Song Snippets Hit-by-Hit

As the Earth spins, music is in the making! Much like the rotation of the Earth never stops, music resounds every day, every night, naturally and imaginatively. It, too, never stops. Whether captured within the sounds of nature, vocalized, strummed, instrumentalized or hummed in our minds, it is ever present. Its beginning is as old as time itself and its ending will come at the end of time.

Journeys through time can be fascinating, especially when it comes to the evolution of music. Diversity, as well as commonality, intrigues us. Take 'beats' for instance, the pulsations which give music its regular rhythmic pattern. Even the banging of pots and pans can be note worthy! As with any musical composition, each note has a note value, or duration, (that is, how long the note should last). The duration of a note is counted in beats, i.e., a whole note lasts 4 beats, a half-note lasts 2 beats, a quarter note lasts 1 beat, etc. Patterns of a group of beats form measures. This, of course, is a very simplistic way of representing music but once the concept of measure and beats is clear, music through the centuries becomes all the more connected.

Have you ever taken the time to listen to musical hits year-by-year with focus on their evolution and the changes, as well as similarities, in rhythmic patterns and beats? Now is your chance. The video provides a journey through time with song snippets hit-by-hit of some of the popular tunes from 1890 to 2009. Understand this is put together by one individual so it is obvious not all 'hits' nor all popular recording artists of the times are included. That would be impossible in just under 15 minutes! It is interesting enough, however, to listen to how the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...See how many songs you recognize and which are still considered popular today. Do you feel the change in beat? What about the progression in rhythm?

It is strange to see a video of this nature without Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Barry White, Barry Manilow, Enya, and so many more. What are some of your favs that did not make it into the collection?

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...