Of the five senses that we possess, hearing probably ranks second only to sight
in regular usage. It is therefore with little wonder that human interest in acoustics
would date to prehistoric times. Sound effects entailing loud clangorous noises
were used to terrorize enemies in the course of heated battles; yet the gentler aspects
of human nature became manifest through the evolution of music during primeval
times, when it was discovered that the plucking of bow strings and the pounding of
animal skins stretched taut made for rather interesting and pleasurable listening.
Life in prehistoric society was fraught with emotion, just as in the present time,
so music became a medium of expression. Speech enhanced by musical inflection
became song. Body motion following the rhythm of accompanying music evolved
into dance. Animal horns were fashioned into musical instruments (the Bible
described the ancient Israelites’ use of shofarim, made from horns of rams or
gazelles, to sound alarms for the purpose of rousing warriors to battle). Ancient
shepherds amused themselves during their lonely vigils playing on pipes and reeds,
the precursors of modern woodwinds.
Possibly the first written set of acoustical specifications may be found in the Old
Testament, Exodus XXVI:7:
And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle . . . . The length of
each curtain shall be thirty cubits and the breadth of each curtain shall be four cubits. . . .
Additional specifications are given in extreme detail for the construction and
hanging of these curtains, which were to be draped over the tabernacle walls to
ensure that the curtains would hang in generous sound-absorbing folds. More fine
details on the construction of the tabernacle followed. Absolutely no substitution
of materials nor deviation from prescribed methods was permitted.
With the advent of metal forming skills, newer wind instruments were constructed
of metals. The march evolved from ceremonial processions, on grand
military and ceremonial occasions. Patriotic fervor often was elevated to a state of
higher pitch by the blare of martial music, indeed to the point of sheer madness on
the part of the citizenry, even in modern times as epitomized during the 1930s by
the grandiose thunder of Nazi goose-stepping marches through Berlin’s boulevards
to the accompaniment of the crowds’ roar.
in regular usage. It is therefore with little wonder that human interest in acoustics
would date to prehistoric times. Sound effects entailing loud clangorous noises
were used to terrorize enemies in the course of heated battles; yet the gentler aspects
of human nature became manifest through the evolution of music during primeval
times, when it was discovered that the plucking of bow strings and the pounding of
animal skins stretched taut made for rather interesting and pleasurable listening.
Life in prehistoric society was fraught with emotion, just as in the present time,
so music became a medium of expression. Speech enhanced by musical inflection
became song. Body motion following the rhythm of accompanying music evolved
into dance. Animal horns were fashioned into musical instruments (the Bible
described the ancient Israelites’ use of shofarim, made from horns of rams or
gazelles, to sound alarms for the purpose of rousing warriors to battle). Ancient
shepherds amused themselves during their lonely vigils playing on pipes and reeds,
the precursors of modern woodwinds.
Possibly the first written set of acoustical specifications may be found in the Old
Testament, Exodus XXVI:7:
And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle . . . . The length of
each curtain shall be thirty cubits and the breadth of each curtain shall be four cubits. . . .
Additional specifications are given in extreme detail for the construction and
hanging of these curtains, which were to be draped over the tabernacle walls to
ensure that the curtains would hang in generous sound-absorbing folds. More fine
details on the construction of the tabernacle followed. Absolutely no substitution
of materials nor deviation from prescribed methods was permitted.
With the advent of metal forming skills, newer wind instruments were constructed
of metals. The march evolved from ceremonial processions, on grand
military and ceremonial occasions. Patriotic fervor often was elevated to a state of
higher pitch by the blare of martial music, indeed to the point of sheer madness on
the part of the citizenry, even in modern times as epitomized during the 1930s by
the grandiose thunder of Nazi goose-stepping marches through Berlin’s boulevards
to the accompaniment of the crowds’ roar.
EmoticonEmoticon