Medieval era

The Medieval era in music began in 476 AD and continued until about 1400 AD. Sacred and secular music were composed during this time. In the Medieval era, music was written using neumes, which developed into the standard musical notation that is used today.

Medieval instruments and styles

Some instruments used during the Medieval era are:

• the medieval cornett (made of ivory or wood)
• the flute
• the recorder
• plucked string instruments like the modern guitar
• early versions of the organ, fiddle, and trombone (called a sackbut)

Some composition types during the Medieval era include:

• chant music
• Tropes Ballades
• carols

A notable Medieval composer is Guillaume de Machaut.

Renaissance era

The Renaissance era was approximately between 1400 AD to 1600 AD. In 1450, near the beginning of the Renaissance era, a very important machine called the “Gutenberg printing press” was invented. The Gutenberg press allowed people to print materials. This new invention meant music could be printed, and therefore, there was less reliance on oral traditions.

Renaissance instruments and styles

Some of the types of composition during the Renaissance era include:

• the canon
• the chanson
• masses
• motets
• English lute songs
• Italian styles (the frottola, the lauda, Italian madrigal)

The Renaissance era saw the rise of recorders continue, while other instruments were also used, including:

• the Shawms, a double reed instrument
• cornetts
• trumpets
• sackbuts
• stringed keyboard instruments like the harpsichord

Renaissance composers

Some notable composers of the Renaissance era include:

• Johannes Ockeghem
• Jacob Obrecht
• Josquin des Prez
• Giovanni Pierlugi da Palestrina

Baroque era

The Baroque era was approximately from 1600 AD to 1750 AD. The vocal and instrumental compositions during this era of expressed a wide range of feelings. This period introduced the basso continuo, a way to arrange music around several instruments. Instruments used in basso continuo compositions included the harpsichord, organ, or lute. The basso continuo line was further reinforced with low sounding “bass” instruments such as the bass viola da gamba, violoncellos, or bassoons.

Baroque instruments and styles

The Baroque era included the development of the string family and viols were replaced with smaller violins. Woodwind instruments were further developed and started to be used as solo instruments.

Another major development for instruments was the Baroque organ.

Baroque composers

Some notable composers during the Baroque era include:

• Claudio Monteverdi
• Antonio Vivaldi
• Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Johann Sebastian Bach
• George Frideric Handel

Classical era

The Classical era was approximately from 1720 AD to 1800 AD. A style of composition during the Classical era included operas. Other genres included sonatas, symphonies, chamber music, the Lied, quartets, serenades and divertimentos, and solo concertos.

The Symphony Orchestra was much smaller than today’s and rarely had more than twenty-five players. An instrument used during the Classical Era was the fortepiano, which is like the pianos of today.

Classical composers

Notable composers of the Classical era include:

• Christoph Willibald Gluck
• Domenico Scarlatti
• Johann Christian Bach
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Ludwig Van Beethoven

Romantic era

The Romantic era was from approximately 1820 AD to 1900 AD. During this time, composers aimed to express intense emotions such as melancholy (sadness), yearning, or joy. Symphonies became larger in size and compositions were fuller in sound.

Romantic instruments and styles

Romantic era compositions were made up of the instruments that may be experienced today, although the pianos were slightly different from modern pianos. Romantic era pianos had a greater string tension, a bigger sound, and were developed to have seven octaves.

The largest focus in composition during this period was symphonies, operas, and piano music. Other types of composition included:

• program music
• symphonic poems
• sonatas
• concertos

Romantic composers

Notable composers from the Romantic era include:

• Franz Schubert
• Hector Berlioz
• Felix Mendelssohn
• Robert Schumann
• Franz Listz
• Johannes Brahms
• Anton Bruckner
• Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• Antonin Dvorak
• Carl Maria von Weber
• Fryderyk Chopin

20th century era

The 20th century was one of the most prolific eras to date. The four main components of music that started to take shape and form from the eleventh century were: composition, notation, principles of order, and polyphony, and harmony.

20th century instruments and styles

20th century compositions (pieces of music) contained improvisational sections which were spontaneous and created while being performed. Scores (written musical compositions) had fewer specific sets of directions. Performers started to share in the creation of the work.

Technology and the ability to record music led to some significant changes within compositions. It paved way for new styles of music such as electronic music. Composers got creative and would have live music mixed with recorded music. Vocalists were asked at times to speak sections of music, instead of singing them. An instrument introduced into music during the 20th Century was the synthesizer.

This era saw the emergence of popular music including:

• blues
• jazz
• rock
• soul
• country

There were also various types of newer urban music, much of it originating in the United States. Some other similar 20th Century genres included ragtime music, Bebop, and musical comedy.

Composers still wrote symphonies, songs, operas, quartets, concertos, and opera, but also introduced wind band music and big band music.

20th century composers

Some notable composers of the 20th century era include:

• Bela Bartok
• Zoltan Kodaly
• Sergey Prokofiev
• Dmitri Shostakovich
• Vaughan Williams
• Gustav Holst
• William Walton
• Carl Orff
• Arthur Honegger
• Darius Milhaud
• Heitor Villa-Lobos
• Silvestre Revueltas
• Carlos Chavez
• Francis Poulenc
• Igor Stravinsky
• Arnold Schoenberg