ABSTRACT
The history of European classical and religious music can be traced in a nearly continuous line from around A.D. 800 to the present. Ancient Greek music has been influential less for its sound, which is almost impossible to reconstruct, than for giving Europeans the very name music, the idea of musical notation, basic concepts of music theory and terminology. Archaeology has uncovered potential links between the prehistoric past and modern folk instruments and practices. Musical notation has been crucial to the development and preservation of music history, and Europeans' seeming preference for older forms over newer ones deserves critical examination. Developed from folk and medieval models of bowed fiddles and perfected by Italian master craftsmen in the 1600s for classical musicians, it was soon adopted by village musicians and tended to displace traditional, homemade instruments.
