A brief history of music

Chapter 1 The Origin of Music

The origin of music in human society can be traced back to the very ancient prehistoric times. Before humans had language, they already knew how to use the pitch, strength, etc. of sounds to express their thoughts and feelings. With the development of human labor, chants to unify the rhythm of labor and shouts to convey information to each other gradually emerged. This is the most primitive prototype of music. When people celebrate harvests and share the fruits of labor, they often beat stone and wooden tools to express their feelings. Joy, joy, this is the prototype of the original musical instrument.

a. The legend of the origin of stringed instruments

Mercury is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. One day he was walking along the Nile River and accidentally stepped on something that made a wonderful sound. He picked it up and saw that it was an empty turtle shell with a dry tendon attached to the inside. So Mercury was inspired by it and invented the stringed instrument. Later generations have verified that string instruments appeared before Mercury, but the invention of string instruments may have been inspired by this.

b. The legend of the origin of wind instruments

In ancient China, during the Yellow Emperor period five thousand years ago, there was a musician named Ling Lun. Legend has it that he once entered the Kunlun Mountains in the west. Pick bamboos to make flutes. At that time, there happened to be five phoenixes flying in the sky, and he made laws according to their sounds. Although this legend is not completely credible, it is not a bad idea to regard it as the origin of wind instruments. It can be said that the working life of human beings in the primitive era developed and developed in the company of music, and the two are closely linked. In this sense, music is produced directly from human labor life.

Chapter 2 The Music of Primitive People

The ancient Mesopotamia (Tigris River and Euphrates River) was one of the important cradles of human culture. The prosperous Mesopotamia region (today's Iran and Iraq) had relatively developed music in the fourth millennium BC. At that time, the Sumerians living in this area already had harp-like instruments and several orchestral instruments. At that time, professional singers and larger bands had emerged in the court. Later, these gangsters, bag quilts and curtains, Luan チ鞔, oars

Chapter 3 Music in the Middle Ages

1. Ancient Chinese Music

The Yellow Emperor was the earliest king in Chinese history. The calendar and writing were created five thousand years ago. At that time, in addition to the aforementioned Ling Lun, there was also a musician named "Fuxi". It is said that Fuxi had the head of a human and the body of a snake. He was conceived in his mother's womb for twelve years. The harp he played originally had fifty strings, but because the tone was too sad, Huang Di cut off half of his harp and changed it to twenty-five strings.

In the legend of the Yellow Emperor’s era, there is also a musician named Shennong, who is said to have the head of an ox and the body of a snake. Shennong once taught people to cultivate grains, tasted all kinds of herbs and discovered medicine, and also created the five-stringed qin. Therefore, it can be naturally assumed that the music at that time used the pentatonic scale.

In ancient China, there were no fewer than 300 books on music. Confucius was a famous educator in the Spring and Autumn Period and a musician. He wrote many essays on music. We can see some of his comments on music in the Analects. Confucius was very accomplished in the guqin. He could compose his own music and put sorrow and joy into the music of the guqin. Confucius personally taught the art of piano to his disciples. Among his three thousand disciples, there were seventy-two who were proficient in the six arts. The content of his teaching can be called "poetry, calligraphy, etiquette and music". "Li" refers to the order of yin and yang in heaven and earth, and "joy" means achieving harmony. In Confucius' philosophy, morality and music are on the same footing, and he advocated using music to improve moral character. On the other hand, most of the court music in ancient China was dance music, which integrated poetry, dance, and music, which is completely different from today's dance.

2. Ancient Egyptian and Arabic music

The ancient Egyptian civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. On the carvings on the stone walls inside the pyramid, we can see the procession of music players, thus imagining the grand occasion of playing music at that time. The carvings include harp-like string instruments played with fingers, as well as various flute-like instruments.

Instrumental music in areas such as Arabia is also quite developed. A long time ago, they began to use a special scale divided into seventeen note names within an octave.

