Music

Music Performance and Practice

The Practice of Music as Science and Art

Topic Description and Links

According to legend, late in sixth century BC, a man named Thespis first had the idea to add speaking actors to the performances of choral song, dance and harvest rituals which occurred on many occasions throughout Greece. Masked actors performed out doors, in daylight, before audiences of 10,000 or more at festivals in honor of Dionysus, the god of theater.

How is music integrated into drama?

HINT 1: Prometheus was a tragic figure in Greek drama.

HINT 2: Locate the story of Prometheus as it is told in drama form (HINT: AESCHYLUS).

HINT 3: While in Greece, attend an ancient reproduction of a Greek drama even though you may not understand the words. What is the function of the chorus? How is music and movement used in the play?

HINT 4: Visit the House of Masks at Delos.

Plato accepts these conventions and applies the same reasoning to music as he does to literature, purely that the character of the pupil is affected by the type of music to which he is allowed to listen.

How is music used in social settings?

HINT: Consider how music is used in everyday life. Does the Greek use of music differ from it's use in America?

Does the use of music in society differ greatly from how music was used in education? How else was music used in society?

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