Intro to Music History

6 Periods of Music History

 (Ancient) – Doesn’t really count
 Medieval
 Renaissance
 Baroque
 Classical
 Romantic
 Modern
 Ancient Period
 This term refers to the music of the
Ancient civilizations (Greece, Rome,
Babylon, Mesopotamia, et cetera.
 Very little is known about the music of
these civilizations, but it is certain that
music played a part in their lives.
 How can historians know anything about
music from these cultures?
 Medieval Period
 800 – 1300 C.E.
 Music was very simple.
 Gregorian Chant
 Monophony vs. Polyphony
 Beginnings of Notation – all handwritten
Medieval Notation
 Renaissance
 Renaissance Period – 1300-1600 C.E.
 All music can be broken down into two
main divisions Sacred and Secular
 Sacred – having to do with religion
 Secular – having nothing to do with
religion
 Renaissance
 Each division had different types of music.
 How did musicians make a living?
 Famous Composers: William Byrd,
Giovanni di Palestrina, Claudio Monteverdi,
Josquin Desprez.
 Baroque
 Baroque Period -1600-1700 C.E.
 Music Theory had advanced a lot since
ancient times
 Major Composers – J.S. Bach, Antonio
Vivaldi, and G.F. Haendel
Bach’s own Handwriting
 Baroque Notation Printing

While the notation style is still not the same as today’s, the printing press made
music much more readable than ever before.
 Classical
 Classical Period – 1700-1800 C.E.
 Music Theory and instruments were
mostly formed by now to our modern
standards.
 Major Composers – Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart and Joseph Haydn
 Romantic
 Romantic Period – 1800-1900 C.E.
 Musicians making a living on their own
now.
 Major Composers – Ludwig von
Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Peter
Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms
 Modern
 Modern Period – 1900 C.E.– Present
 Classical music led to the development of
popular music. Jazz, Blues, Rock, Hip-Hop
 In the 1900’s popular music became the
dominant style of music.
 Modern Classical Music
 Classical music still exists in today’s music
world
 It is not as popular with younger
generations as pop music is.
 Modern classical is very different than the
music it came from.
 Three different ways that classical music
still exists. Pop classical, Retrospective
classical, and new classical.
 Modern Classical
 Classical Music in the 20th century has
many different styles.
 Neo-classicism, atonality, serial music,
electronic music, et cetera.
 Important Composers: Copland,
Stravinsky, Schönberg.
 References
 Pictures
 Chant Manuscript - www.adoremus.org
 William Byrd – www.rhapsody.com
 Giovanni Plestrina – www.naxos.com
 Claudio Monteverdi – www.8notes.com
 Josquin Desprez – www.answers.com
 J.S. Bach - weekly.ahram.org.eg/2000/511/cu1.htm
 G.F. Händel – www.wikipedia.com
 Bach Manuscript – www.jsbach.net
 Sacred Music Magazine – Spring 2006
 References
 Pictures
 W.A. Mozart – www.pianoparadise.com
 F.J. Haydn - www.malaspina.org
 L.V. Beethoven - www.cl.cam.ac.uk
 J. Brahms - facstaff.uww.edu
 F. Schubert – www.musicwithease.com
 P.I. Tchaikovsky -
www.geocities.com/gtchao/PeterTchaikovsky.jpeg
 A. Copland - www.safka-bareis.com
 I. Stravinsky – www.malaspina.org
 A. Schönberg - www.milkenarchive.org