Ancient Roman Music
The Romans adapted their music from Greek principles, as was common for the Romans in nearly all of their fine arts. The Romans actually did a pretty good job at preserving the musical ideas of the Greeks. Romans did very little to change the Greek music in its principles, but they had the advantage of having a larger array of instruments at it's disposal. This was due to the vast amount of territories that Rome had enveloped over time. Some of these regions include parts of Spain, England, Turkey, Greece, and Egypt. The instruments that would be most characterized of Romans would be the trumpet and horns. They used these instruments in military, parades, and festivals. It is said that certain instruments were associated with particular cults. The flute, drums, and cymbals are what seems to be the most common instruments used in Roman religions. They used them in their celebratory rituals. The cultural melting pot that was Rome helped bring a sort of musical multiplicity to an already existing Greek base while still conserving the undertone of classical Greece.
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Though there is no surviving music from Ancient Rome many people can attempt to replicate what might have been heard in Ancient Rome based on the fact they modeled their music on the Greeks. |