An Online Guide to
Classical Music and Composers
Ancient Music
The term "ancient music" has been used in different manners at different times. We currently draw a distinction between ancient music and early music by saying that the latter period begins in the 1100's with the advent in Western music of polyphony. Ancient music is any music that precedes early music, and that is non-polyphonic.
A question naturally arises as to how non-Western music fits into such a scheme. The short answer is, "not very well." Musical development proceeded in different ways and at different rates in various corners of the globe. While this might be an inconvenient fact for those who like to classify things as neatly as possible, we should allow ourselves to be cheered by the observation that, in some locations, one still has the opportunity of listening to "ancient music" virtually unchanged over a long period of time.
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© Daniel McAdam