A History of Music/The Present

Music's astounding story begins in prehistoric times, through songs passed on from generation to generation, before even the advent of written language. These songs were later accompanied by simple instruments. Music found a home through the church, ushering in the beginnings of music notation. The composers of the canon shaped our understanding of music through it.

The rise of technology dominates our current milieu. The creation of new settings, like film, television, or video games, have expanded possibilities in musicians' creative processes, while limiting other areas of development. Streaming technologies have changed how we consume it.

Underlying structures of music have remained intact through the centuries. Large-scale structures and pattern-based generative musical development could prove elusive without understanding of it. The value of working with and against traditional structures is measured from a perspective that's self-aware of the disposition of the modern day listener in context with how music was thought about in the past. What things mean is calibrated through a musicians' knowledge of the meaning of musical symbols within the modern day gestalt, and an experiential knowledge of communicating emotive content through music in live settings.

Familiarity with fundamental concepts and how to use them offers musicians a platform in which to deftly express our own interpretation of today's multilingual exchange. The traditional theory knowledge base of classical music offers performers opportunities of improvisatory spontaneity, as well as the ability to remain active and contributory in a variety of styles, genres, and feels.