Medieval and Renaissance Music: Chant, Troubadours, Polyphony
Music in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages cover the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire (fifth century) until the fourteenth century. The organization of society was feudal. Artistically, this era saw the development of Romanesque and Gothic styles. In monasteries, the singing of the liturgy in Gregorian chant was central, representing a compilation of songs from Christian influence. In the courts, troubadours—poets and musicians—composed and sang about themes of love and war.
Gregorian
Read MoreClassical and Baroque Music: Characteristics & Genres
Classical Period Music (Late 18th C. – 1827)
The Classical period in music history covers approximately the second half of the eighteenth century until 1827, the year of Beethoven’s death.
Key Features
- Emphasis on simplicity and clarity in both harmony and melody.
- Fully tonal harmony, replacing the Baroque basso continuo. Harmony is based primarily on the three basic chords: tonic, dominant, and subdominant.
- Interest focused on the main melody, which is typically orderly, regular, and structured (e.g.
Musical Elements: Rhythm, Harmony, and Instrumental Forms
Rhythm: The internal motive of the music, where the sound unfolds in time and has a duration. Rhythm determines the style and character of a composition.
Pulsations: The pulse is a constant rhythm, like a heartbeat. The duration works with musical figures and is represented with silences.
Figures: Represent the duration of sound. Silences do not have sound, but they do have duration.
Compass and Tips: Is the motto of a musical fragment in parts, according to the accents or other prominent sounds among
Read MorePiano and Medieval Music: An Overview
The Piano: A String Instrument
The piano belongs to the string family, where the source of vibration determines the classification. String instruments are subdivided based on how the strings are vibrated:
- Bowed strings: A bow is used to rub and vibrate the strings (e.g., violin, viola, cello, bass).
- Plucked strings: Guitar, Harp.
- Plucked strings: Piano.
When a piano sounds, strings are set into vibration. The piano’s development can be traced back to the 18th-century Baroque and Classical periods. Bartolomeo
Read MoreMusic Theory and History: Harmony, Instruments, and Forms
Understanding Harmony in Music
Harmony is the use of different sounds simultaneously, when notes are played together at the same time. Melodies are represented horizontally on the staff, placing one sound after another, and harmonies are represented vertically, placing some sounds above others.
Three or more notes sounded simultaneously form a chord. Most of our music is based on the three-sound chord that we call a triad. Triads are chords created with a root, third, and fifth.
Normally, we distinguish
Read MoreMozart and Elvis: Musical Genius and Rock ‘n’ Roll Myth
Mozart: A Musical Genius
a)
- Mozart can be considered a genius because he was a child prodigy, the youngest person to ever compose music.
- Mozart’s style is unique, representing a synthesis of many different elements, each explored, then partly rejected and partly absorbed.
- The main characteristics of Mozart’s mature music are its melodic beauty, formal perfection, technical flawlessness, unmatched joy, unequaled complexity, richness of harmony and texture, colored by Italian opera and rooted in Austrian