Music History Paper Example

Define and describe the critical elements of music.

To understand music, it is essential to know its basic elements, which can help to identify music's building blocks. The basic elements of music are melody, timbre, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, texture, pitch, and harmony (Straus 45).

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• Melody is an organized sequence of tunes created by developing a series of single notes, and it is influenced by rhythm and pitch.
• Timbre is the quality and tone color of the sound, which differentiates one instrument or voice from another.
• Tempo is the speed at which an instrument or beat is played.
• Dynamic is the degrees of the volume of music performance.
• Rhythm is a pattern of even sounds in beats and time in music with elements such as tempo and beat.
• Harmony is the sound produced by two or more tones playing simultaneously.
• Pitch is sound that is based on vibration frequency and size of an object.
• The texture is the type and number of layers in music composition.

Relate the characteristics of each musical period to the works of leading composers.

Classical music is primarily categorized into four periods: contemporary, romantic, classical and baroque. Each composer is also classified by a period based on the characteristic of the music composed and his time of life. J.S. Bach is a composer during the Baroque period that marked the beginning of classical music (Weiss and Menard 122). The music during the period was characterized by independent melodic voices with harmonious music lines when played. Beethoven is a critical composer during the classical period which characterized music with a single melody but has a larger accompaniment, more dynamics, keys, rhythms and melodies (Weiss and Menard 124). Tchaikovsky is a composer during the Romantic period that is characterized with much expression and compassion, and emphasis on lyrical themes, melodies, and forms that express emotion (Weiss and Menard 126). Shostakovich is a composer during the contemporary period that is characterized by a huge variety of style and is mostly tonal (Weiss and Menard 129). Contemporary music has had influences in the world of music today.

Define and describe common musical instruments?

Musical instruments can be categorized as percussion instruments, wind instruments and string instruments (Straus 24). String instruments produce sound when the string vibrates through hitting, strumming and plucking. Examples of string instruments are a harp, guitar, and violin. Wind instruments create sound when the air is blown in them, for instance, saxophone, flute, trumpet, and clarinet. Percussion instruments produce sound when they are hit or struck, for example, xylophone, bells, drums, and the triangle.

Define and describe the significant periods of music history.

Classical music is primarily categorized into four periods: contemporary, romantic, classical and baroque (Weiss and Menard 120).

Baroque Period: Baroque period took place between 1600 and 1750 (Weiss and Menard 122). It marked the beginning of classical music with two or more independent melodic voices that are harmonious when played together.

Classical Period: Classical period took place between 1750 and 1830 (Weiss and Menard 124). It evolved from a Baroque form of music, and it emphasized on a single melody with accompaniment leading to music with a well-defined melody, dynamics, and rhythms.

Romantic Period: Romantic period occurred between 1830 and 1920 (Weiss and Menard 126). It was characterized by much expression and passion compared to the earlier periods. The lyrical melodies and themes had a more personal expression of emotion.

Contemporary Period: The period happened between 1920 to present. It is characterized by a huge variety of style and is mainly tonal (Weiss and Menard 129). Contemporary music has had influences in the world of music today.

Define and compare major genres within each period. Identify selected compositions, their composers, and historical periods.

Baroque Period

The idea of the orchestra, opera, was born during the Baroque period. This genre was rather soft-grained viol string family. The view that instruments needed to be played together led to the development of the modern orchestra (Weiss and Menard 122). Composers in the orchestra genre were able to illustrate mood in their music and influence the emotion of the listener.

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was a major composer of his time. One of the most influential compositions he wrote includes the famous 1610 Vespro della Beate Vergine and earliest operas such as L'incoronazione di Poppea and Orfeo (1607). Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) composed vocal music, such as capriccios, ricercars, toccatas, and canzonas.

Classical Period

The significant genres during this period were a symphony, comic operas, and sonata, which were distinct from folk, jazz, and pop music. Orchestras evolved to include a cello, a viola, and two violins, which followed a format suggestive of the symphony (Weiss and Menard 124). A piano was also used during this period to create solo pieces especially sonata.

Franz Joseph Haydn was a remarkable composer of over 60 string quartets and 100 symphonies. He is commonly referred to as "Father of the String Quartet or "Father of the Symphony." Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) major compositions were three piano sonatas and Gradus ad Parnassum.

Romantic Period

Most genres in this period were more inventive and expensive. Primarily passionate songs, dramatic operas, virtuosic piano music, and expansive symphonies took the form of literature and art (Weiss and Menard 126). These genres would be performed with ease for the enjoyment of the audience using storylines such as tragedy attached to it.

Fredric Chopin (1810-1849 was both a pianist and a composer. He specialized in polonaise, waltz, nocturne, mazurka and etude genres. His compositions included solo piano such as preludes, scherzos, impromptus, polonaises, and sonatas. Giuseppe Verdi was also a critical composer during the romantic period due to his ability to evoke and penetrate intense emotions among the audience. His compositions include operas such as Aida, Rigoletto and Jerusalem.

Contemporary Period

Genres in this period were so diverse with styles adopted from significant periods of classical music. Composers pulled from opposite directions as some like Lehar still used Opera style that had been used many centuries ago (Weiss and Menard 129).

John Adams was an important composer who combines romantic and minimalism such as maverick Charles Ives and Wagner and Mahler. Mark-Anthony Turnage was also an instrumental composer during the contemporary period. His major compositions include Asyla Orchestra, and opera Powder Her Face.

Works Cited

Straus, Joseph Nathan. Elements of Music. Pearson College Division, 2008.

Weiss, Christof, and Meinard Muller. "Tonal Complexity Features For Style Classification Of Classical Music." ICASSP. 2015.