Ancient Egyptian murals:

3. Ancient Greek and Roman music

The origin of Greek music is also shrouded in mystery. According to legend, the god Apollo is in charge of music and has nine Muses under his jurisdiction, so music is also called Music or Musik. Among the Greek musical instruments, there is a V-shaped double-pipe flute called auros, a hurdy-gurdy called a lyra, and a kithara, a stringed instrument similar to a guitar. These instruments are Introduced from Egypt or Arabia. In the lives of ancient Greeks, music played a very prominent role. Based on the oriental music spread from Egypt and Arabia, they gradually developed and changed it and formed their own music. Music in ancient Greece was closely linked to poetry and drama. The importance of music is reflected in their two charming Homeric epics and many famous dramatic works. The songs sung by some famous folk singers in society at that time were also of great significance to the formation and development of ancient Greek music.

Ancient Greek music has made significant achievements in many aspects. In the sixth century BC, Pythagoras, the great ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, used a single-stringed instrument called the Monochord to first explain the theory of pure temperament and calculate the time based on the length of the string. All intervals used. The invention and application of Pythagorean temperament was a major breakthrough in music theory. Secondly, the ancient Greeks also invented alphabetical notation. There were also many bold innovations and creations in the production of musical instruments, and a number of unprecedented musical instruments were invented. Ancient Greek music not only included solo lyrics with instrumental accompaniment, but also drama music and dance music. This music is generally based on monophonic music, and most of its content is religious.

The music of ancient Rome mainly followed the great achievements of ancient Greek music. Music at that time was mainly played during sacrifices to gods, wedding banquets and military triumphs. Since the third century AD, ancient Rome has expanded its power outwards and carried out barbaric invasion and plunder of neighboring city-states. Many of the outstanding musicians and singers of ancient Greece became servants of ancient Roman emperors, nobles and slave owners, so music became a tool specifically for the entertainment of the ruling class. However, the music culture of ancient Rome did not stagnate after ancient Greece. Some folk songs, wedding songs, soldier songs, and music and dances have developed to a certain extent. In the process of continuous development, ancient dramas sung in Latin appeared. In addition, the emergence of brass instruments in the army is also one of the main features of ancient Roman music.

Ancient Greek Art:

Leshegrad Music Memorial Pavilion in Athens

This kind of building is an independent building in ancient Greece for displaying prizes won in sports or singing competitions. of monumental buildings. Therefore it is also called the "Athens Prize Monument". This type of monumental building arose from the 4th century BC and this is the only one that remains. This pavilion was built by the wealthy Athenian merchant Leshegrad between 335 and 334 BC to commemorate the victory of the choir he supported in the Dionysian competition.

The base of the pavilion is 2.9 meters square and 4.77 meters high. On the base stands a solid circular pavilion 6.5 meters high; there are 6 Corinthian leaning columns around the pavilion. The top is a dome carved from a complete piece of marble, where prizes are placed; there are reliefs on the frieze, engraved with the story of Dionysus (Bacchus), the god of wine, being robbed at sea and turning the pirates into dolphins.

The compositional characteristics of the pavilion embody a rule, that is, the base and the pavilion each have a complete platform and eaves, and each part forms a contrast: the contrast between the simplicity and weight of the base and the gorgeous lightness of the pavilion creates stability. and a sense of beauty. It is the earliest building in Greek architecture to use Corinthian columns

Ancient Roman art:

The Battle of Issus

This is a battle from Pang in 1831 AD The mosaic discovered at the ruins of the ancient city of Bey, which according to research depicts the Battle of Issus, was copied from the mural of the same name by the Greek painter Philoxinos in the 4th century BC, which shows the development of Greek painting. The original painting was created at the request of Cassander, the ruler of Athens, and was painted in 310 BC.

The painting depicts the history of the battle at Issus between Alexander the Great and Darius III, the last king of the Persian Empire, in the autumn of 330 BC. It is a famous historical painting. In this battle, Alexander the Great beat Darius until he left his mother, wife and children and fled. Later, Darius wrote to Alexander the Great, expressing his willingness to redeem his mother, wife and children with a huge sum of money, and marry his daughter to him. Alexander, but was rejected by Alexander, still invaded eastward and destroyed the Persian Empire.

The painting depicts the battle between the two armies and Alexander defeating Darius. The picture only uses a fallen tree to represent the environment in which the war took place. The painter focused on depicting the confrontation between the two armies, highlighting the Persian Darius and his soldiers. Their movements showed the fierce fighting situation. The whole scene was full of dramatic conflicts and a strong atmosphere of war.

