A.

 At which musical periods' review have you progressed the most this term, and how
exactly (what kind of knowledge; insights; study of scores, pieces, composers,
developments, core concepts, etc.)

I felt like I progressed more in developing my knowledge in the Ancient and Medieval
Eras. To be honest, this class is the first time I’m even hearing about Ancient Music. I
was unaware that the “Epitaph of Sekios” was the earliest form of written music or how
the developments of the Greek and Roman arts were the building blocks of Western
music theory and philosophy today. I learned originally that Gregorian chant was the
earliest form of music and incorrectly assumed that it was the only chant that permeated
the Medieval Era. Gregorian chant was a style of chant that was created by the Roman
Church to unify the large swath of Europe through the liturgy. There were many
different styles of plain chant that existed prior to the Gregorian chant. A few that come
to mind are the Ambrosian chants of Milan, the Visgothic chants of Spain, and the
Gallican chants of France.

B. In which musical period(s) do you feel the most knowledgeable at this point?

I feel the most knowledgeable with the Romantic Era. I enjoy listening to the music from
this era due to the idea of programmatic music being as expressive as it is. Granted,
the idea of programmatic music began towards the beginning of the Classical era, it
really didn’t take off until the Romantic era. Some examples can be seen in the idee
fixe of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique or in the leitmotifs of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. The
music from that era reflected the dramatic themes like love, death, and other strong
emotions. The use of open-ended sonorities and chromaticism became more apparent
around this time. Thanks to the development of the concert recital, there was an
increase in the interest of creating new instruments like the saxophone or improving on
older instruments like the oboe, clarinet, flute, and trumpet.

C. For which musical period(s) do you think you would still need some more catching-
up, compared to the ones you are most competent about? Be specific.

I wouldn’t mind a little bit more time spent on the 20th century era leading up to the
present. There are so many chapters regarding this portion of musical history. I
personally feel that a week is not enough time to truly absorb the importance of this
particular time period. I wouldn’t mind learning more about the history of Jazz, Blues,
and Commercial/Film music. This was around the time that musical experimentation
reached an all time high; particularly for percussion instruments! It really interested me
that the composers and musicians at the time wanted to reflect the human psyche
considering the mass trauma of both World Wars and the Great Depression of the
1920s had on people in the United States. This era of musicians wanted to explore with
complex chromaticism and move away from “tonal centers”. Thanks to Arnold
Schoenberg, the twelve-tone method was born and the terms “atonality” and
“pantonality” became common amongst musicians and music appreciators alike.