Various Genres in Music

List of Music Genres

Music comes in many different types and styles ranging from traditional rock music to
world pop, easy listening, and bluegrass. Many genres have a rich history or geographical
significance, a cult following, or music roots that go far beyond the 20th century.
1. Rock Music
It is also called rock and roll, rock & roll, or rock ’n’ roll, a form of popular music
that emerged in the 1950s. It is certainly arguable that by the end of the 20th-century
rock was the world’s dominant form of popular music. Originating in the United States
in the 1950s, it spread to other English-speaking countries and across Europe in the ’60s,
and by the ’90s its impact was obvious globally (if in many different local guises).
The Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, based on a vast database of British usage,
suggests that “rock is a kind of music with simple tunes and a very strong beat that is
played and sung, usually loudly, by a small group of people with electric guitars and
drums.”
2. Jazz
A musical form, often improvisational, developed by African Americans and
influenced by both European harmonic structure and African rhythms. It was developed
partially from ragtime and blues and is often characterized by syncopated rhythms,
polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, often deliberate
deviations of pitch, and the use of original timbres
3. Hip hop Music
A cultural movement that attained widespread popularity in the 1980s and ’90s;
also, the backing music for rap, the musical style incorporating rhythmic and/or rhyming
speech that became the movement’s most lasting and influential art form. Although
widely considered a synonym for rap music, the term hip-hop refers to a complex
culture comprising four elements:
a. deejaying, or “turntabling”;
b. rapping, also known as “MCing” or “rhyming”;
c. graffiti painting, also known as “graf” or “writing”; and
d. “B-boying,” which encompasses hip-hop dance, style, and attitude, along with
the sort of virile body language that philosopher Cornel West described as
“postural semantics.”
4. Folk Music
A type of traditional and generally rural music that originally was passed down
through families and other small social groups. Typically, folk music, like folk literature,
lives in oral tradition; it is learned through hearing rather than reading. It is functional in
 the sense that it is associated with other activities, and it is primarily rural in origin. The
usefulness of the concept varies from culture to culture, but it is most convenient as a
designation of a type of music of Europe and the Americas.
5. Pop Music
Pop music often called simply pop, is contemporary music and a common type of
popular music (distinguished from classical or art music and folk music. The term does
not refer specifically to a single genre or sound, and its meaning is different depending
on the time and place. It is often distinguished from other subgenres by stylistic traits
such as a danceable rhythm or beat, simple melodies, and a repeating structure which
are reminiscent of the songs of vocalists.

6. Country Music
It is also called country and western, a style of American popular music that
originated in rural areas of the South and West in the early 20th century. The term
country and western music (later shortened to country music) were adopted by the
recording industry in 1949 to replace the derogatory label hillbilly music.
7. Heavy Metal
A genre of rock music that includes a group of related styles that are intense,
virtuosic, and powerful. Driven by the aggressive sounds of the distorted electric guitar,
heavy metal is arguably the most commercially successful genre of rock music.
8. Blues
A piece of secular folk music created by African Americans in the early 20th century,
originally in the South. The simple but expressive forms of the blues became by the
1960s one of the most important influences on the development of popular music—
namely, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock, and country music—throughout the United States.
9. Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
It is also known as EDM, an umbrella term for a panoply of musical styles that
emerged in the mid-1980s. Rather than designating a single genre, electronic dance
music (EDM) encompasses styles ranging from beatless ambient music to 200-beats-per-
minute hardcore, with house music, techno, drum and bass, dubstep, and trance among
the most notable examples.
10. Soul Music
Soul music is a return to African American music’s roots—gospel and blues. The
style is marked by searing vocal intensity, use of church-rooted call-and-response, and
extravagant melisma. It is a term adopted to describe African American popular music in
the United States as it evolved from the 1950s to the ’60s and ’70s. Some view soul as
merely a new term for rhythm and blues.
11. Funk
A rhythm-driven musical genre popular in the 1970s and early 1980s that linked
soul to later African-American musical styles. Like many words emanating from the
African-American oral tradition, funk defies literal definition, for its usage varies with
 circumstance. As a slang term, funky is used to describe one’s odor, unpredictable style,
or attitude. Musically, funk refers to a style of aggressive urban dance music driven by
hard syncopated bass lines and drumbeats and accented by any number of instruments
involved in rhythmic counterplay, all working toward a “groove.”
12. Punk Rock
An aggressive form of rock music that coalesced into an international (though
predominantly Anglo-American) movement in 1975–80. Often politicized and full of vital
energy beneath a sarcastic, hostile facade, punk spread as an ideology and an aesthetic
approach, becoming an archetype of teen rebellion and alienation.
13. Reggae
A style of popular music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and quickly
emerged as the country’s dominant music. By the 1970s it had become an international
style that was particularly popular in Britain, the United States, and Africa. It was widely
perceived as a voice of the oppressed. It is based on ska, an earlier form of Jamaican
popular music, and employs a heavy four-beat rhythm driven by drums, bass guitar,
electric guitar, and the “scraper,” a corrugated stick that is rubbed by a plain stick.
14. Disco
A beat-driven style of popular music that was the preeminent form of dance music
in the 1970s. Its name was derived from discotheque, the name for the type of dance-
oriented nightclub that first appeared in the 1960s. Deejays were a major creative force
for disco, helping to establish hit songs and encouraging a focus on singles.
15. Trance Music
Trance music is characterized by a tempo lying between 125–150 bpm (BPM), repeating
melodic phrases, and a musical form that distinctly builds tension and elements
throughout a track often culminating in 1 to 2 "peaks" or "drops".
Other Genres of Music:
 Rhythm Music  Swing Music
 Popular Music  Alternative Music
 Classical Music  Industrial Music
 House Music  Breakbeat
 American Folk Music  Indie Rock
 Techno  Hardcore
 Gospel Music  Dubstep
 Ambient Music  Experimental Music

