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Home > SparkCharts > Music > Music Theory & History > Eras and Movements in Western Music

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Music Theory and Notation

Music Theory & History

Previous: Musical Forms and Genres
Next: Notable Composers in Western Music

Instruments and Ensembles

Eras and Movements in Western Music

Musical Forms and Genres

Music historians traditionally divide the development of Western music into several
major periods and movements.

Eras and Movements in

Western Music
Medieval (c. 5001400)
Renaissance (c. 1440
1600)
Baroque (c. 16001750
Classical (c. 17501810)
Romantic (c. 18101890)
Modern (c. 18901950)
Contemporary (c. 1950
Present)
Notable Composers in Western
Music

Medieval (c. 5001400)

The Medieval era was the first time that composers in significant numbers began to
write down music to preserve it and communicate it to others. The earliest
examples of this written music come from the medieval Catholic Church, in the
form of Gregorian chant. By the1400s, composers began to write polyphony.
Polyphonic writing became more sophisticated as composers changed styles from
the Ars Antiqua to the Ars Nova. In the 1100s and 1200s, troubadours
composed the first secular music unaffiliated with the church.
Gregorian chant: A single-line melody sung in unison by one or more
people. Chant used religious text for its words and was written by monks in
the Catholic Church.
Polyphony: Music that combines two or more lines, which are more or
less independent of each other, at the same time.
Ars Antiqua: The earliest movement of written polyphony. It originated in
the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in the 1200s.
Ars Nova: A French movement of the 1300s that greatly refined notation
and polyphonic writing from the era of Ars Antiqua.
Troubadours: Wandering musicians in Medieval France who sang songs
of courtly love. The troubadours made important musical innovations and
were the first main source of secular music.

Renaissance (c. 14401600)

The Renaissance heralded a breakthrough of new ideas and techniques to
Western music and brought innovations at a faster rate than ever before. The
printing press enabled easier duplication and distribution of music and musical
treatises, and the study of music became more common, not only for members of
the church. Composers began to view music more as an expressive art than as a
science. They further developed and codified the conventions of musical notation,
began to write four-part polyphony as standard practice, and began to use
imitation regularly. By the end of the Renaissance, composers had mastered the
art of counterpoint. Instrumental music rose in prominence relative to vocal music,
and the complete Mass was commonly set to music.
Four-part writing: A common configuration of four parts, often
abbreviated SATB (short for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, the four
standard voice registers).
Imitation: A device used in polyphony in which one part follows another by
repeating a similar or same passage played first by the other part.
Counterpoint: A device in which two (or more) melodic lines run
simultaneously but neither becomes dominant over the other, so both can
be heard independently.

Baroque (c. 16001750

The 1600s saw the rise of instrumental music as composers explored techniques
and new instrumental forms. The sonata and concerto were born during this
period, and growing virtuosity of performance emerged to accompany these forms.
Keyboard music flourished, specifically for harpsichord. The Baroque era also saw
the dawning of new vocal forms, including the cantata, opera, and oratorio. Music
became a central part of daily life, and composers found new ways to express
themselves dramatically, sometimes in extreme fashion. In addition, patrons
unaffiliated with the church began to support composers in large numbers.
Common practice period: The period in music from the early Baroque to
the end of the Romantic in which composers used a well-defined common
harmonic language. Composers from this period wrote in a style we
usually associate with traditional concert music.

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Classical (c. 17501810)

Although many people use the term classical music to denote a broad category
of instrumental or vocal music that is different from popular music, this usage can
be confusing because the term also refers more specifically to the Classical era. In
the Classical era, composers reacted against what they saw as unnatural and
exaggerated in the Baroque style. As they sought balance of both expression and
form, formal structures grew in sophistication and became more central to
composition. Music grew increasingly homophonic, and composers reserved use
of counterpoint only for specific situations that demanded it. Orchestral and
chamber music became more important, and the symphony and string quartet
were born as music grew increasingly secular in nature. The fortepiano the
precursor to the modern pianowas invented shortly before the Classical period
and became very important, for it was capable of greater dynamic expression than
the harpsichord. Wind instruments that had developed in the Baroque era came
into more widespread use and prominence.
Homophony: A musical texture distinct from polyphony in that it sets one
melody together with a subordinate melody against an accompanimental
background.

