Did Led Zep rip off the oldest known melody?

[A. Scherze]

"The Oldest known musical melody performed by the very talented Michael Levy on the Lyre. This ancient musical fragment dates back to 1400 B.C.E. and was discovered in the 1950's in Ugarit, Syria. It was interpreted by Dr. Richard Dumbrill. He wrote a book entitled "The Archaeomusicology of the Ancient Near East." Here is a link to it:

http://sas.academia.edu/RichardDumbri...

"Check out Michael Levy's website, anancientlyre.com! Here's a link to it:

http://www.ancientlyre.com

"For more information on the Hurrian Hymn no.6 text, click on the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurrian_...

"There were 29 musical texts discovered in the ruins of Ugarit, but only text H6 was in good enough condition to allow for academic interpretation. Here is Dr. Dumbrill's interpretation:

http://www.clintgoss.com/flutopedia.c...
"

[notallwhowander]

Dude, I'll never be able to hear "Black Mountain Side" the same way again!

[rcarlberg]

Led Zeppelin ripped off EVERYBODY. They were equal-opportunity plagiarists.

[flowerking]

Actually it reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel's Scarborough Fair.

[jake]

Sounds a bit too 'western' to my ears - if it was from ancient Syria why does it use fairly modern European scales?

[3LockBox]

Sounds a bit too 'western' to my ears - if it was from ancient Syria why does it use fairly modern European scales?

the ancient Syrians were very progressive.

[Trane]

"The Oldest known musical melody performed by the very talented Michael Levy on the Lyre. This ancient musical fragment dates back to 1400 B.C.E. and was discovered in the 1950's in Ugarit, Syria. It was interpreted by Dr. Richard Dumbrill. He wrote a book entitled "The Archaeomusicology of the Ancient Near East." Here is a link to it:

http://sas.academia.edu/RichardDumbri...

"Check out Michael Levy's website, anancientlyre.com! Here's a link to it:

http://www.ancientlyre.com

"For more information on the Hurrian Hymn no.6 text, click on the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurrian_...

"There were 29 musical texts discovered in the ruins of Ugarit, but only text H6 was in good enough condition to allow for academic interpretation. Here is Dr. Dumbrill's interpretation:

http://www.clintgoss.com/flutopedia.c...
"

I have a rare single 78 RPM pressing of this tune

[A. Scherze]

I have a rare single 78 RPM pressing of this tune

I have the even rarer first etching.

[StevegSr]

I have the even rarer first etching.

[DrGoon]

Sounds a bit too 'western' to my ears - if it was from ancient Syria why does it use fairly modern European scales?

There may be some issues with acquiring and getting permission to play 15th century BC instrumentation.

[notallwhowander]

Led Zeppelin ripped off EVERYBODY. They were equal-opportunity plagiarists.

So let me make sure I've got this straight...

The Beatles invented everything.

Led Zeppelin ripped off everything.

Then, Phil Collins ruined everything.

'60s, '70s, '80s.

[Sputnik]

Sounds a bit too 'western' to my ears - if it was from ancient Syria why does it use fairly modern European scales?

There's actually a really simple explanation. This music sounds "Western" because it is the root of Western music. The music of Asia Minor was transmitted to Greece during the period after the collapse of the Bronze Age (c. 1,000 - 500 BC). It came largely by Euboean contacts in Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), where Euboean cities had established trading centers in Phonecian cities like Tyre, and also independently in places like Al-Mina. It is thought that this is the same route the Phoenician alphabet took to reach Greece in ~700 BC.

The Phoenicians, as well as Lydians, Phrygians, and the neo-Hittite kingdoms inherited some of the cultural and artistic characteristics of the Hittites and Hurrians, who had absorbed both farther eastern influences (the Hurrians were Aryan and had contacts with the Punjab), and from Babylon and more ancient Mesopotamia. Many of these ancient myths wound up being echoed in the works of Homer and others whose works come from ~700 BC onward. Music was almost certainly part of that cultural package, and Greek musicians of 800 - 500 BC period even referred to the different "modes" like Lydian or Phrygian as being more "melancholy" or more "martial."

In any case, Greece took and adapted these musical forms, as well as so many other artistic and cultural aspects, during the Classical period of ~500 - 330 BC. The roots of most Western art, literature, philosophy, military and political thinking can be traced to this period. The Romans inherited virtually all of this from the Greeks and transmitted that to the rest of the Western world. So there's really no surprise it sounds familiar.

I just don't think the Greeks used that much reverb.

Bill

[Vic2012]

LMAO @ A Scherze

[A. Scherze]

the neo-Hittite kingdoms

Were they neo-proglodytes?

[A. Scherze]

I just don't think the Greeks used that much reverb.

Sure they did - when they cranked their Amp-I-Theaters (tm) up to "XI".

[Koreabruce]

[Sputnik]

Were they neo-proglodytes?

To answer that, you'd have to be able to define proglodyte, and clarify if it is capital P Proglodyte, or small p proglodyte. Good luck with that.

Sure they did - when they cranked their Amp-I-Theaters (tm) up to "XI".

Those are Roman numerals. The Greeks would have gone to alpha-iota...

alpha.pngiota.png

Bill

[A. Scherze]

Oops! My bad, or as the Greeks say, "mea culpa".

[ronmac]

I have the even rarer first etching.

Huge Stones fan here. Until the kids arrived and ruined everything.

Of course, they stole it all from The Honeymooners.

[notallwhowander]

The Honeymooners are a myth! We all we have are a few clay tablets, and that's no kind of proof that Keith and Mick were ripping them off.

[Birdy]

Apparently this is going to court as we speak!

[Sputnik]

Apparently this is going to court as we speak!

Yeah, Hammurabi will be presiding. Theft under his code is punishable by death, of course, but if Zeppelin isn't convicted then the accuser may be charged with slander and "be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked." Good old Hammurabi.

Bill

[StevegSr]

I once saw Hammurabi live at the Tunis Amphitheater. The dude is killer on the lyre.

[-=RTFR666=-]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr...0k-fees-909270

[StevegSr]

^Nothing new about that. I believe that Gary Brooker and Keith Reid were liable for a cool half million $ when they lost to Mathew Fisher's claim that Fisher co-wrote "A Whiter Shade of Pale."