References

 https://www.britannica.com/art/rock-music
 https://www.britannica.com/art/jazz
  https://www.britannica.com/art/hip-hop
 https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-music
 https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/pop_music
 https://www.britannica.com/art/country-music
 https://www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music
 https://www.britannica.com/art/blues-music
 https://www.britannica.com/art/electronic-dance-music
 https://www.britannica.com/art/soul-music
 https://www.britannica.com/art/funk
 https://www.britannica.com/art/punk
 https://www.britannica.com/art/reggae
 https://www.britannica.com/art/disco

Activity #1
Choose five genres from all the genres of music listed above, and give an example of an
artist and his/her corresponding composition of music on the specific genre. Identify the
elements that made the artist and his music belonged to that specific genre.

GENRE ARTIST AND HIS/HER MUSIC ELEMENTS

COMPOSITION
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
Activity #2 : Venn Diagram (Compare and Contrast)
Using the Venn diagram below, choose two music genres. Identify its similarities and
differences in terms of beat, tone, melody, rhythm, style, etc.
Activity #3 : Essay
Answer the following questions briefly.
1. What particular genre of music do you consider personally as universally accepted and
listened to by individuals of different ages?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
2. In modern times, what genre of music is highly popular among teenagers? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
3. To what extent you would consider the importance of music to an individual’s life?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
4. Give an example of an artist who is famous and remarkable in a particular genre of
music. Identify the qualities that made the artist excels in this particular genre.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
5. Do you think music is a necessity for someone’s life? Elucidate your answer.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
 Baroque Music
Baroque music, a style of music that prevailed during the period from about 1600 to
about 1750, is known for its grandiose, dramatic, and energetic spirit but also for its stylistic
diversity. It is derived from the Portuguese barroco, or “oddly shaped pearl,” the term
“baroque” has been widely used since the nineteenth century to describe the period in
Western European art music from about 1600 to 1750.
Generally speaking, the Baroque period is when the orchestra was born, opera kicked off
in a big way and the concerto gave soloists the chance to properly show off. From the period's
beginnings in the early 1600s to when the Classical period style began to take over in the mid-
1700s, the sound of the Baroque period remained distinct - ordered, ornate and increasingly
emotive as the period went on.
Who were the major Baroque composers, and where were they from?
Many of the well-known personalities from the first part of the Baroque period hail from
Italy, including Monteverdi, Corelli, and Vivaldi. (By the mid-eighteenth century, our focus shifts
to the German composer's Bach and Handel.) Many of the forms identified with baroque music
originated in Italy, including the cantata, concerto, sonata, oratorio, and opera.
Italy: Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, Corelli, Vivaldi, Domenico and Alessandro Scarlatti
France: Couperin, Lully, Charpentier and Rameau
Germany: Praetorius, Schein, Scheidt, Schutz, Telemann, Handel and Bach
England: Purcell
What are the characteristics of Baroque music?
A. Contrast as a dramatic element
Contrast is an important ingredient in the drama of a Baroque composition. The
differences between loud and soft, solo and ensemble (as in the concerto), different
instruments, and timbres all play an important role in many Baroque compositions.
B. Monody and the advent of the basso continuo
In previous musical eras, a piece of music tended to consist of a single melody,
perhaps with an improvised accompaniment, or several melodies played
simultaneously. Not until the Baroque period did the concept of “melody” and
“harmony” truly begin to be articulated. As part of the effort to imitate ancient music,
composers started focusing less on the complicated polyphony that dominated the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and more on a single voice with a simplified
accompaniment, or monody. Basso continuo, a method of musical notation in which the
melody and bassline are written out and the harmonic filler indicated in a type of
shorthand.
C. Different instrumental sounds
 Baroque music has become increasingly popular over the last fifty years. As part of
this new interest, scholars and musicians have spent countless hours trying to figure out
how the music might have sounded to 17th and 18th-century audiences.
 Pitch: Before 1859, however, there was no pitch standard. The note to which
Baroque ensembles tuned, therefore, varied widely at different times and in
different places.
 Timbre: The harpsichord was the primary keyboard instrument (and an
important member of the continuo group), and instruments important in the
16th and 17th centuries like the lute and viol, continued to be used. Variations in
instruments still popular today also gave the baroque ensemble a different
sound.
 Performance Technique: A baroque score contains little (if any) information
about elements like articulation, ornamentation, or dynamics, and so modern
ensembles need to make their own informed choices before each performance.
Mechanical differences between baroque and modern instruments also suggest
that the older instruments would have sounded differently, so ensembles like
Music of the Baroque often adjust their technique to allow for this.
Other characteristics:
a) long flowing melodic lines often using ornamentation (decorative notes such as trills and
turns)
b) the contrast between loud and soft, solo and ensemble
c) a contrapuntal texture where two or more melodic lines are combined
d) terraced dynamics - sudden changes in the volume level, sometimes creating an echo
effect
e) the use of harpsichord continuo
Here are some of the greatest Baroque composers that ever lived:
 Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)
Albinoni, a contemporary of fellow Italian Baroque composer, Vivaldi, was famous
in his day for opera. But that may surprise you as today he is beloved for instrumental
works, including his Adagio in G minor and his Oboe Concerto, both of which appeared
in the Classic FM Hall of Fame this year (No. 117 and No. 222 respectively).
 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
His output was as awe-inspiring as his sublime music – from sacred settings of
passion stories, cantatas, chorales, and arias, to instrumental sonatas and concertos,
virtuosic keyboard collections, and canons as complex as any we’ve seen. The genius
German composer and organ improviser extraordinaire has truly earned his enduring
place in the musical canon.
 Francesca Caccini (1587-1640)
 Early Italian Baroque composer Francesca Caccini was the daughter of Renaissance
master, Giulio Caccini. The singer, lutenist, poet, and teacher, was one of the most
influential women composers in Europe in her day. And her opera La liberazione di
Ruggiero has gone down in her story as the first-ever written by a woman.
 George Frederic Handel (1685-1759)
German and English Baroque heavyweight Handel is famous for his operas,
oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. His music for all occasions, such as the
‘Hallelujah’ chorus from the Messiah oratorio (Christmas) and Music for the Royal
Fireworks (Guy Fawkes Night) still make for popular musical markers in our calendar
years.
 Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Monteverdi was the grandfather of Baroque opera – meaning opera as a whole,
pretty much – as far as many musically-minded people are concerned. His birth date
puts him right at the crossroads of the late Renaissance period, and early Baroque
revolutions. His tragic opera, L’Orfeo, changed the music world for good and cemented
the operatic form, as well as the telling of a powerful story that would be revisited by
composers for centuries – including fellow Baroque masters Schütz and Telemann, Gluck
during the Classical era, and Offenbach in the Romantic era.
 Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)
Italian composer Pergolesi had a tragically short life, even by 18th century
standards. As well as being a famous Baroque comic opera composer, Pergolesi wrote
an eye-wateringly beautiful Stabat Mater setting, a sacred piece commissioned for an
annual Good Friday service in honor of the Virgin Mary.
 Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
English composer and keyboard virtuoso Purcell also excelled in the operatic genre,
his crowning achievement being Dido and Aeneas, which includes the heart-rending
aria, ‘Dido’s Lament.
 Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
Most of her music is written for accompanied female voice, and she makes this list
for the fact that she published numerous volumes of her music and had more music
contemporaneously in print than any other Baroque composer in her lifetime. On top of
that, she was a capable lute player and a fine singer.
 Georg Phillip Telemann (1681-1767)
German Baroque composer Georg Phillip Telemann scores points for sheer
proliferation, having written over 3,000 works. His music combines German, French,
Italian, and Polish musical styles in numerous genres, including operas, orchestral suites,
oratorios, and other sacred works.
 Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Vivaldi wrote some of the most enduringly popular music of the Baroque era, if not
the whole of classical music. His Four Seasons – the four concertos for violin and
orchestra written to depict the turning seasons of the year – sound as fresh and
 delightfully surprising as they were when they were first written. And his sacred works,
including his Stabat Mater and Nisi Dominus, are also at the pinnacle of their genre.
References

 https://www.britannica.com/art/Baroque-music
 https://www.baroque.org/baroque/whatis
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2mv34j/revision/1
 https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/baroque/baroque-music-
beginners-guide/
 https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/baroque/best-composers/

Activity #1
Write down the characteristics of the following Baroque composers that made them
unique from the other composers.

BAROQUE COMPOSERS CHARACTERISTICS

Antonio Vivaldi

Johann Sebastian Bach

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

Henry Purcell

George Frederic Handel

Activity #2
Answer the following questions briefly.
1. Make a distinction between Georg Phillip Telemann and Barbara Strozzi as Baroque
composers. How different are the two in terms of composition and musical styles?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________

2. Do you think Baroque music is popular nowadays? Why or why not?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
3. What do you think has made Baroque music proliferate before?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
4. Define “baroque” in your own terms.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________
Activity #3
Based on the topic that you have learned about Baroque Music, make an elaborative
essay on the importance and relevance of this genre in today’s generation of music. Compare
and contrast it from other genres of music. Support your answer using citations. (10-13
sentences)

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________
 Top 10 Baroque Music
Before the start of the classical period, baroque music was written in many forms by many
composers over the course of 150 years. Known for its inconsistency, baroque music
encompasses the use of basso continuo, degrees of ornamentation, self-expression, open
forms, and the formation of counterpoint. Think of the Baroque period as a funnel collecting all
forms of music and ideas. As time progresses, the funnel becomes smaller through trial and
error. Popular baroque music ideas are picked up and expounded, then further studied and
expanded. Less than popular ideas fall by the wayside. Each passing year is one step closer to
the classical period where rules of composition have become perfected and order reigns
supreme. Amid the chaotic sea of baroque music, there are hundreds of works that shine like
beacons in the night.

