baroque

Sam and aLEX

Early baroque
Counterpoint dropped in response to its heavy usage in
renaissance; homophony / melody dominated homophony
preferred
Melodies coloratura (heavily ornamented)
Figured bass used performers told what interval to play above
bass note and they would improvise the voicing of the chord
3rds and 6ths now regarded as consonant (not so much in
renaissance).
Basso continuo
Mainly consonant, but dissonances started to be used (e.g.
tritones in dom7 and dim7 chords).
Modal scales dropped to be replaced by major/minor keys
Monteverdi staple of this generation
Operas + dances (e.g. sarabande) from renaissance used heavily

Middle baroque
Cantatas, oratorios and operas came into
prominence (operas around earlier too).
Concerto grosso created and developed
Melodies became much more simple but were
often developed harmonically throughout the
structure of the piece which contains it
Counterpoint came back again, with strict
harmonic and structural rules
Contrasting sections (juxtaposition) prominent
Corelli, Lully staples

Late baroque
Climax of baroque; Bach, Handel,
Telemann, Vivaldi

harmony
Always consonant
Major and minor keys developed
following modal keys used in
renaissance
Figured bass used performers told
what interval to play above bass note
and they would improvise the
voicing of the chord
3rds and 6ths now regarded as
consonant (not so much in