Chapter 4 Medieval Music

1. Christianity and Medieval Music

In medieval Europe, the power of the church was higher than that of the state and other social groups. At that time, all social ideologies, including various arts and philosophy, had to serve the church. Therefore, medieval music achieved unusual development with the help of Christianity. It can be said that everything from music theory to notation, from chorus and ensemble to the rise and teaching of keyboard instruments, are all closely related to the medieval church. Although most of today's symphonies and operas are secular in content, they are also inextricably linked to the medieval church. Church music initially adopted the form transmitted from the Jewish kingdom intact, that is, singing hymns and reciting the Bible, which was purely vocal music. Religious music has always been dominated by vocal music, because vocal music has lyrics. In contrast, instrumental music developed primarily as secular music.

The transition from primitive monophonic music to polyphonic music is an important feature of medieval music. In addition, medieval music also developed greatly in theory, completing counterpoint and line notation. The invention and production of musical instruments also made considerable progress. Instruments such as trombones, trumpets, and French horns were widely popular at that time, and bowed string instruments (such as viols) were also widely used.

2. Roman style

The term "Roman style" comes from the architectural terminology of the time. Romanesque music is one of the greatest monumental legacies in the history of world art. This kind of music has neither harmony nor accompaniment. It is characterized by the main form of unison singing, which produces a solemn sense of harmony through the echo of the church patio. Its simple and elegant religious feelings are exactly the same as those of Roman-style church architecture. Romanesque music was one of the important musical forms in the Middle Ages. Its representative is Gregorian Chant, a typical Catholic music that is purely single-melody singing. Gregorian chant made an important contribution to music throughout the long Middle Ages. In Gregorian Psalm, there are already four ecclesiastical modes and their modifications: Doric mode, Phrygian mode, Lydian mode, and mixed Lydian mode. In the 16th century, the Ionian mode and the Dorian mode appeared, which evolved into today's major and minor scales. During the time of Gregory I, a school called the "Singing Class" was established in Rome to teach chants. This can be said to be one of the earliest music schools in the world. The Psalms of Ambrosius (340-397) collected songs sung in the church, formulated four church modes of seven-tone scales for church music, and also created antiphonal and other forms. In the psalms, the lyrics are extremely perfectly combined with the language momentum, pitch and rhythm. They perfectly express religious feelings and can be used as a summary of the music art of this era.

Supplementary content: The representative of medieval Christian music is Gregorian Chant. This psalm appeared in the 6th century and was named after Pope Gregory I (reigned 590-604). It is said that in the 6th century AD, church music in various places was not uniform. Gregory I was committed to the unification of church music. He collected, selected, and organized the original liturgical songs and hymns from various churches into an "Antiphonarium", and also elaborated on the modes and usages. Regulation. Gregorian chant consists of a large number of monophonic music with Latin lyrics. It is a song that faithfully expresses scripture, and its melody is detached, calm, and devoid of human desires.

It was not created for appreciation, but purely for religious rituals. It is practical music and does not pay attention to aural beauty or the exaggeration of secular music. This kind of chant is sung purely by the human voice, without instrumental accompaniment, without changes or ornamentation. It also has no verse lines or time signatures, it is completely free-tempo, and the lyrics are only in Latin. Gregorian Psalms are all Catholic liturgical songs, sung only by priests and not by the congregation.

After the formation of Gregorian chant, it quickly spread to various places, especially in northern Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and other places. Until the 14th century, there was only Gregorian chant in the Catholic Church. Gregorian chant is also commonly used in the Catholic Church today.

As the main music of the early feudal society in Europe, Gregorian chant can be said to be the first flower of Western music culture. Its development is closely related to the entire history of Western music. In many aspects such as the study of notation, music theory, the rise and development of polyphonic music, and the establishment of music schools, Gregorian chant must be mentioned. Even modern modal music is based on the mode of Gregorian chant. .

