Ultimately, the word music means 'of the Muses', the Muses being the custodians and patrons of the arts in ancient Greek mythology.
Where Does The Word Music Come From?
Greece
There are many legends among many peoples of how music began. The Bible tells of Jubal, the father of musicians. An old Spanish book describes how Jubal listened to Tubalcain's forget to notice that the sounds made -by pounding the anvil differed in pitch. He tried imitating these sounds with his voice and soon found himself singing high tones and then low tones.
The Greek myths tell of Pan, the inventor of the shepherd's pipe. Pan sighed through the reeds on, a river bank and heard his breath produce a mournful wail as it passed through them. He broke them off in unequal lengths, bound them together, and he had a musica.1 instrument!
Such tales are, of course, pure fancy. All primitive people do seem to have made music of some sort. But this music was not for pleasure alone. It had a meaning as part of their lives. Folk music, which is an ancient type of music, started when untrained singers made up songs.
The Greeks related music to poetry and the drama. They used instruments such as harps, lyres, and flutes.
The art of music owes a great deal of its growth to the early Christian church. In time, from church music there developed other forms and types, new instruments were invented, and music became an established art.
The Greek myths tell of Pan, the inventor of the shepherd's pipe. Pan sighed through the reeds on, a river bank and heard his breath produce a mournful wail as it passed through them. He broke them off in unequal lengths, bound them together, and he had a musica.1 instrument!
Such tales are, of course, pure fancy. All primitive people do seem to have made music of some sort. But this music was not for pleasure alone. It had a meaning as part of their lives. Folk music, which is an ancient type of music, started when untrained singers made up songs.
The Greeks related music to poetry and the drama. They used instruments such as harps, lyres, and flutes.
The art of music owes a great deal of its growth to the early Christian church. In time, from church music there developed other forms and types, new instruments were invented, and music became an established art.
