Music History Study Guide PDF

**1. Identifying Musical Time Periods** You need to identify the period of a musical piece based on listening. Here's what to memorize: - **Middle Ages (500-1400)** - **Characteristics**: Monophonic texture (Gregorian chant), sacred music dominates, modal melodies. - **Comp...

**1. Identifying Musical Time Periods** You need to identify the period of a musical piece based on listening. Here's what to memorize: - **Middle Ages (500-1400)** - **Characteristics**: Monophonic texture (Gregorian chant), sacred music dominates, modal melodies. - **Composers**: Hildegard von Bingen, Guillaume de Machaut. - **Instrumentation**: Voice (unaccompanied), early organ, and instruments like hurdy-gurdy. - **Renaissance (1400-1600)** - **Characteristics**: Polyphony, greater use of harmony, word painting in madrigals. - **Composers**: Josquin des Prez, Palestrina, Thomas Tallis. - **Instrumentation**: Lute, viol, harpsichord, small choirs. - **Baroque (1600-1750)** - **Characteristics**: Ornamentation, contrast (loud vs. soft), basso continuo. - **Composers**: Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi. - **Instrumentation**: Harpsichord, strings, woodwinds, organ, small orchestras. - **Classical (1750-1820)** - **Characteristics**: Clarity, balance, symmetry, development of sonata form. - **Composers**: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven. - **Instrumentation**: Piano replaces harpsichord, string quartets, full orchestras. - **Romantic (1820-1900)** - **Characteristics**: Emotional expression, expanded orchestras, program music. - **Composers**: Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner. - **Instrumentation**: Larger orchestras, emphasis on strings, brass, piano. - **20th Century (1900-Present)** - **Characteristics**: Experimentation, dissonance, atonality, new technologies. - **Composers**: Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, John Cage. - **Instrumentation**: Electronic instruments, percussion, unconventional ensembles. **2. Instrument Families and Usage** - **Strings**: Violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp. Frequently used in all periods but prominent in Baroque and Romantic. - **Woodwinds**: Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon. Key in Classical and Romantic orchestras. - **Brass**: Trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba. Brass sections expand in the Romantic era. - **Percussion**: Timpani, snare drum, xylophone, cymbals. Significant in 20th-century music. - **Keyboard**: Harpsichord (Baroque), piano (Classical onwards), organ (Renaissance and Baroque). **3. Genres and Forms** - **Middle Ages**: Gregorian chant, motet. - **Renaissance**: Madrigal, mass. - **Baroque**: Concerto, fugue, oratorio, opera. - **Classical**: Symphony, string quartet, sonata. - **Romantic**: Lieder (art songs), symphonic poem, grand opera. - **20th Century**: Serialism, minimalism, electronic music. **4. Key Terms to Memorize** - **Texture**: Monophonic, polyphonic, homophonic. - **Tonality**: Major, minor, atonal. - **Form**: Binary, ternary, rondo, sonata. - **Orchestration**: How instruments are combined in an ensemble. - **Basso Continuo**: Baroque accompaniment. **5. Vocal Types and Genres** - **Voice Types**: Soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass. - **Genres**: Opera, cantata, mass, oratorio, art songs.