1. Bach: 6 Suites for Unaccompanied Cello

It is largely believed that Johann Sebastian Bach composed the six suites for cello between 1717
and 1723. The manuscript belonging to his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, was titled
Suites á Violoncello Solo senza Basso. These pieces are instantly recognizable, and are, perhaps,
the most famous music ever written for solo cello. The suites are so popular, they have been
transcribed for a variety of different instruments.
2. Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Without a doubt, the Four Seasons is Antonio Vivaldi’s most famous work. It was published in
1725, in a set of twelve concerto’s entitled Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (The Test of
Harmony and Invention). The concertos are arguably the boldest program music ever written in
the baroque period (music that is composed to depict a narrative).
3. Handel: Messiah
In just 24 days, George Frideric Handel composed the Messiah after his friend and librettist,
Charles Jennens, expressed in a letter his desire for creating a scriptural anthology set to music
in 1741. They intended the Messiah be performed at Easter, but it found its home at
Christmastime instead. Throughout the work, Handel makes great use of text painting, a
technique where musical notes mimic the lines of text.
4. Scarlatti: Essercizi per Gravicembalo (Sonatas for Harpsichord)
Domenico Scarlatti, son of Alessandro Scarlatti (another well-known baroque composer), wrote
555 known harpsichord sonatas, of which, over half was written in the last six years of his life.
His career bridged into the early classical period, and his sonatas influenced many of the
classical period composers after him.
5. Corelli: 12 Concerti Grossi, Op.6
Arcangelo Corelli’s twelve concerti grossi are a perfect example of the baroque period’s
concerto grosso (the form of music that resembles a musical dialogue between the large
orchestra and the small group of soloists). He was the first baroque composer to write music in
that style. These 12 concerti grossi were published after his death.
6. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos
These highly favored and celebrated concertos written by Johann Sebastian Bach were
dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721. The concertos are
among the world most performed; their happy and upbeat nature easily inspires and excites
listeners of all nationalities.
7. Purcell: Dido and Aeneas
Henry Purcell’s opera, Dido and Aeneas, was the English composer’s first opera. It was also his
only completely sung dramatic work, having written a handful of staged works prior to and after
its premiere. The opera is a great example of baroque period opera.
8. Sammartini: Symphony in D Major, J-C 14
Giovanni Battista Sammartini is considered to be the originator of the classical symphonic form
(in particular, the sonata form), and many believe his symphonies and thematic development
are the precursors to those written by Haydn and Mozart.
9. Telemann: Paris Quartets
Georg Philipp Telemann was one of the most prolific composers of the Baroque period. Unlike
other famous composers, Telemann’s musical abilities were largely self-taught. His
incorporation of unusual instrumentation in his concertos is one of the things that that made
him unique. For example, his famous Paris Quartets were scored for flute, violin, viola da
gamba, and continuo.
10. Allergi: Miserere mei, Deus
Gregorio Allegri composed this sacred work in the 1630s, during the papacy of Pope Urban VIII.
The piece was written for use in the Tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday of
Holy Week. Pope Urban VIII loved the piece so much, that he forbid it to be performed
elsewhere outside of the Sistine Chapel. For 100 years, it was performed exclusively at the
church.

Reference:
https://www.liveabout.com/top-baroque-music-723775
Activity #1: Matching Type
Match the following baroque musical compositions with their respective composers. Write the
letter of the correct answer on the space provided.

A B
______ 1. Essercizi per Gravicembalo a. George Frideric Handel
(Sonatas for Harpsichord) b. Johann Sebastian Bach
______ 2. Brandenburg Concertos c. Gregorio Allegri
______
3. Miserere mei, Deus d. Georg Philipp Telemann
______ 4. Symphony in D Major, J-C e. Henry Purcell
14 f. Arcangelo Corelli
______ 5. Messiah g. Domenico Scarlatti
______
6. Four Seasons h. Antonio Vivaldi
______ 7. 6 Suites for i. Giovanni Battista
Unaccompanied Cello Sammartini
______ 8. Dido and Aeneas
______
9. Paris Quartets
______ 10. Brandenburg Concertos

Activity #2
Direction: Answer the following questions briefly.
1. What made baroque music different from other genres?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Of all the baroque music compositions in the world, what made these 10 famous works
iconic in this music era?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the different instruments used in playing baroque music?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Activity #3
For 100 years, Miserere Mei, Deus by Gregorio Allegri was performed exclusively at the
church. Investigate the reason behind why this composition is prohibited to be
performed outside the church and what caused the change of this policy. Explain how
this controversy created an impact on the music industry today. Support your answer
using citations. (10-15 sentences)

