“MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Ancient Music” plus 2 more |
- MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Ancient Music
- Ancient Music In Your Headphones? It’s Possible, Thanks To Historians
- MusicThinkTank, Hypebot Join The Bandsintown Family
| MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Ancient Music Posted: 23 Mar 2019 02:00 AM PDT
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| Ancient Music In Your Headphones? It’s Possible, Thanks To Historians Posted: 22 Mar 2019 07:41 PM PDT As a modern society, our fascination with the ancient word goes back as long ago as that time period itself. We’re fascinated with what used to be and fawn over how people used to live, work and play. We also study their clothing, tools, writings and mannerisms. What we haven’t spent too much time delving into, at least not until now, is the music they listened to. Of course, there have always been scholarly subsets of researchers and intellectuals for whom this knowledge is a passionate pursuit. Yet, for decades, present civilizations have cared the most about the music that’s prevalent during their own era. We love the sixties, for instance, and can appreciate the way it changed rock and roll forever, but Ariana Grande still rules the airwaves. The reality is that the past doesn’t truly come alive until you consider not only what it looked and felt like, but what it sounded like, as well. From tunes hummed at fairs and festivals to hymns belted in sanctuaries and fields, the songs of yesteryear rang loudly around the world. Thankfully, a few ardent historians have undertaken the immense effort of resurrecting some of the oldest pieces of music available and making them accessible to the general public. Here are three ways you can take a listen.
Flute Music from Ancient Greece One historian of ancient music by the name of Armand D’Angour highlights an ancient Greek instrument known as an “aulos” in a recent choral performance. Akin to a present-day flute, it’s a dainty and flighty accompainint to two ancient scores. One is a Delphic Paean, by a composer named Athenaeus from around 127 BCE. Composer Euripides created the second score to serve as the chorus in his play “Orestes.” Another historian and musician, Stefan Hagal, helped to develop a replication of the aulos, which is also referred to as a “tibia” in the Latin language. Military Music from Ancient Rome Historically, music has not only served as a form of entertainment and socialization, but it also held a very important role in helping military formations march in their correct order. This was the case in ancient Rome. Here, musicians were regular parts of the Roman army, playing myriad kinds of horns as their primary duty. One was the tuba, one was called a “bucina” and the other is an oversized horn with wrap-around components known as the “cornu.” Musicians played these instruments in accordance with an established military order and from there, soldiers understood where, why and how to march. While there isn’t much left of these instruments save for a spare mouthpiece here or there, researchers have discovered an ancient cornu in Pompeii. From there, modern musicians have been able to reconstruct what these instruments may have sounded like, though the tempo and type music they played is up for debate. Court Music from Ancient China In ancient China, especially during the Tang Dynasty 618 to 907 CE, music was theatrical and elaborate. Dancers performed sets to the backdrop of drums, flutes and a singular Chinese instrument known as a “qin” which is similar to a modern zither. While tech tools such as vocal effects pedals weren’t around during this time period, this would have been the time for their use, as they would have enhanced the leading vocals of the era beautifully. For its pomp and prominence alone, this time period is often recognized as the Golden Era in ancient Chinese musical history. Specifically, the dances held in grand banquet halls, known as “yaywe” events, were integral parts of significant feasts, highlighting the emperor’s grand power and prestige. Now, it’s not difficult to find online representations of these ceremonies online as historians recreate how these scenes may have played out. Learning from the Past, Embracing Today While it’s enjoyable to immerse ourselves in popular culture, we must never forget that who we are and what we listen to owes itself greatly to the sounds that came before us. While ancient Greeks didn’t have wireless earbuds and the Roman armies didn’t have reverb, their music was every bit as meaningful and significant to them as ours is to us. To that end, give it a listen! Open up YouTube and search for some of these ancient instruments. You might just find your new favorite song, or leave with a deeper appreciation for the ones that serve as a soundtrack to history.
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| MusicThinkTank, Hypebot Join The Bandsintown Family Posted: 22 Mar 2019 01:02 PM PDT I’m proud to share that MusicThinkTank and our sister blog Hypebot.com have been acquired by Bandsintown. Both sites will still operate as independent publications, which Owen Davie I will continue to edit. What excites me most about this partnership is that its purpose is to further our mutual mission of helping artists at all levels grow and sustain a meaningful career in music. “We believe Indie and emerging artists are a transformative and vibrant component of the music industry” Fabrice Sergent, Managing Partner of Bandsintown said in our launch announcement. “We share the same passion for independent and DIY artists. By welcoming Bruce and Hypebot into the Bandsintown family, we enhance the breadth of our support to the artists and further contribute to artists’ career growth and success.” I began publishing Hypebot in 2004 in the midst of the music industry meltdown. MusicThinkTank joined the family several years later. From Myspace to mp3s, we’ve seen promising technologies come and go. But with streaming in its ascendancy and the tools that drive music discovery, marketing and monetization maturing, we are fast approaching a time where the vision of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and others “to enable one million artists to live off their work” can be realized. Bandsintown is at the forefront of this inflection point. Revenue related to live performance is the biggest single source of income for most artists; and with 500,000 registered artists and 50 million registered live music fans, Bandsintown is uniquely positioned to help artists build a fanbase and a live touring career. I’ll be working alongside this music loving team to leverage that knowledge and community to improve and build tools that can be as important to artists, promoters and labels, as Bandsintown’s core concert listings have become. To early cohort Kyle Bylin and long term believers like Chris Vinson and Dave Cool of Bandzoogle, Mike King at the Berklee College Of Music, Marc Gentilella at CelebrityAccess, current teammate Owen Davie and so many others, as well as, our smart and loyal readers, your support in this journey means a great deal to me. Now, I add Fabrice Sergent, Mickael Ohana, Julien Mitelberg and Jon Ostrow of Bandsintown to my short list of thank-yous. I’m excited and grateful to continue Hypebot and MusicThinkTank’s mission as trusted sources helping artists and professionals navigate the ever-changing music industry with a newly expanded footprint and partners who care about helping artists as much as I do. I will continue as President of Skyline Artists Agency and later this year, look forward to launching the Grassroots Touring course I’ve authored for BerkleeOnline. Both roles keep me grounded in the challenges that musicians face daily and inform the work I do for Hypebot, Music ThinkTank and now proudly at Bandsintown. Thank-you all for your support. Bruce Houghton ____________________ The Full Press Release
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