Music through the ages

When was baroque era

1600-1750

When was the classical era

1750-1820

When was the Romantic era

1820 - 1900

When was the 20th century

1900

Famous composers in the baroque period

J.S. Bach and Handel

Orchestra in Baroque period

• small in comparison to now

• mostly string instruments

• few woodwind instruments

• very few brass instruments

• rarely percussion

What is a harpsicord

• common in Baroque period.

• early keyboard instrument

• metallic plucking noises

• not only solo intrument, also in orchestral and vocal music in baroque era

Ground bass

• structural term

• theme in bassline that is repeated

• common in baroque period

• like an ostinato, but longer ( long riff repeated basically)

Canon

• popular in baroque period

• Very similar to a round

• strict immitation

• example- frere jacques

• One part sings a melody or plays then another part enters with the same melody shortly after

contrapuntal

polyphonic and imitation

textures are…

polyphonic- many sounds, homophonic- same rhythm

Summary of baroque era

Small orchestra, with mostly string instruments and a few others.

Ground bass and canon were very popular

Melismatic

many notes to one syllable

Syllabic

a note for each syllable

2 genres in classical era

symphony, concerto

What is a symphony

• A symphony is a large piece of music written for an orchestra.

• They are made up of four movements (sections of music that are linked in some way)

• Classical era

What is a concerto

• A concerto is a piece of music written for an orchestra and a solo instrument

• These often consist of three movements

• Classical era

What is a cadenza

• is a showy solo passage for the soloist within a concerto

• that often ends with a trill

• Concertos also existed during the Baroque Era, when cadenzas tended to be improvised

• The trill was also the signal to the orchestra to get ready to start playing again!

• Classical era

What is a trill

a musical ornament where a player moves quickly and repeatedly between two notes that are a step apart

• Classical era

What is a coda

• The coda is a passage of music at the end of a piece of music that rounds it of nicely.

• common and recognisable in a symphony and concerto as its a “ big ending”

• Classical era

what is theme and variation

a concept used to describe the music’s STRUCTURE.

Whats a theme

A theme is a melody, the main idea for a composition. This theme is then repeated throughout, but it is altered in some way.

For example- adding extra notes, changing from minor to major, changing time signatures. Changed rhythm

• classical era

What is an alberti bass?

It is a style of bass line that takes a chord and makes it into a broken chord. LOW- HIGH-MIDDLE-HIGH

• classical era

what is ascending

• melody

• The pitch of the music gets higher

What is descending

• melody

• The pitch of the music gets lower

What’s a step

The pitch moves from one note too an adjacent note (A to B to C)

What’s a leap

The pitch moves between notes that are not next to each other (A to F to D)

Summary of classical era

-        The piano replaced the harpsicord

-        Fuller, more balanced orchestra

-        Symphony, concerto (cadenza), and theme and variations

-        Alberti bass becomes a very popular bass line for the piano

-        Music was much more “instantly singable” than that of the Baroque Era

-        Music sound structured, formal and clear, rather than complex and busy.

When was the romantic era

from around 1820-1900

Romantic era famous composers

Brahms and Tchaikovsky

What was the romantic era known for

known for its intense energy and passion

In the romantic era what was there a rise of

the virtuoso, a person with extraordinary music skill, such as paganini ( an amazing violinist) and Liszt ( a composer and pianist who was very concerned with showmanship)

What happened to the orchestra in the romantic era

woodwind, brass and percussion instruments exploded ( doubled in size) then the strings expanded to compensate for the extra brass and woodwind.

How to identify romantic era

has lots of dynamics and quite brass heavy.

when was 20th century music from

1900

famous 20th century composers

John Cage, Steve Reich, Gershwin, and Bernstein

What happened to the orchestra in the 20th century

it reduced

what is minimalism

• 20th century style

• form of composition where the use of harmony, rhythm, melody and instrumentation is limited. It sounds hypnotic due to the repetition.

What is impressionism

• 20th century style

• Impressionist music is often dreamy in quality and thinner in texture than the Romantic pieces that preceded then. It is often based on a whole tone scale.

Whats a whole tone scale

• mainly in 20th century music

• A whole tone scale is a scale consisting entirely of a tone, with no semitones. This creates a very open and dreamy sound. Major and minor scales are a combination of tones and semitones.

What is Rubato

• Mainly in 20th century music

• stolen time where the performer speeds up and slows down because of there interpretation of the music.

What is dissonance

• mainly in 20th century music

• Dissonant musical sounds can be discribed as sharp, jarring, unnerving, unsettling. This is because dissonant sounds create tension that the listener naturally wants to hear released

What is consonance

• Mainly in 20th century music

• Consonant musical sounds are often described with words like “pleasant”, agreeable, soothing and melodious. In other words, notes that sounds comfortable when played together.

What is atonal

• Mainly 20th century

• Atonal is music that is not in any key, and ignores the usual constructs of harmony and tonality.

What is discord

• mainly in 20th century

• A chord where certain notes clash with each other; a combination of musical sounds that strikes the ear harshly.

What is a cadence

• mainly in 20th century

• - is a progression of at least two chords that ends a musical phrase, section, or piece, acting much like punctuation in a sentence. Perfect, imperfect, interrupted