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
 The Classical Music
As in the case of the Renaissance, difficulties with terminology again arise with the label
classical. Does it refer to a period of time, a distinctive musical style, an aesthetic attitude, an
ideal standard, or an established norm? Again, the term was borrowed from the visual arts of
the same epoch and is awkward when applied to music in that there were no known models
from classical antiquity for composers to imitate. A full understanding of the term depends on a
clear conception of the term romantic, for the two stand at opposite poles. Each represents a
set of artistic ideals that has been in opposition to the other since both were recognized by
early Grecian writers. As has been noted, the ancient Greek followers of Apollo established the
ideal of classicism, whereas the cult of Dionysus produced the prototype of romanticism. A
mixture of the two qualities has prevailed throughout recorded history, with first one and then
the other in the ascendancy. Thus, there have been many “classic” and many “romantic” eras,
but the labels have come to refer most specifically to the last half of the 18th century and the
19th century, respectively, because those periods represent most vividly the two tempers.
The social and political scene during the late 18th century was hardly a setting for a quiet,
composed “classical” age in view of the prevailing revolutionary spirit and colonial rivalry. The
revolutionary movement did have a direct effect on music in that “music for the masses”
became a new ideal—music directly appealing to a large number of unsophisticated people
who had previously been excluded from courtly entertainments.

Precursors of the Classical style

The Rococo style galant
As the pendulum swung from the predominantly romantic Baroque period toward the Classical
period, there was an inevitable overlapping of the old and the new. While Bach was composing
his intricate and erudite polyphony, his sons were reflecting a new ideal, the Rococo. Fostered
by the court of the French king Louis XV, whose life-style was far less formal than that of his
illustrious great grandfather, the Rococo ideal was artistic expression dedicated to elegance,
frivolity, and gracefulness; a work of art must be delicate, playful, entertaining, and
immediately appealing. The result was often artificial and unrealistic, but it succeeded in
capturing the discreetly sentimental and hedonistic attitudes of the times. Powdered wigs, lace
cuffs, and perfumed handkerchiefs for both sexes were other manifestations of the same
playful spirit that produced music in the style galant.

The empfindsamer Stil

The German counterpart of the essentially French Rococo was the empfindsamer Stil, or
“sentimental style,” which flourished in the 1750s and 1760s. Its leading exponent was one of
J.S. Bach’s sons, Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, who served for a time at the court of Frederick the
Great in Berlin. The distinguishing feature of this German reaction against Baroque profundity
was its concern with emotional feeling in the music itself, on the part of the performers and,
hopefully, in the reaction of the audience. The French obsession with lightness, gracefulness,
and decoration was countered by the German determination to affect sensibilities that were
often more attuned to tears than to laughter. A late and less reserved manifestation of
Empfindsamkeit was the Sturm und Drang (“storm and stress”) movement in the arts during the
1770s and 1780s. The inclination toward the more intense personal expression of that
movement was a harbinger of the coming Romantic period.

Consolidation of the Classical style

The fundamental changes in musical style that distinguished Classical from Baroque were
inspired by Rococo ideals and refined and stabilized by the Classicists, particularly Joseph
Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christoph Willibald Gluck, and the young Ludwig van
Beethoven.

Stylistic elements:

 For the first time in the history of music, instrumental music became more important
than vocal music. The orchestra and chamber groups, such as the string quartet, trio,
and quintet, and the piano trio became standardized and replaced the heterogeneous
trio sonata and other ensembles of the Baroque period. The basic duple and triple
organization of metre remained unchanged, but rhythmic patterns tending toward more
regularity and simplicity became the rule, producing the “tyranny of the bar line” that
was to prevail for more than a century.
 Melody was inclined to be more motivistic, tuneful, and epigrammatic, in contrast to the
extended, figurative style of many Baroque melodies. Harmony was second only to
melody as a focal element. Harmonic patterns that clearly established the tonal centre
were the rule of the day. As a reaction against the intricate polyphony of the later
Baroque period, homophonic texture dominated by melody became the norm, but the
accompanying patterns were different from those of the early Baroque, when monody
supported by sustained chords was the prevailing style. In the late 18th century,
figurations such as the Alberti bass (form of accompanying figure consisting of broken
chords) and rhythmically enlivened repeated chords formed the typical textural
patterns. Counterpoint was retained in some forms, however, and regained status
particularly in development sections of works in sonata form.
 Formal structure, a definitive aspect of classical style, was characterized by simplicity
and clarity. Sectional forms (created by contrast and repetition of thematic materials,
 tonalities, and textures), variations, and the new principle of development
(fragmentation, expansion, and modification of themes) were the established norms.
Phrases of musical material became shorter and more clearly demarcated as well as
more balanced and regular. A new concept of dynamic contrast also contributed to
formal clarity. Shading from loud to soft or vice versa provided a dramatic means of
building toward an expressive climax. Orchestration and instrumentation were closely
allied to dynamic variation, and much more colour contrast and variety appeared in
orchestral music, even though the ensemble was more standardized than formerly.

