Music And Rhetoric Analysis

Music and rhetoric are very closely intertwined. It can be said that a majority of all pieces of text have some musical influence or have later on been set to music. By looking at the way music can communicate different messages we can learn a lot about our own society and culture.Music has often been referred to as a universal language. This is certainly true and it can convey messages in ways nothing else can. As universal as organized pitch and rhythm might be, and as common as some musical intervals and rhythmic patterns are to all cultures and civilizations, there are nonetheless a great many "dialects" of this language which not only distinguish one civilization from the next, but indeed distinguish different eras of the same culture

from one another.
We are not exactly sure about the history of the creation of music and we do not know exactly how it evolved, but in the early 9th century we know that gregorian chant music essentially started the beginning of what we call modern music. It is where most music historians begin their timelines.

It was very simple vocal music that was entirely monophonic with freely moving rhythms that changed with each performance. The term monophonic means that there is only one melody being heard at a time. Every voice was singing the same notes at the same time in unison. The most important thing to note is that this music was purely sacred and was only performed in “organized religious settings” (Abel, 3) particularly the Roman Catholic Church. Currently music and religion are so closely intertwined that It’s difficult for us to look back in history and even imagine a time when religion had no music. Almost all major religions in the world today worship with music, from catholicism, to islam, to buddhism. Though, it has not always been that way. Music became the language that humans chose to use to worship their creator because of its universality. Rhetoric is usually defined as the art of persuasive speaking or writing. Music took a role that in sense was used to persuade people that god was the almighty creator. Whether this was purposeful or not, it still had an effect. It’s a fact that music makes us feel things that nothing else can and when religions claim that music is a glorious gift directly from god they can use the way music makes us

feel as an example of god's glory. With text like “Come, sing, make a joyful noise and shout unto god” composers and religious figures claim that Music opens the human spirit to receive things from the spiritual realm. Regardless of their intentions, music was used as a powerful rhetorical strategy and still is today. Music at the time was an extremely intimate way to worship. Music was told to bring you closer to the lord than anything else could. This is shown in the monophonic texture of the music. All voices joined together and sang one melody in unity, together worshiping one god. It’s important to know that the birth of modern music was a purely sacred one because it obviously doesn’t stay that forever, but the sacred influence stays for a very long time.
Next comes the birth of polyphony which in turn symbolizes the death of music used purely as a worship tool.

In polyphonic music the voices split and you can hear at least two melodies sounding simultaneously. It’s at this point in history when music split and went in two directions: sacred, and secular music. At first music was still sacred and the polyphony was used only to ornament pre-existing chant music. These same fanciful developments were also seen in the architecture of the church and the art from this time period. Music began to take on a different purpose when the Renaissance arrived and an entirely new era of music was born. Beginning in the beginning of the 1400’s musicians and composers were now able to be employed and Court chapels became the most common form of patronage, where groups of paid musicians and clerics regularly composed, entertained, and performed for a particular ruler. Prior to this point in history it was basically impossible to make a living as a musician. But now music could be chosen for a long time career

option.
Though sacred music was still very much so alive and prospering. One of the most prevalent theological philosophers of the time was Martin Luther. Luther believed so strongly in music and it’s powers that he placed it as the greatest treasure in the world next to the word of god. Luther was one of the first philosophers who popularized the importance of music education. In the preface to one of Luther’s works Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn Luther expressed his concern over the musical education of the youth. "The music is arranged in four parts. I desire this particularly in the interest of the young people, who should and must receive an education in music as well as in the other arts if we are to wean them away from carnal and lascivious songs and interest them in what is good and wholesome. Only thus will they learn, as they should, to love and appreciate what is intrinsically good." As Luther became more and more popular, so did the rise of music and music education. Music was then taught more and more frequently in schools and the language became more accessible to everyone.
Both sacred and secular music continued its climb in popularity throughout the centuries and music's relationship with rhetoric only grew closer. Many different cultures use music to communicate and to express themselves. In Africa and Tropical America drums served as an early form of long-distance communication, and were used during ceremonial and religious functions.