The most characteristic melodies of Gregorian chant have long been preserved not only in the creations of medieval composers, but also in the creations of composers in many subsequent centuries. We can hear these melodies in the works of Bach, Mozart and others, such as Mozart's "Jupiter Symphony", Liszt's "Dance of Death", the 5th movement of Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique", St. ·Sang's "Symphony No. 3 in C minor" with organ and piano, and Rachmaninov's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" for piano and orchestra. Many pieces of music that have been handed down to this day, such as minuets, military marches, and the first movement of sonatas, are expanded from Gregorian chant. 2. Polyphonic music produced in the Christian context Polyphonic music is music composed of two or more independent parts. The emergence of this kind of music marks a big step forward for Western music. Polyphonic music emerged in the context of medieval Christianity and was developed from Gregorian chant, whose musicians were monks of the Catholic Church.

Relevant pictures on this topic are as follows:

The "Psalm" mode was originally divided into eight types, namely Doria, Lower Doria, Phrygia, Lower Phrygia, Lydia, Lower Lydia, Myxolydia, Lower Myxolydia. Like ancient Greek music, "Psalm" is also monophonic music, solemn, solemn, simple, broad, and sung in Latin. The melodies of "Psalms" can be divided into two categories, namely recitative songs and melodic songs. The former has no accompaniment, harmony, and rhythm. Each syllable sometimes matches one note, and sometimes matches a group of notes of the same time value, as if it were a monotonous and simple vocal training piece. Therefore, it is also called plain song.

Relevant pictures on this topic are as follows:

3. Secular music in the Middle Ages

Music in the Middle Ages was mainly religious music, and the music activities at that time were only religious music. Confined within the confines of the church, popular secular music was prohibited. Despite this, there are still many wandering singers and troubadours among the people. These poor folk artists with extremely low social status were very dissatisfied with the shackles of religious music on musical art. They used various methods to widely spread secular music among the people. This kind of music (including hymns, love songs, pastoral songs and satirical songs) is closer to folk customs in form and content and is full of folk feelings. This kind of folk secular music had begun to brew into a potential music trend at that time. By the "Renaissance" period, with the development and transformation of social forms, this music trend gradually replaced religious music and became the mainstream of music art.

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris was built in 1163 AD and was not fully completed until the 13th century AD.

Looking from the front of Notre Dame de Paris, a pure pointed arch building has been formed. The entire plane is still cross-shaped, but the east-west direction is longer than the north-south direction. At the bottom are three recessed coupon doors. The moldings inside the doors are filled with statues of gods, adding a sense of luxury to the entire building. Instead of the typical giant towers of Romanesque architecture, there are small spires at the cross-shaped intersections. Its height makes the whole building look more majestic. There are two towering giant towers on the west side of Notre Dame. The towers have three floors, with the King's Gallery on the lower floor. In the center of the second floor is a large rose-shaped round window symbolizing heaven; the third floor is a walkable cloister.

Sculptures are an indispensable decoration in Notre Dame, with plant patterns and fantasy monsters; there are also large stained glass windows, which make the building form a trancelike divine illusion, strengthening the sacred religious color of the church.

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Chapter 5 Music before the Renaissance and the Renaissance

From the end of the eleventh century to the end of the thirteenth century, the Crusades took place in Europe. This historical event played a huge role in promoting cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and in terms of music, it was reflected in the emergence of troubadours, troubadours, lyric singers and other figures. They use a small harp-like accordion or an instrument from the viol family, and their singing involves love songs, narrative stories, hymns about nature, and religious and moral content.

From the mid-to-late 13th century to the 14th century, Gothic style art quietly emerged in Northern Europe, and was clearly reflected in architecture. In music, although the Gothic style has not formed a form that represents an era, the characteristics of the Gothic style are quite clearly shown in the polyphonic form starting from Organum. Among the motets of the thirteenth century, in addition to the fixed melodies of solemn Gregorian chants, there were also melodies from dances and love songs, sung simultaneously with different lyrics and time signatures.

Cologne Cathedral

The nave of Cologne in Germany is 48 meters high; from the height of the church tower, the church in Ulm, Germany is 161 meters high. Secondly, the upward movement of the body is very strong, with light vertical lines running straight through the whole body. Both the walls and the tower become thinner as they go up, the more decorations there are, and the more exquisite they are, and the tops all have sharp little spires that pierce the sky. Not only are all the coupons pointed, but the upper ends of the building parts and details are also pointed. The entire church is full of upward momentum. This style, which is characterized by being tall, straight, pointed and with a strong upward momentum, is the embodiment of the church's religious thought of abandoning the world and is also a spiritual reflection of the city's strong upward vitality. If the Romanesque shows the authority of the church with its thick, stocky, and unshakable form, and its form has a retro-inherited tradition, then the Gothic reflects the church's authority with the rough, unrestrained, dexterous, and rising power of the barbarians. Divine Spirit. Its straight lines, convex spatial movement, colorful light through the stained glass windows and various light and exquisite carving decorations comprehensively create an "otherworldly" realm, giving people a mysterious feeling. feel. Some people say that Roman architecture is a palace on earth, while Gothic architecture is a palace in heaven.

