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
 ClassicalPeriod – 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
 ClassicalMusic 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.jp
eg
 A. Copland - www.safka-bareis.com
 I. Stravinsky – www.malaspina.org
 A. Schönberg - www.milkenarchive.org