Medieval and Renaissance Era

Most Medieval and Renaissance music was created for events or religious ceremonies. This is because churches were the only place for people to come and listen to music. Composers in these eras include Dunstable, Gabrieli and Byrd.

These eras were very focused around musical rules and had limited access to instruments.  Around the 1400, the first harpsichord appeared making music even more accessible to others. 

Baroque Era

During the Baroque period, composers like Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and Purcell were gaining popularity. The music from this period was often dramatic and had an emphasis on balance, sudden changes between loud and quiet, and regularly used short melodies which were easy to follow.

It was during this period that music became a little more available. If people had the money, they could buy a harpsichord for their houses and learn how to play music or have others come to them and play. 

Classical Era

The Classical era bought composers like Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven to the stage as well as a lot of change. During this period, instruments like the clarinet first appeared and were used by Mozart in many of his pieces. The piano was developing and was gaining popularity.

Haydn was known as the father of the string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) and Beethoven was best known for making the orchestra bigger and louder. With this came a relax in musical rules and music was more accessible.

People could play this music in their houses or go to concert halls to listen to orchestras, watch operas and buy all the instruments to learn and play. 

Romantic Era

The Romantic period bought significant change as piece of music started to get titles and change in mood very suddenly and quickly in a piece. There was more emotional and individual expression and pieces often reflected feelings, experiences, art and literature and philosophy.

Beethoven was seen as the drive towards the Romantic period with his large orchestra similar to what we see today. Romantic composers include Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Chopin and Dvorak.

Music during the Romantic period was more relaxed and used to be a little more daring with clashing notes and sometimes unusual sounds. Instruments were used to their full potential and sometimes even stretched further, music became louder and program music became very popular.

New and different musical structures and pieces were created, composers were finding new ways of making music interesting and music was easier to watch and learn. 

20th Century Era

The 20^th Century era gave music which had never before been heard and bought great change to what it meant to be a composer. Music rarely followed rules and was more outgoing than any other period. Composers would make their music clash and would make it as unusual as possible.

Composers from this period include Stravinsky, Gershwin, Cage, Britten and Holst. Modernism and Neoclassicism was popular during this period as well as the rise of Jazz. Composers would alter instruments by placing nuts and bolts into pianos and changing the shape of wind instruments.

By the mid-20^th century, music was accessible to listen to by all. It was very easy to find a performance of a piece of music, buy instruments and access instrumental lessons. 

Contemporary/Modern Era

Current day classical music has taken on aspects from all the past musical eras. With the introduction of music technology, anyone can be a composer and can compose in various different genres or eras. Music is often still contemporary but minimalism has been gaining popularity.

Modern composers include Philip Glass, Stene Reich, John Williams and John Adams. Technology is now used within performances to add tracks to instrumental music and instruments are able to have their sound altered by pedals. 

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