MUSIC TIME PERIODS

❖Medieval (before 1450)

❖Renaissance (1450 - 1600)

❖ Baroque (1600 - 1750)

❖Classical (1750 - 1820)

❖Romantic (1810 - 1910)

❖ 20th-Century and beyond (1900 – Today)

❖ Saint Gregory: credited w/


organizing huge repertory of chant

❖ Difficult to study Medieval music

❖ Notating music developed only

gradually—first examples of musical


notation date around 900; for several

centuries, notation only 
indicated

what pitch (or note) to sing.

❖ System for notating rhythm


started 12th or 13th century

MEDIEVAL (BEFORE 1450)

Saint Gregory Gregorian Chant

❖ Monophonic: music that consists

of only 1 melodic line w/o

accompaniment

❖ Do not know who wrote

Gregorian chant melodies; most likely

changed as it passed down through

generations and eventually 
reached a

written form.

❖ Neume;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe

3QSdTQa7w

GREGORIAN CHANT CON’T

Monophony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe3QSdTQa7w

❖ German nun who established her

own convent, and was famous for her

prophecies and miracles. In addition to

writing poetry, she wrote books about

religion and medicine – and composed

music

❖ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=LJEfyZSvg5c

❖ Music theorist

❖ Created the musical notation that

placed pitches on lines and spaces

❖ The staff used today!!!

❖ Developed a sight singing method

using syllables to teach chants in a

short time

MORE MEDIEVAL MUSIC!

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) Guido of Arezzo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEfyZSvg5c

SAINT HILDEGARD OF

BINGEN

GUIDO OF AREZZO

The Guidonian Hand

Renaissance

Music

(1450 - 1600)*1440 PP

Polyphony: music where 2 or more

melodic lines are heard 
at the

same time

Unlike chant, polyphony required

the composer to 
combine

multiple melodic lines in a pleasing

manner

Composers still devoted to choral

writing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=9yT0kLA6DHA

William Byrd (1543-1623)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yT0kLA6DHA

Renaissance Music Con’t

(1450 - 1600)

Example of

Polyphony • Imitation—where 1 melodic

line shares or imitates the

same musical theme

• Important polyphonic

technique of Renaissance

era

• Think of imitation like a

“round”

Giovanni da Palestrina - Nigra sum sed formosa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq2xgewoKAo

Renaissance Instrumental pieces =

dancing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SvEttR6HTY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SvEttR6HTY

CLAUDIO

MONTEVERDI

& THE 1ST

GREAT

OPERA (1607)

• L’Orfeo and Eurydice

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mD16EVxNOM

• Opera: A dramatic work in one or more acts, set to

music for singers and instrumentalists

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mD16EVxNOM

Choral music no longer dominated-orchestra evolved

Baroque music is tuneful and very organized; melodies tend to be highly decorated/elaborate

Music's ability to express human emotions and depict natural phenomenon was explored throughout Baroque time

▪ Italian Composer Antonio Vivaldi

▪ Concerto: The Four Seasons

▪ Concerto: a musical composition for a solo instrument or instruments accompanied by an orchestra

▪ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA

CHARACTERISTICS OF BAROQUE MUSIC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA

ANTONIO VIVALDI: MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

The Four Seasons

• New polyphonic (where 2

or more melodic lines are

heard 
at same time) forms developed:

• Canons/fugues: 2 very

strict forms of imitative

polyphony, were extremely

popular

• German

Composer:

Johann

Sebastian Bach,

Toccata (a musical composition for a

keyboard instrument)

and Fugue in D

minor

• http://www.youtube.co

m/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_

o

MORE BAROQUE MUSIC!! ☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o

o George FridericHandel’s “Water Music”

o Used for simply enjoyment

o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuw8YjSbKd4

➢ Homophonicmusic became increasingly important

➢ Definition: All parts of the music are in the same rhythm; think “Same Sounds”

- Polyphonic: Think “Many Sounds”

MORE BAROQUE MUSIC!!! ☺☺

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuw8YjSbKd4

Classical (1750 – 1820)

Classical (1750 – 1820)

• Homophony dominated the Classical music style

• Music was much simpler/clearer in texture

• **Sonata Form: extremely important and frequently used (composition w/ three sections 1-exposition, 2-development, and 3-recapitulation)

• Growth of the public concert/growth of the orchestra

• -Opera is still popular

• More lyrical than Baroque; has smooth contour

• Simple rhythms

• Tempo changes used frequently

• Symphony = a Sonata for orchestra

• Chamber Music =small instrumental groups

• Music was written for middle class

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

This piece consists of twelve variations on the French folk song "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman". The French melody first appeared in 1761, and has been used for many children's

songs. Mozart took this song and composed it for piano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS7yiD6cz8A

12 Variations in C Major 'Ah vous dirai-je, Maman' K.265

Explain variation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS7yiD6cz8A

Ludwig van Beethoven (German)

“Eroica” and “Symphony 5”

Beethoven’s “Eroica” symphony was his third.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-uEjxxYtHo

Beethoven’s “Symphony 5” is perhaps one of the most well

known pieces to emerge from the transition from Classical to

Romantic music time period.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z4KK7RWjmk

Orchestra Link:http://www.classicsforkids.com/music/orchestra.asp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-uEjxxYtHohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z4KK7RWjmk

Romantic (1810-1910)

• Romanticism implies fantasy,spontaneity and romance – DUH!

