Praxis Time Periods

Medieval Time Period

500BC to 1400 AD

Renaissance Time Period

1400AD to 1600AD

Baroque Time Period

1600AD to 1750AD. Birth of Opera to Death of Bach.

Classical Time Period

1750AD to 1820AD. Also known as the Viennese Classical Period. Parallels ancient Greece and Rome in terms of Form, Structure, Simplicity, Objectivity, Proportion, Grace, & Beauty.

Emphasized balance & symmetry in form/phrases heavily

Romantic Time Period

1820AD to 1900AD

Impressionism Time Period

1890AD to 1920AD

Early 20th Century Time Period

1900AD to 1940AD

Mid 20th Century to Present Time Period

1940AD to Present

Jazz Time Period

1900AD (1920AD) to Present

Rock Time Period

1950AD to 2010AD

Folk Time Period

1960AD to 1979AD

Medieval Music Components

• Gregorian Chant: Monophonic vocal music with a single melody line, often sung in Latin and used in religious contexts.

• Organum: Early form of polyphony where a second voice (or voices) sings parallel to the original chant melody, creating harmony.

• Troubadours and Trouvères: Poet-musicians who composed and performed secular songs, often about courtly love or chivalry.

• Instruments: Early instruments such as the vielle, harp, lute, and recorder were used, though primarily in secular contexts.

Renaissance Music Components

• Polyphony: Elaborate combinations of multiple independent melody lines, often with rich harmonic texture.

• Motet: Sacred vocal composition with multiple voices, often based on religious texts and featuring intricate counterpoint.

• Madrigal: Secular vocal composition for small groups, often with expressive texts about love or nature.

• Word Painting: Technique where the music reflects the meaning of the lyrics through expressive devices.

• Instruments: Continued use of viols, lutes, and keyboards, with increasing emphasis on instrumental music.

Baroque Music Components

• Basso Continuo: A bass line supported by a keyboard instrument (harpsichord or organ) and a bass instrument (cello or bassoon), providing harmonic support and improvisatory freedom.

• Ornamentation: Elaborate embellishments added to melodies, especially in solo instrumental music.

• Opera: Dramatic form of musical theater combining music, drama, and staging, often featuring elaborate vocal techniques and emotional expression.

• Dance Suites: Collections of stylized dance movements (such as allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue) often written for solo keyboard or ensemble.

• Concerto Grosso: Orchestral composition featuring a small group of soloists (concertino) contrasted with a larger ensemble (ripieno).

The Preclassical Period

(~1725-~1770) Transitional period out of the Baroque. More international style → blend of different components

Classical Music Components

• Symmetry and Balance: Clear structures, balanced phrases, and logical development of musical themes.

• Sonata Form: A three-part structure (exposition, development, recapitulation) used in many instrumental compositions, including sonatas, symphonies, and concertos.

• Homophony: Texture characterized by a single melody supported by harmonic accompaniment, emphasizing clarity and simplicity.

• String Quartet: Chamber music ensemble consisting of two violins, viola, and cello, often featuring conversational interplay between instruments.

• Opera Seria: Formal and stylized operatic genre focusing on heroic or mythological subjects, with emphasis on vocal virtuosity.

Romantic Music Components

• Emotional Expression: Intense emotions, dramatic contrasts, and personal expression in music.

• Program Music: Instrumental music that tells a story, depicts a scene, or conveys an extra-musical idea or narrative.

• Expanded Orchestra: Larger orchestras with increased instrumentation and dynamic range, allowing for greater expressiveness.

• Nationalism: Incorporation of folk melodies, rhythms, and themes from specific countries or regions into classical compositions.

• Virtuosity: Technical brilliance and showmanship in performance, particularly in solo instrumental works.

Impressionism Music Components

• Atmosphere and Color: Ethereal, dreamlike qualities achieved through innovative harmonies, exotic scales, and delicate orchestrations.

• Symbolism: Suggestive and evocative music that conveys moods, images, or impressions rather than explicit narratives.

• Whole-Tone Scale: Scale consisting entirely of whole steps, used to create a sense of ambiguity and fluidity in harmony.

• Pentatonic Scale: Scale based on five notes per octave, often associated with Asian and Celtic music, used to evoke exotic or otherworldly landscapes.

Early 20th Century Music Components

• Atonality: Absence of traditional tonal centers, with composers exploring dissonance, chromaticism, and unconventional scales.

• Serialism: Method of composition using a fixed series of pitches, rhythms, or other musical elements, often associated with Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School.

• Primitivism: Interest in the raw, elemental qualities of music and culture, often incorporating folk melodies, rhythms, and instruments from non-Western traditions.

Mid 20th Century Music Components

• Minimalism: Repetitive patterns, simple harmonic progressions, and gradual transformation of musical elements over time.

• Experimentalism: Exploration of unconventional techniques, extended instrumental techniques, and alternative forms of notation.

• Fusion: Blending of musical styles and traditions, such as jazz-rock fusion, world music fusion, and electronic-acoustic fusion.

• Postmodernism: Embrace of eclecticism, irony, and self-referentiality, often blurring the boundaries between high and low culture.

Jazz Music Components

Syncopated rhythms, improvisation, blues scales, swing feel, call and response, and complex harmonic progressions

Rock Music Components

Driving rhythms, electric guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, often with a focus on verse-chorus form, distorted sound, and rebellion.

Folk Music Components

Simple melodies, acoustic instruments, storytelling lyrics, and an emphasis on tradition, community, and cultural heritage.