- "Music was almost universally present in ancient Greek society, from marriages, funerals, and religious ceremonies to theatre, folk music, and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry."
The theories and concepts behind ancient music, including scales, modes, harmony, and rhythm.
Pitch and tuning systems: How different cultures developed their systems of pitch and tuning, and the differences between them.
Modes: The different modes used in ancient music and how they are constructed.
Notation: The various notation systems used in ancient music, including tablature, neumes, and diastematic notation.
Rhythm: The different rhythmic patterns used in ancient music and how they are notated.
Harmony: How harmonies were constructed in ancient music and the different ways they were used.
Instruments: The different types of instruments used in ancient music and their characteristics.
Improvisation: The importance of improvisation in ancient music and how it was used.
Form: The structures used in ancient music, such as the rondo, sonata, and fugue.
Performance practices: The various practices used in ancient music, including ornamentation, phrasing, and tempo.
Compositional techniques: How ancient composers constructed their works, including the use of imitation, inversion, and augmentation.
Analysis: The various analytical techniques used in studying ancient music, such as voice leading and harmonic analysis.
History and culture: The historical and cultural context of ancient music and how this influenced its development.
Philosophy and aesthetics: The philosophical and aesthetic ideas that underpin ancient music, such as the Pythagorean theory of harmonics.
Ethnomusicology: The study of the music of different cultures and how it relates to their beliefs, rituals, and social structures.
Pythagorean Theory: Based on the mathematical principles of harmonics and proportions, this theory explains the relationship between intervals in musical scales.
Aristoxenian Theory: Developed by the philosopher Aristoxenus of Tarentum, this theory focuses on the rhythms and rhythms of ancient Greek music.
Plutarchian Theory: Developed by the Greek philosopher Plutarch, this theory emphasizes the role of music in education and character development.
Ptolemaic Theory: Developed by the astronomer and musician Ptolemy, this theory explains the mathematical relationships between sound frequencies and musical intervals.
Boethian Theory: Developed by the medieval philosopher and musician Boethius, this theory explains the structure of music in terms of the classification of sounds and musical intervals.
Arabian Theory: Developed by Arab scholars during the Middle Ages, this theory incorporates the principles of the Pythagorean and Ptolemaic systems and adds a focus on melodic ornaments and the relationship between sound and emotion.
Indian Theory: Developed in ancient India, this theory emphasizes the role of cyclic patterns and improvisation in musical composition.
Chinese Theory: Developed in ancient China, this theory emphasizes the role of harmony and balance in musical composition and performance.
- "This played an integral role in the lives of ancient Greeks."
- "There are some fragments of actual Greek musical notation, many literary references, depictions on ceramics and relevant archaeological remains."
- "Some things can be known—or reasonably surmised—about what the music sounded like."
- "The importance of a professional caste of musicians."
- "The word music comes from the Muses, the daughters of Zeus and patron goddesses of creative and intellectual endeavours."
- "The history of music in ancient Greece is so closely interwoven with Greek mythology and legend."
- "The music and music theory of ancient Greece laid the foundation for western music and western music theory, as it would go on to influence the ancient Romans, the early Christian church and the medieval composers."
- "Our understanding of ancient Greek music theory, musical systems, and musical ethos comes almost entirely from the surviving teachings of the Pythagoreans, Ptolemy, Philodemus, Aristoxenus, Aristides, and Plato."
- "Pythagoras in particular believed that music was subject to the same mathematical laws of harmony as the mechanics of the cosmos, evolving into an idea known as the music of the spheres."
- "The Pythagoreans focused on the mathematics and the acoustical science of sound and music. They developed tuning systems and harmonic principles that focused on simple integers and ratios."
- "Aristoxenus, who wrote a number of musicological treatises, for example, studied music with a more empirical tendency."
- "Aristoxenus believed that intervals should be judged by ear instead of mathematical ratios."
- "though Aristoxenus was influenced by Pythagoras and used mathematics terminology and measurements in his research."
- "The Pythagoreans' tuning systems and harmonic principles laid a foundation for acoustic science."
- "The Pythagoreans believed that music was subject to the same mathematical laws of harmony as the mechanics of the cosmos."
- "Our understanding of ancient Greek music theory, musical systems, and musical ethos comes almost entirely from the surviving teachings."
- "The Pythagoreans focused on the mathematics and the acoustical science of sound and music."
- "There are some fragments of actual Greek musical notation, many literary references, depictions on ceramics and relevant archaeological remains."
- "Aristoxenus, for example, studied music with a more empirical tendency."