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For classical music, much of the classification relies heavily on what century the piece was written.  Typically when people talk about “classical music” they are referring to European music.  The date of a piece of music can tell you information about the art movement the piece was written. Art movements act, in a way, as genres for classical music. To best understand classical music and its characteristics, learn the different art movements. Early classical music refers to music created by monks and Roman Catholic church officials before the 9th century. The earliest example of this style is the Gregorian Chants. Legend claims the chants were written by Pope Gregory, but scholars are now skeptical of this claim. The chants were performed by a group of monks. This is the first time music was written down in musical notation and features melodies to be sung along with words (in Latin). A good indicator that music is from this time period is if it is a cappella and sung in Latin. The Baroque era is best exemplified as being artistically grandiose and features elaborate decorations. The influence of the church started to weaken in this era, which roughly lasts from 1600 to 1750. The Baroque era birthed orchestral music and opera. Another key sound of the Baroque era is the harpsichord. The harpsichord is played like a piano, but instead of hitting the strings with soft mallets, the strings are plucked like a harp. This gives the harpsichord a unique and sharp tone. The classical period contains some of the most identifiable pieces of music. This is the era of recognizable composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and Schubert. Classical music is known for its finely tuned attention to detail and structural clarity.  Instead of a rococo style of decorative detail, music from the classical age focused on symmetry and sensibility. This era runs parallel with the intellectual movement called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment birthed the rising belief that human reasoning can overcome problems of the world. This influenced the way composers treated compositions. The Romantic era of music lasted from 1820 up into the 20th century, ending roughly in 1915. Key identifiers of music from this era are its implications of fantasy, spontaneity, and sensuality. The artistic movement itself was centralized on the idea of fleeting back to nature due to the Industrial Revolution.  Another popular concept explored in the Romantic period was color. Composers began viewing the orchestra as a palette that could depict an array of exotic scenes. A sub-movement within the Romantic era is Impressionism. Similar to Impressionist painters like Monet, composers attempted to imprint an impression on the listener. For example, Erik Satie wrote a series of compositions called “furniture music,” which was the first time someone wrote music intended to be in the background. Music from the end of the Romantic period, around 1915, into the 20th century is considered modern classical music. Modern music is exemplified by various moods of extreme. Since the history of music styles are so vast, composers of this era attempted to break new grounds with their compositions.  For example, Igor Stravinsky broke new grounds by composing a ballet about a pagan myth. The premiere nearly caused a riot from the audience. The modern movement also birthed experimental music with such figures like John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Take a look at the various movements and determine if you can name a piece of music or composer from each period. A good way to practice learning the different eras is by reading about the time period while listening to a piece of music from that movement. For music students, it is required to identify a piece of music based off a sound clip. Here are some pieces that accompany each time era:  Early classical music is best heard in the Gregorian Chants and other choral music. Baroque music has two heavyweights: Bach and Handel. Bach’s cello suite no.1 in G might be his most recognizable. The classical period has several popular composers. Popular pieces from this era include Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.  For the Romantic era, listen to Liszt’s Liebestraum or Chopin’s Etude Opus 25. Modern music is so vast, but some key pieces are Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and John Cage’s 4’33.
Look at the time period the piece of music was written. Identify early classical music. Classify Baroque music. Identify the “classical” movement. Identify the Romantic era. Understand modern classical music. Learn key figures and pieces of classical music.