Loading...Please wait. Let me give you general info about music while you are waiting... Before mass media made it possible to share music worldwide, most musical cultures could be identified through several practices. These included the instruments used in musical performance, the structural components of the music such as scales, and recognizable performance practices such as bending notes in a certain way. The many technological developments in musical recording and delivery systems during the 20th century have helped to blur the boundaries between these cultures. The voice is the most important element in the music of some cultures, while instrumental sounds are more important in others. According to some historians, Western music has steadily changed in this regard. Before the 17th century, vocal music was the predominant performance medium. Vocal and instrumental music coexisted on essentially an equal basis during the next century. Instrumental music has predominated during the 19th and 20th centuries.