Music is such an important aspect of modern life that it makes us wonder whether the most powerful civilizations from the past enjoyed it in the same way we do. Finding out what music from the distant past sounded like can help us understand what music meant to people who lived centuries ago.
The Aztecs Used Whistles and Rattles for a Variety of Events
The Aztec civilization had an advanced sense of how music fitted into the different religious and cultural events that made up a big chunk of their daily lives. You may have heard of the so-called Aztec death whistle, whose haunting sound can still be heard today and whose exact purpose is unknown. Other types of whistles and rattles were used together with sacred chants to create the right atmosphere for any occasion.
Many games and TV shows that show this and other ancient cultures adopt relaxing or soothing music to represent the era, although it isn’t clear whether this is a true reflection of their music as interpretations vary across media. Let’s look at the Temple Tumble Megaways description as an example, said to be set in the Aztec Empire, with an adventurer and some valuable treasures among the symbols. The music adds atmosphere but with delicate sounds rather than piercing whistles.
Ancient Greece
Music was a huge part of the Ancient Greek world, being played on many different occasions. Among the most fascinating artefacts to survive from this era, we can find Ancient Greek musical notation in the Seikilos epitaph, which is the only complete composition that has remained intact to our days. We can also find music being played in pieces of art and many of the books from the period.
Music was closely linked with Greek mythology and many historians suggest that this culture influenced virtually every part of Western music that came after it, particularly the Roman approach to making music. Concerts have been held in modern times using Greek instruments from the past. This research from the Metropolitan Museum of Art states that the lyre, the kithara, and the aulos were the three main instruments that the Greeks loved to play.
The Romans
There was a lot of emphasis on military and folk music in ancient Rome, but we know surprisingly little about what it sounded like. It was widely used for celebrations and special events. The Greeks influenced them and took many of their songs and musical records from that earlier culture.
Some modern groups attempt to recreate Roman music using instruments such as tubas and horns to let us hear the sounds that the Romans heard. The tuba was used in a military setting and its sound was said to inspire fear in anyone who heard it. Lutes and lyras were among the most popular stringed instruments, with some surviving or reconstructed examples displayed in the National Museum of Musical Instruments in Rome. The music from this period was monophonic, meaning that it was made up of single melodies.
Virtually every culture in human history has used music to celebrate, party, and lament. But these three cultures we’ve looked at are among those that stand out because of the way that they saw music as forming a huge part of their lives.
