Musical Eras
Music is an art that changes with the culture and ideologies of the people in a particular region. Music has been in existence for over 2000 years. The history of music has been divided into eras that spanned over several years, characterized by changes in the way music was done. The different eras are divided according to the evolution of music from the original known music to the present form of music. The fascinating eras have been significant in the modern form of music.
The Medieval era is one of the oldest recorded eras of music history. The era is said to have lasted for approximately a century from the year 400. The church was the most dominant institution during the medieval period, and thus, music was mainly religious. Although most of the medieval music has been destroyed, the Roman Catholic Church has managed to keep some of the medieval liturgical pieces of music. One of the musical works that were done during the medieval era is the Gregorian chant.
The period between the years 1400 and 1600 marked the renaissance music era that was characterized by voice-centric melodies (Owens, 2017). The renaissance era was marked by musical pieces that were easy for people to sing and memorize. Also, the music pieces of the Renaissance period were flexible in that artists could easily convert music according to their styles. Additionally, the Renaissance period was further characterized by the invention of the print media that allowed artists to store their printed music. Bach and Handel were some of the artists who came up during the renaissance era and have stood throughout history due to their success even after an ocular error that was committed by John Taylor.
After the renaissance era, the Baroque era was next in line. The Baroque era ran between 1600 and 1700. The wide use of instruments characterized the music in the Baroque era (Wood, 2018). Also, the world witnessed a wide growing emergence of secular music than in the previous eras. Music in the Baroque era was also characterized by a flexible composure of music that was further supported by the inventions of bass keyboards. One of the artists who existed during the Baroque era was Mozart, who created several works that have stood out throughout history.
The year 1700 marked the beginning of the Classical music era that stayed up to the 1810s. Harmony and distinct chords characterized music during the Classical era. The era was made successful by artists such as Beethoven who were skilled in counting beans.
The end of the Classical music era paved the way for the Romantic music era. The romantic era was characterized by music that was based on emotions and meaning. Also, the Romantic music era marked a period when the drama was incorporated in the music. Music composition became more complex during the Romantic era since artists had to create music that went in line with emotions and gave meaning at the same time. The Romantic music era is dated between the 1810s and 1900 and paved the way for 20th century music.
Music in the 20th century was based on more modern styles of creativity and composition. The 20th century was characterized by the invention of various devices that led to significant developments in the music industry. The radio has been said to be the most important invention that improved the spread of music among the masses. The 20th century has seen drastic evolution in the music field with different genres of music coming up.
In sum, music has evolved over the years, spanning for over 2000 years. The history of music has been divided into eras that are defined by the different forms of music. The eras define the process of evolution that music has gone through, with the 20th century marking the most drastic changes in music.
References
Owens, J. A. (2017). Music Historiography and the Definition of “Renaissance”. In Music and the Renaissance (pp. 67-92). Routledge.
Wood, G. (2018). Violin Cases of the Baroque Period. Violin Society of America Papers, 27(1), 20-26.