Grade 6 Musical Eras Flashcards
Name the four eras in order
Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern
What are the main features of baroque music
- 1600-1700
- Contrapuntal in texture
- Chorale style
- Fugue Composition
- Modulation only to related keys (major, minor, dominant and occasionally subdominant)
- Lots of ornaments
- Dynamics, very few (letters and hairpins), or other performance directions (this wasn’t common until later)
- No piano or clarinet (they weren’t invented yet)
- No pedal markings (the pedal wasn’t invented)
What is a fugue and what era is it commonly used in
Fugue is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a musical theme that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the course of the composition. Used commonly in baroque era.
Name 6 famous baroque composers
JS Bach Purcell Handel Vivaldi Couperin J Straus
Name key points for classical era music
- 1700-1800
- Less complicated than baroque (not contrapuntal)
- Usually homophonic
- One key for long stretches with modulation only to related keys
- Sonata form
- The mood of a piece can change considerably as the piece progresses.
- Melodies are shorter than in Baroque music.
- Expression directions are sometimes used, but not heavily.
- Dynamics can now be gradual, with long crescendos or decrescendos.
- Less ornaments
- The piano and clarinet was now in use, but pedal markings are not often seen.
- The harpsichord was not used much any more.
Name 4 classical composers
Mozart, Haydn, Scarlatti, Clementi
Name the full list of 17 Romantic composers
- Beethoven
- Tchaikovsky
- Chopin
- Liszt
- Schumann
- Verdi
- Wagner
- Berlioz
- Mendelssohn
- Dvořák
- Rachmaninov
- Bruckner
- Rossini
- Mahler
- Puccini - romantic opera
- R strauss
- Brahms
Name the 6 composers famous for certain Romantic era instruments
- Chopin and Rachmaninov are famed for their piano music
- Mahler and Bruckner are famous for using enormous orchestras.
- Verdi and Wagner are famous for writing opera
Name key markers that a piece is from the romantic era
- 1800-1900
- The mood of a piece is more dramatic – tragedy, comedy or romance, for example, and often based on literature.
- Dramatic contrasting sections
- Dense textures, big chords
- Complex rhythms
- Melodies are often more lyrical, song-like.
- Chromatic notes for sound as opposed to modulation
- Expression directions are abundant and descriptive, including detailed articulation (staccato, accents, sforzandos, etc.)
- Dynamics change frequently, either gradually or suddenly.
Name key markers that a piece is from the Modern era
- 1900-2000
- Non diatonic - whole tone scale, modal, atonal (no major or minor feel), serialism (no note given special imprtance), pentatonic scale. polytonality (using two or more keys at once), discoradant (jarring chords)
- If its not major or minor its modern!
- Lots of accidentals
- Ditonic pieces do exist but in exam likely to be non diatonic
- Polyrythms (two time signatures)
- Instructions written in English, French or any other language which are very detailed
- Expression directions can be incredibly precise and may not be restricted to the “traditional” Italian terms
- Dynamics may go to extremes or be used for special effects
Name 11 famous Modern composers
1.Bartok
2.Schoenberg
3.Stravinksy
4.Stockhausen
5.Debussy
6. ravel
7. gershwin
8. britten
9. Prokoviev
10 Satie
11 shostakovic
What composers are french?
Chopin
Ravel
Debussy
What composers are german
Bruckner, Wagner,
What music is schubert famous for?
Solo voice with elegant piano accompaniment
What music is gershwin famous for?
Jazz harmony
