music distribution. Some examples of these would be Nothing Records, owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and Morning Records, owned by the Cooper Temple Clause. During my research I’ve learned how music changes the lives of people throughout the world. I can honestly say, I have discovered how has influenced my life and the production of my music. In conclusion, music has evolved substantially from its early days as a form of basic ceremonious compliments to a huge booming industry that plays a major role in our culture and it continues to change every day to suit the needs of the consumers, who enjoy music for what it is, rather than the profit that can be made from record labels.