Romantic (c. 18101890)

Beethoven opened the door to the Romantic period by defying conventions of the
Classical era and expanding possibilities in his own music. The Romantic
composers were more interested in pure expressive content in their works and
used larger dynamic ranges and longer melodic lines. As a result, composers
individual voices became more distinct from each other, often strikingly so. Some
composers relied on nonmusical subject matter to write program music in less
rigid forms, like the orchestral tone poem. At the same time, nationalism became
an important factor in composition, as composers began to draw on folk tunes,
local dance forms, and other musical material native to their homelands. The size
and scope of music also expanded: Some composers specialized in very short
chamber works, while others wrote lengthy pieces for massive ensembles.
Program music: Music written to follow a plot or describe a nonmusical
idea. Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique, for instance, follows the course of
a troubled artists life with musical illustrations of people and events.
Nationalism: A turn toward native forms and ideas. Nationalist composers
used folk melodies from their native lands and often wrote patriotic music.

Modern (c. 18901950)

At the end of the Romantic period, composers pushed the boundaries of musical
development so far that they eventually broke and a common harmonic language
no longer existed. Harmonies became more dissonant as chromaticism was used
to a greater degree. Impressionist composers prioritized color and texture. Others
invented their own rules of counterpoint and harmony, such as serialism. Others,
the neoclassicists, turned to music from the past for inspiration. Many composers
broke away from traditional major and minor scales and used other scales, such as
the whole-tone scale and octatonic scale.
Chromaticism: Use of harmonies that do not exist naturally in a key.
Chromatic music sounds denser and more dissonant and often modulates
to a number of keys within a single piece.
Impressionism: In music (as opposed to the visual arts), a movement
founded by Debussy, who made color and texture central elements in his
music
Neoclassicism: A movement, pioneered by Stravinsky in the 1920s, in
which composers brought a modern perspective to older music.
Frequently, composers writing in this style used traditional forms and
musical language and then altered it to create a new sound.
Neoromanticism is another movement that came into being a short time
later.
Serialism: A method of composing, invented by Schnberg, in which all
twelve notes of the chromatic scale are used in an ordered succession.
Serialism can effectively destroy the feeling of key and tonality. It is also
called twelve-tone, dodecaphonic, or atonal music.

Contemporary (c. 1950Present)

As the 20th century progressed, composers took more liberty with form and
technique and pushed the frontier of music further. Experimentalists tried
extended techniques to create new types of sound. The first electronic music
opened a new range of possibilities. Composers introduced graphic notation to
achieve new effects like indeterminacy. Although some critics have felt that these
new methods have distanced composers from their audiences, there are still many

active contemporary composers all over the world contributing to a living music
history.
Experimentalism: A movement that sought to explore the very idea of
music by seeking new ways to create sounds outside of traditional
instrumental playing. Experimental composers tried to create new
definitions of music and redefine the audiences listening experience.
Extended techniques: Unconventional playing techniques (e.g., knocking
the back of a cello, putting an oboe reed in a trombone mouthpiece) that
experimental composers pioneered in their attempts to create new sounds.
Electronic music: Music created with electronic devices instead of
acoustic instruments. The first electronic instrument was the Theremin, a
box that emitted radio waves and produced a unique sound similar to a
violin and human voice combined. In the 1950s, composers experimented
with audiotape pieces called musique concrte, which often incorporated
sounds from nature with human sounds. Today, nearly any sound
imaginable can be simulated electronically. Some composers work in
electroacoustic media (combinations of electronic devices and live
performers on instruments), while others work in exclusively electronic
means.
Graphic notation: A new approach to music notation that emerged in the
middle of the 20th century. Graphic notation incorporates images, charts,
and shapes not found in traditional music notation to communicate the
composers wishes.
Indeterminacy: A technique in which the composer leaves certain choices
to the performer, including what notes, rhythms, or speed to play.
Indeterminacy introduces a level of randomness and improvisation in
performance.

Previous: Musical Forms and Genres

Next: Notable Composers in Western Music

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