Historical Periods in Music

A love of classical music is only partially a natural response to hearing the works performed, it also must come about by a decision to listen carefully, to pay close attention, a decision inevitably motivated by the cultural and social prestige of the art. - Charles Rosen

There are several different definitions that have been given to but the most prominent one relates to music as the best way to express our feelings and emotions. If you take a look at the historical periods in music, you will be surprised to know how music has changed according to the times and trends. There are many that have inspired people to compose great songs and tunes. The most common music genres are classical music,, metal music, jazz music,R&B music, hip-hop music, electro music, and many different types. Remember that these are just broad categories of music; and there are numbers of sub-classifications done further. Each music has its own time of significance when it was popular. In the following we are going to discuss about historical periods in music.

Historical Periods in Music Evolution

The medieval and baroque music are part of the early music era, the music period starting from baroque to romantic falls in the common practice period, whereas music after 1900 comes to modern and contemporary music era. Mentioned below are specific categories in the
Prehistoric
There is no formal record of the prehistoric music period, as music had just started to develop. Music in these times was believed to be created using natural sounds and beat patterns. Music creation tools were human voice, whistling, clapping, and other such methods.

Ancient
The time after prehistoric music and before 500 AD is referred to as the ancient music period. Music in this era was considered that of being with particular scales and tones. Important were flutes, harps, guqin, etc. The music of this time was popular in cultures of Persia, India, Rome, Greece, and Egypt.

Medieval
After the ancient music era came the medieval music period which is believed to start at 500 AD and continue until 1400 AD. In this music period, different types of flutes and wind instruments were used for creating music. Some of the other common instruments were the lutes, dulcimers, bagpipes, fiddles, and trombones.

Renaissance
Music experts believe that this period in music started from the early 1400s and extended till 1600. The Renaissance music period was also divided into time-lines such as early Renaissance, mid Renaissance, and late Renaissance. It was the Renaissance period when music started to get printed on paper. Musical instruments used were trumpets, harpsichords, tambourines, panpipes, and so on.

Baroque
The Baroque music period started from the 1600 AD to 1760 AD, and is the base of the emergence of classical music era. Two of the most popular musicians of this era are Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. Similar to the Renaissance period, the Baroque era is also divided in certain time-lines. The musical instruments used in this period were the Baroque , Baroque trumpet, Baroque harpsichord, organ, etc.