Mosaic glass windows

Along with Gothic architecture, beautiful stained glass window paintings emerged. This kind of painting also became the bible for illiterate believers. The circular rose window symbolizes heaven, and various saints board the colorful glass windows, which resembles a colorful stage scene. When people approach the church, they not only have a sense of divine fantasy about heaven, but also a sense of decorative beauty. Because it is a glass painting that can rely on the penetration of light to produce brilliant colors, it is fascinating with its wonderful light color. Gothic sculpture is an indispensable decoration of church architecture. Its characters begin to maintain an independent spatial status, pursue three-dimensional modeling in three-dimensional space, strive to conform to the real image, pursue natural and vivid shaping, and gradually plump up the human body. The pleats also undergo structural changes, making people feel that there is a real human body inside the clothes. The statue is no longer an imitation of the human form, but a person of flesh and blood. Gothic architecture often uses round sculptures and high reliefs close to round sculptures.

Gothic art is close to life and realism and is spread throughout Europe, so it is also called International Gothic style. Late Gothic art has clearly given birth to the Renaissance.

In the second half of the fourteenth century, European social ideologies began to undergo profound changes. Some advanced and stimulating new ideas were brewed and gradually spread. The most representative one is humanistic thought. Humanism advocates putting people first, and people are the masters of society rather than gods. Celebrate human love for life and human wisdom, and believe that human power can overcome everything. Promote human nature and oppose medieval asceticism. Under the influence and promotion of the humanistic trend of thought, a profound change involving politics, culture and other aspects took place in Europe - the "Renaissance" movement. Following literary and artistic forms such as literature and art, music has also entered a period of "revival". In the music of this period, secular music increasingly occupied a more important position. The description of people's inner world and natural beauty has become very prominent in musical works, which has formed a new music style and produced many instrumental music genres and opera forms. Some composers with unique personalities, such as Palestirina, Lasso, Landino, Dufay and Monteverdi, are performing outstanding musical activities. Their creations are full of new music tendencies and have important pioneering significance. During this period, the art of music developed in an all-round way, and polyphonic music at that time had developed into a golden age in the sixteenth century. Music theory also became mature during this period: the tonal system of major and minor keys has been basically established; the functional system of harmony is also budding and developing; the notation method has changed from alphabetical and symbolic methods to two-line notation, four-line notation, and so on. The application of staff and counterpoint has also reached a very rich level. During this period, the independence of instrumental music became stronger and stronger; the development of musical instruments also gradually accelerated. At that time, instruments such as viol, cornet, trumpet, trombone, organ, and lute were already active on the music stage. The emergence of violins and harpsichords in the late Renaissance added dazzling brilliance to the art of music.

Chapter 6 Music in the Baroque Period

1. Baroque Style

The Baroque period of music is generally considered to be from 1600 to 1750, that is, from Monte Beginning with Verdi and ending with Bach and Handel. In 1750, the death of counterpoint master Johann Sebastian Bach marked the end of counterpoint music at its peak, and also marked the end of the Baroque era. The reason why this period is called Baroque is because the techniques and methods of musical expression in this period basically have a certain degree of similarity, so using this term to mark it has no special meaning. The word Baroque comes from French, and its origin is the Portuguese barroco, which means a pearl that is not round in shape. It was first used by critics in the late Baroque period when commenting on the music of this period, and generally had a derogatory meaning, referring to crude music, strange, and exaggerated music. Musicians in the classical period after the Baroque tended to simplify and standardize the musical language. In their view, Baroque music was too exaggerated and not standardized enough. Therefore, the term Baroque is used by critics to refer to the artistic and musical works of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Now, as time goes by, we can look at the music of this period with a more in-depth and detailed historical perspective. Baroque no longer has a rough and rough connotation, but compared with the music works before and after Baroque, it does exist Exaggerated and somewhat irregular characteristics.