Sonata form
The pattern that served as the structural basis for most instrumental music of the classical
period was the sonata. A large-scale work in several movements, it evolved from several
Baroque predecessors, chiefly the Italian overture, the sonata da chiesa, and the concerto
grosso. Depending on the medium of performance for which it was intended, it would be
called, for example, a symphony, a concerto, a string quartet, a sextet, a trio. The designation
sonata was reserved for a solo instrument or for an instrument accompanied by harpsichord or
piano. Originally in three movements, the sonata became standardized as a four-movement
form when a minuet was incorporated in the following sequence: (1) a serious allegro, (2) a
slow, lyrical movement (andante or adagio), (3) a minuet and trio, and (4) a brilliant, vivacious
finale. The internal structure of the first movement was so uniform that it acquired the
designation sonata-allegro form; that is, the form employed in the allegro movement of a
sonata, consisting basically of exposition, development, and recapitulation. The slower second
movement is less structurally predictable. It is frequently a sectional form (for example, ABA,
AABA, ABCA) or a set of variations. It may, even though in a slow tempo, be a sonata-allegro
form, illustrating again the inconsistency of musical terminology. The third movement, usually
omitted in the concerto and sometimes in other forms, is either a graceful minuet or a scherzo,
a lively rhythmic form derived from the minuet. The structural pattern of the minuet had been
fixed when it was established as the official court dance by Louis XIV in the mid-17th century.
The last movement is frequently a rondo form, in which the principal theme recurs regularly
between subordinate themes.

Instrumental music
The symphony
The most important and influential manifestation of the sonata form was that played by an
orchestra—the symphony. During the 17th century the term sinfonia had been used for various
kinds of instrumental music. “Sonata” was equally ambiguous. Late in the century, the
designation sinfonia began to be confined to the Italian opera overture—a three-movement
arrangement, fast–slow–fast. By the mid-18th century, opera overtures were being played
independently in concerts. The insertion of the minuet between the last two movements
resulted in the prototype of the Classical symphony.
During the waning Baroque period, vigorous advocates of the burgeoning Rococo and
Empfindsamkeit ideals were active in Milan, Vienna, and Mannheim. In Milan, Giovanni Battista
Sammartini began writing his symphonies, some 25 of them, in the 1730s. While employing the
continuo of his models, Corelli and Giuseppe Torelli, the bithematic plan for his opening
movements foreshadowed the exposition of the Classical symphonies. At about the same time,
young composers in Vienna were experimenting with the new genre, thus laying the foundation
for the later Viennese masters. The most famous and probably the most influential group was
active in Mannheim in the court orchestra of Karl Theodor, the elector of the Palatinate. Their
activity began in the 1740s, when Johann Stamitz became leader of the orchestra. His
experiments with dynamic techniques—crescendo (increasing in loudness), diminuendo
(decreasing in loudness), sforzando (special emphasis)—with homophonic textures featuring
the first violins in virtuoso passages and with tremolo and other dramatic effects, became the
hallmarks of the Mannheim style and served as models for his son Karl Stamitz and for
composers in Vienna. Thanks to the fortuitous presence of certain instrumentalists as well as to
benevolent patronage, the basic ensemble of the modern symphony orchestra was gradually
established: violins, violas, violoncellos, and double basses; two flutes, two oboes, and two
bassoons; two French horns and two tympani. Trumpets were added for festive occasions.

The concerto
Unlike the symphony, which had its origins in other forms, the Classical concerto grew directly
out of the Baroque solo concerto and resembles it in that it is based on exchange of musical
material between solo instrument or instruments and orchestra. While directly derived from
the ritornello principle of the Baroque concerto (that of a recurrent musical passage when the
soloists are silent), the internal structure of the first movement assimilated the developmental
principle of sonata-allegro form. Pietro Locatelli and Giuseppe Tartini are especially notable for
their numerous late-Baroque violin concerti.
Chamber music
While music for small instrumental ensembles had flourished for over 200 years previously, the
late 18th century witnessed the establishment of chamber music in the modern sense of the
term: music in sonata form for a small group of instruments with one player for each part.
Replacing the trio sonata of the Baroque period, the most popular classical ensemble was a
group of four stringed instruments—two violins, a viola, and a violoncello. Both the group itself
and a sonata written for the group were called a string quartet. Among other popular
ensembles were the string trio (violin, viola, and violoncello; or two violins and a violoncello)
and the piano trio (violin, violoncello, and piano).
The keyboard sonata
The solo keyboard sonata was one of the most vital forms of the period, partly because of the
great increase in amateur performers resulting from the newly affluent middle class. The
sonatas of Domenico Paradisi, of J.S. Bach’s sons, and of Haydn and Mozart reflect the
evolution from the one-movement, binary form of the Baroque period to the standard classical
three-movement form. A four-movement form did not become popular until the time of
Beethoven. A celebrated contemporary of Mozart, Muzio Clementi, composed more than 60
sonatas for the piano alone and half again as many for piano and violin or flute and strongly
influenced the style of piano writing.

Other Instrumental Forms

While the sonata was unquestionably the most important form of instrumental music during
the period, several other types were cultivated. For orchestra and chamber ensemble, a
suitelike work called variously divertimento, serenade, cassation, or notturno was popular for
light entertainment, differing from the more serious symphonies, concerti, and sonatas (which
were intended for attentive listening) in that the ensemble of instruments was inconsistent,
unpredictable, and often unspecified. The number, types, and arrangements of movements
were equally flexible, ranging from three to 10 or more, some in dance forms and others in
forms suitable for a sonata. While nonsonata forms for solo instruments (particularly keyboard)
occasionally bear these designations, the most popular smaller solo forms were sets of
variations, individual dances or marches, fantasies, and small pieces that would have been
appropriate as movements of sonatas. For some reason, composition for the organ dwindled
drastically after the death of J.S. Bach, in 1750.