• Musical story-telling became important—in opera andinstrumental music

• Color was another important feature of Romantic music

• New instruments were added to the orchestra

• Composers experimented with ways to get new sounds from existing instruments

• Sound—huge, full orchestra

• Texture—really thick; lots of sounds; lots of changes intexture; more drastic and frequent; very emotional

• Complex harmonies

• Rhythms—more complicated

Romantic Music (1810 - 1910)

• Tone-poem: an orchestral piece of music whose structure was entirely based on scenes from a story

• Ballet music becomes important

• Composers wrote music to depict landscapes

Hector Berlioz (French) Symphonie Fantastiquehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cao6WyF-61s

Tchaikovsky (Russian) The Nutcrackerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow4t3C_gCCY

Claude Debussy (French) Nuages (Clouds)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5d4r7Yt00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cao6WyF-61shttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow4t3C_gCCYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5d4r7Yt00

Tchaikovsky

The 20th Century through Today

20th Century

Wide variety of developing styles and techniques.

Composers are becoming more creative in HOW they create the music instead of how the music sounds.

Music starts to become more for the experience and less for the audience

Debussy in the 20th

Century• French composer, Debussy helped

develop program music coming out of the Romantic Era.

• Program music: music intended to convey an impression of a definite series of images, scenes, or events

• “La Catherdrale Engloutie” (The Sunken Cathedral)

• Based on the Legend of Ys, “an ancient myth in which a cathedral, submerged underwater off the coast of the Island of Ys, rises up from the sea on clear mornings when the water is transparent. Sounds can be heard of priests chanting, bells chiming, and the organ playing, from across the sea.”

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAVyKDDsM3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAVyKDDsM3s

Arnold Schoenberg

• Started using music that doesn’t revolve any specific “key”

• The music starts sounding awkward and different from what people are used to hearing.

• “Pierrot Lunaire” (1912)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4v3dPG-hec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4v3dPG-hec

Igor Stravinsky• “The Rite of Spring”(1914) is a ballet written to show what primitive

man might have done ceremonially to introduce the coming of Spring.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rq1q6u3mLSM#t=376

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rq1q6u3mLSM#t=376

George Gershwin

• Started fusing classical music and

American jazz music

• Wrote music that was sort of a

mixture of ALL varieties of

music in America at the time.

• Became vey popular during the

1920’s.

• Wrote the song “Rhapsody in

Blue” (1924)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=qLTManObB40

Henry Cowell• Began working on creating

sounds of imitation through

the use of musical instruments.

• “The Banshee” (1925)

• Uses swiping of hands across

piano strings to imitate a

banshee’s wail or cry.

• Banshees are a character in

Irish folk stories depicting bad

times.

• http://www.youtube.com/watc

h?feature=player_detailpage&v

=oLPgM_sfwoI#t=75

THE BIG BAND ERA

• Jazz music is starting to become more popular

• One of the unique groups that gained popularity was the

“Big Band”

• Usually consisted of 12-15 musicians.

• “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Louis Prima (1936)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2S1I_ien6A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2S1I_ien6A

Bebop Jazz

• Faster paced music, was

NOT meant for dancing

• Meant more for listening

so the music grew more

challenging

• The famous trumpet

player, band leader, and

song writer, Dizzy

Gillespie helped push this

movement

• “Salt Peanuts” (1941)

• http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=kOmA8LOw258

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOmA8LOw258

Pierre Schaeffer• First experimented with

“musique concrète” or permanent music.

• This meant that the music would only ever be performed one way BECAUSE it was a recording.

• “Musique Concrète” = Concrete (rock hard) music

• Schaffer did this by recording sounds and programmed them to play when a certain button was pressed. Similar to a soundboard.

• “Etude Aux Chemins de fer” (1948)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9pOq8u6-bA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9pOq8u6-bA

John Cage

• John Cage was known for exploring the lesser used elements of music

• This was primarily shown in his piece “4’33”” (1952) that is based only on silence in the audience.

• Everyone interprets this piece differently because everyone hears differently.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7UK-6aaNA

• “Tacet” is a musical term for “Do not play”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7UK-6aaNA

More John Cage

• Just like Schaeffer and Schoenberg, John Cage enjoyed trying new ideas

• He tried writing music that was based entirely on how he rolled dice based on guidelines from an ancient Chinese book.

• The song he wrote using this method is called “Music of Changes”

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_8-B2rNw7s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_8-B2rNw7s

Steve Reich• Experimented with

“phasing”

• Phasing is a musical technique of experiencing every combination of sound.

• It’s like watching two cars turn signals blinking at different speeds with your ears

• “Violin Phase” (1967)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1OvwR3wB4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1OvwR3wB4