Ancient music

Ancient music refers to the musical cultures and practices of literate civilizations before approximately 500 CE. This era follows the music of prehistoric societies and precedes the post-classical medieval period. Major musical centers flourished in China, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Persia, the Maya civilization, Mesopotamia, and Rome. While these cultures were extremely diverse, they shared common characteristics. Most ancient music featured monophony, which is a single melodic line without harmony. Musicians also relied heavily on improvisation, or making music up as they played. Additionally, musical settings often prioritized text to carry meaning.

In prehistoric times, music was passed down through oral transmission. This means people learned songs by listening and memory rather than reading. As writing systems developed in Europe and Asia, phonetic musical notation emerged. This allowed societies to preserve and standardize their musical practices. This shift enabled the reinterpretation of musical themes over long periods. The earliest known example of recorded music is the Hurrian Hymn No. 6. This piece dates back to the 14th century BCE. Later, between the 9th and 12th centuries CE, neumes helped create Western diastematic notation.

Egypt provides a deep look into musical history. Some myths credit the goddess Bat with inventing music. Others say the goddess Hathor used music to civilize humanity. Evidence of Egyptian instruments exists from the Predynastic period. Tomb paintings from the Old Kingdom show harps and end-blown flutes. Musicians also played single and double reed pipes similar to clarinets. By the Middle Kingdom, ensembles included lutes and percussion. One important ritual instrument was the sistrum, which is a type of religious rattle. Scholars study hole placements on old flutes to reconstruct these sounds. However, most theories about ancient Egyptian sounds remain speculative.

Mesopotamia also holds some of the world's oldest musical records. In 1986, Professor Anne Draffkorn Kilmer deciphered a cuneiform tablet from Nippur. This tablet dates to approximately 2000 BCE. She argued it contained instructions for composing music using harmonies of thirds. This tablet used a diatonic scale, which is a specific sequence of notes. Another major discovery occurred in 1929 in the city-state of Ur. Archaeologist Leonard Woolley found fragments of four stringed instruments. These date to around 2750 BCE and are now in various museums. While often called harps, these were likely lyres. One famous bull-headed lyre was destroyed by looters during the 2003 Iraq War.

Ancient India developed complex musical theories and sacred texts. The Samaveda is a collection of hymns used for singing. These hymns use specifically indicated melodies called Samagana. Another vital text is the Natya Shastra, written between 200 BCE and 200 CE. This treatise covers theatre, dance, and music. It established the note Shadja as the first defining note of a scale. The text also describes principles of consonance, or how notes sound good together. It introduced musical modes called jatis. These jatis are the ancestors of modern melodic structures known as ragas. These modes were used to invoke specific emotions, such as heroism or tragedy.

In Greece, music was essential to almost every part of life. Most Greek men were taught to master instruments and sing. They also performed choral dances. Music was part of the quadrivium, a group of four important academic disciplines. Greek thinkers also connected music to astronomy. The theory of Pythagoreanism suggested that celestial bodies created music. This concept is known as musica universalis, or universal music. Common Greek instruments included the kithara, the lyre, and the aulos, which is a double-reed instrument.

Finally, the Roman Empire integrated many different musical traditions. Roman music borrowed heavily from conquered cultures like Greece, Egypt, and Persia. Music was present in the military, the theater, and religious ceremonies. The philosopher Boethius helped organize these ideas in Latin. In his work, *The Principles of Music*, he divided music into three types. These were the music of the universe, the music of human beings, and instrumental music. This shows how ancient music was a system that connected the heavens to human life.