The History of Music

Throughout history, men have used music to express themselves. It has been used in psychotherapy, advertising, and geriatrics. It has been used in the hospital as an adjunct to treatment.

The idea of music therapy is at least as old as Plato and Aristotle. After World War I, it began as a therapeutic process.

It is used to bring about relaxation, optimism, or self-actualization. It has also been used in a variety of religious and medical settings. It is performed by one or more singers or instrumentalists. The main focus is singing, with instrumental accompaniment to create an artistic effect.

The history of music is a study of music's adjunctive function in rituals, ceremonies, and musical theatre. It also describes the diversity of styles and forms of music.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, speculations about the intrinsic nature of music increased. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the elements that would form a comprehensive theory of music were recognizable.

Rene Descartes saw the basic elements of music as rhythm and harmony. He advocated temperate rhythms and simple melodies. He thought music mirrored mathematical reality. He deprecated wordless music and preferred vocal music over instrumental.

Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, saw music as a product of internal dynamism. He thought it was a bypass of the empirical world. His views were sometimes called "absolutist" or "formalist."

Aristoxenus, a pupil of Aristotle, was skeptical about the idea of music. He denigrated acoustical considerations and mathematical thinking. He thought music served an emotional role and could mold the character of the listener.