Renaissance art emphasizes clarity, unity and coordination. But by the end of the sixteenth century, the emotional element in art was increasing day by day, and clear, clear, and perfect forms were outweighed by the need to express emotion. It can be seen in fine art in the intensely colored, dramatic paintings of Caravaggio (1573-1610). In terms of music, we have already seen the clues from the madrigals of Marenzio and Gesualdo and the ancient songs of Daolunde, and their next generation has developed further. To create these powerful effects, a new musical style had to be developed. Generally speaking, the smooth polyphonic music of the Renaissance is no longer suitable for the characteristics required by the new era. The most important creation of the Baroque period was the concept of "contrast". Renaissance music progressed smoothly, with various parts (usually four or five) intertwined and synchronized. After 1600, this texture became less and less used and can only be seen in church music. This is because church music is bound by tradition and fixed liturgy, and therefore is the most conservative.

Caravaggio's "Entombment of Christ"

Relevant pictures for this theme are as follows:

Introduction to the work: This altarpiece was originally painted by Santa Maria della Sera Orders from the Church of Varicella. It depicts the tragic scene of Christ being buried after his crucifixion by John, Nicodemus, Saint Mary and two female believers of Christ: the weak light only illuminates a large stone slab in the cave. In front of a dark background, John and Nicodemus slowly lowered the naked body of Jesus into the tomb. Behind him stood Mary, the mother of Jesus, and two female believers. The body of Jesus was illuminated by the light. The whole scene is like the burial scene of a fallen hero or warrior. Jesus' body is painted strong and strong. His face also showed strong willpower. A face with a short black beard is very peaceful. The atmosphere is solemn, sad and solemn. The painter used accurate anatomical techniques to represent the muscular body. Only the hanging hand of Jesus reminded Him that He was no longer alive. But the drooping hand and the lifted legs create a balanced sense of light in the painting. Nicodemus here is the image that Caravaggio focuses on. Legend has it that he was a Pharisee. I once saw Jesus at night and talked with Him about whether people can be born again. After Jesus was crucified, he came to help with the burial. The painter portrayed him as an elderly farmer. And he was painted in the main position in the foreground, especially showing his big naked feet. In order to enhance the stability of the entire image, these two feet play a balancing role in the foreground. Here, in addition to the vivid images of Jesus' corpse and Nicodemus in the foreground, the three women in the back are also processed in a rhythmic manner, especially Magdalene, who has her hands raised and her face showing grief. It enhances the tragedy of the picture. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her lips were half-opened, as if she was shouting at the sky and the earth. The Virgin, wrapped in a turban and with a thin face, stretched out her right hand from behind John's shoulder. The hand is illuminated by light, thus balancing the light-receiving parts distributed on the right. At the same time, this palm also plays a commanding role in this burial tragedy. The image of Mary in the middle is beautifully painted. She looked charming, delicate and cute. She was the sister of Lazarus. A simple farm girl. She was lowering her head, immersed in grief, wiping tears with a handkerchief in her right hand. The hair style, parted in the middle and braided at the back of the head, makes people feel the realistic nature of this image. All figures, with the exception of John's face, which sinks into penumbra, have clear areas of light. The painter's typical conception is carefully considered. In terms of color, the red and blue of the clothes also form a sharp contrast with the pale skin. This makes the tragic atmosphere of the hero's burial form a strong conflict with the surrounding darkness. When this painting was exhibited in public, it not only convinced Caravaggio's admirers, but even his old enemies had to admit the painter's high artistic accomplishment. This painting is now in the Vatican Painting Gallery in Rome.

"Contrast" can be expressed in various aspects: high or low pitch; fast or slow speed (contrast between fast and slow paragraphs or contrast between fast and slow parts); strong or weak intensity. ; The difference in timbre; solo (singing) and full playing (chorus), etc. All of these exist within the musical structure of the Baroque period and each has its place. Many musicians of the Baroque period used the concerto or polyconcerto form (the word itself means a clear contrasting element), the basic characteristic of which is the transformation of textures, sometimes with one voice (solo) or several voices, Sometimes larger group ensembles are used.