Vocal music
Opera
There was less distinction between Baroque and Classical opera than between instrumental
styles of the two periods because opera, with musical interest centred on a solo voice, had
been largely melodic-homophonic since its inception. Another reason for the continuity of
operatic style throughout the 18th century was the universal domination by the Neapolitan
opera seria. Even in Paris, where the Lully-Rameau tradition maintained its vitality, there was an
Italian opera theatre. While there was some effective reform of certain aspects of Neapolitan
style that had become decadent and some nationalistic reaction in the field of comic opera,
nothing in the nature of serious opera challenged Neapolitan supremacy. As a result, the late
18th century was a period of great vitality in operatic composition.
The distinguishing characteristics of Neapolitan opera seria reveal why it is little known and
rarely heard today. It was a very conventionalized form, with artificial and overcomplex plots.
There were usually six main characters representing three of each sex, with some of the male
and female parts sung by castrati (emasculated male sopranos and contraltos). Each character
was allotted a standardized number of arias in fairly standardized succession. Obviously, with
such constant interruption of the action, dramatic truth received little if any consideration. The
singers and the arias were the focus of the entire production, with little of musical interest in
the parlando recitatives (i.e., using speech rhythms), little use of chorus, and little function for
the orchestra aside from providing a subordinate accompaniment.
Objections to the decadence and artificiality of the Neapolitan style, which had begun to appear
as early as the 1720s, would have been fruitless had not a champion appeared to put
suggestions and theories for reform into actual practice. Culminating the movement for reform
was Christoph Willibald Gluck, who began his career in the 1740s by writing about 20 operas in
the prevailing style. Then, beginning with Orfeo ed Euridice in 1762, he attempted to enhance
both the dramatic and musical components of opera. Superfluous virtuosity and vocal display
were drastically curtailed if not eliminated by providing music that reflected the emotional or
dramatic situation. As a result of Gluck’s reforms, opera moved toward a classical simplicity of
style of which his and Mozart’s works were the culmination.

A second challenge to established Neapolitan opera was emerging through comic opera in
which the subject matter was light, sentimental, often topical, and satirical, reflecting both the
social changes of the period and ridicule of serious opera. The music was engagingly tuneful,
easy to perform and to comprehend. Comic opera had appeared during the 17th century but
began its independent existence during the first half of the 18th century in Italy, where it was
called the opera buffa. The French opéra comique evolved during the same period and was
given new impetus by the guerre des bouffons (“war of the buffoons”) of the early 1750s, when
support of the Italian opera buffa company then performing in Paris exceeded that of the
French heroic opera of Rameau. In England, ballad opera, beginning with The Beggar’s Opera in
1728, followed a course of development similar in both period and style to that of the opéra
comique. German singspiel grew out of translations and imitations of English ballad opera.
Models that centred on Vienna adhered to the Italian style and culminated in Mozart’s The
Abduction from the Seraglio and The Magic Flute. Yet Mozart also brought the old Italian style
to its zenith in Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Così fan tutte (Thus Do They All), and
Don Giovanni.

Other Vocal Music

Aside from opera, secular vocal music was composed for solo voice and chorus. But the
production of solo songs and cantatas in other countries could not compare with the growing
interest in the German lied, which flourished under C.P.E. Bach and later composers. The most
extensive development of secular part-songs took place in England, where numerous catches
and glees were written.
Large-scale sacred choral music of the period was strongly influenced by the prevailing operatic
style. Except for the text, some passages from oratorios and passions are indistinguishable from
an operatic excerpt. But the Handelian tradition combined with the Neapolitan style and
culminated in Haydn’s two noble oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons. Liturgical music,
such as masses, motets, litanies, psalms, and canticles, also demonstrated that the same
composers were writing for both church and theatre. In many instances the style was uniform
for the two types, although the chorus naturally played a much greater role in church music.

Reference:
https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-music/The-Classical-period

Activity #1 True or False

Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if it is incorrect. Write your answer on the
space provided before the number.
____1. The Rococo ideal was artistic expression dedicated to elegance, frivolity, and
gracefulness.
____2. During the Classical era, instrumental music became more important than vocal music.
____3. Sonata is the pattern that served as the structural basis for most instrumental music of
the classical period.
____4. Formal structure, a definitive aspect of classical style, was characterized by complex
characteristics.
____5. The symphonies grew directly out of the Baroque solo concerto and is based on
exchange of musical material between solo instrument or instruments and orchestra.
____6. The German counterpart of the essentially French Rococo was the empfindsamer Stil.
____7. Rococo music was often realistic.
____8. Liturgical music is composed of masses, motets, litanies, psalms, and canticles.
____9. The designation sonata was reserved for a solo instrument or for an instrument
accompanied by harpsichord or piano.
____10. Comic opera had appeared during the 17th century but began its independent
existence during the first half of the 18th century in Italy, where it was called the opera buffa.
Activity #2
Answer the following questions briefly.
1. Describe how melody and formal structure played major roles in composing music
during the Classical Period.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. Differentiate symphony, concerto, and sonata from one another.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. What makes Classical Era unique from other musical periods?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Activity #3
Opera is one of the most popular forms of Classical Music. During this era, various musicians
created their unique forms of opera. Today, many theater houses from different parts of the
world, including the Philippines, continue to perform this classical masterpiece. Choose one
form of Philippine Opera. Describe the story and how it is being performed. Relate this
performance to other forms of opera during the Classical Era to identify their similarities and
differences.
 Romantic Music
Ask most people what they consider a romantic song, and you'll get answers like John
Legend's "All of Me" or most anything from Marvin Gaye. But, as you know, the capital "R" in
Romantic music is works composed in the Romantic style, which arose during the Romantic
Period. But what characterizes Romantic Period music? How did it evolve? These are some of
the questions we'll answer here.
The Romantic Period of Music (1830-1900)
Romanticism, attitude or intellectual orientation that characterized many works of
literature, painting, music, architecture, criticism, and historiography in Western civilization
over a period from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. Romanticism can be seen as a
rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that
typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in particular. It was also to
some extent a reaction against the Enlightenment and against 18th-century rationalism and
physical materialism in general. Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the
irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the
transcendental. Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated
with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic
period).
The Romantic period started around 1830 and ended around 1900, as compositions
became increasingly expressive and inventive. Expansive symphonies, virtuosic piano music,
dramatic operas, and passionate songs took inspiration from art and literature. The Romantic
era is known for its intense energy and passion. The rigid forms of classical music gave way to
greater expression, and music grew closer to art, literature and theatre. As well as symphonies,
the tone poem and descriptive overture were popular as pieces of stand-alone orchestral music
that evoked anything from a painting or poem to a feeling of nationalistic fervor.
At its core, composers of the Romantic Era saw music as a means of individual and
emotional expression. Indeed, they considered music the art form most capable of expressing
the full range of human emotion. As a result, romantic composers broadened the scope of
emotional content. Music was expected to communicate to the audience, often by using a
narrative form that told distinct stories.
Four primary artistic inspirations of Romantic Era music
Now that you understand the context in which Romantic music developed, it will be
easy to understand why these are the artistic themes (defined more broadly than the strict
musical sense of "theme") that continually appear in works throughout the period.
1. Conveying extreme emotional states, whether auto-biographical, taken from a literary
character or situation or just a representation of being human.
2. Exploring nature, particularly its wilder aspects, such as using musical techniques to
imitate the sounds of storms or evoke the atmosphere of a dense, mysterious forest.
 3. Fascination with the supernatural as a reaction to scientific advances that both
demystified old beliefs and created uncertainty about where science might take
humanity.
4. Incorporating folk music or stories as a means to proclaim or reclaim national pride.

Famous composers
Musical Romanticism was marked by emphasis on originality and individuality, personal
emotional expression, and freedom and experimentation of form. Ludwig van Beethoven and
Franz Schubert bridged the Classical and Romantic periods, for while their formal musical
techniques were basically Classical, their music’s intensely personal feeling and their use of
programmatic elements provided an important model for 19th-century Romantic composers.
 Ludwig van Beethoven
Widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven dominates a
period of musical history as no one else before or since. He revealed more vividly than any of
his predecessors the power of music to convey a philosophy of life without the aid of a spoken
text; and in certain of his compositions is to be found the strongest assertion of the human will
in all music, if not in all art. Though not himself a Romantic, he became the fountainhead of
much that characterized the work of the Romantics who followed him, especially in his ideal of
program or illustrative music, which he defined in connection with his Sixth (Pastoral)
Symphony as “more an expression of emotion than painting.” In musical form he was a
considerable innovator, widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto, and quartet, while
in the Ninth Symphony he combined the worlds of vocal and instrumental music in a manner
never before attempted.
1. Sonata – from Latin and Italian: sonare [archaic Italian; replaced in the modern language
by suonare], "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a
cantata (Latin and Italian cantare, "to sing"), a piece sung. A type of musical
composition, usually for a solo instrument or a small instrumental ensemble, that
typically consists of two to four movements, or sections, each in a related key but with a
unique musical character.
2. Symphony - is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often
for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient
Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning common today:
a work usually consisting of multiple distinct sections or movements, often four, with
the first movement in sonata form.
3. Concerto - is a classical music composition that highlights a solo instrument against the
background of a full orchestra. Bach is one composer known for writing concertos. From
the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for
one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typical three-
movement structure, a slow movement (e.g., lento or adagio) preceded and followed by
fast movements (e.g. presto or allegro), became a standard from the early 18th century.
4. Quartet – a musical composition for four instruments or voices; also, the group of four
performers. Although any music in four parts can be performed by four individuals, the
 term has come to be used primarily in referring to the string quartet (two violins, viola,
and cello), which has been one of the predominant genres of chamber music since
about 1750. The term may also denote such derivatives as the piano quartet, flute
quartet, oboe quartet, and so on—usually a string trio combined with a fourth
instrument.

 Franz Schubert
Austrian composer who bridged the worlds of Classical and Romantic music, noted for the
melody and harmony. Schubert also composed a considerable number of secular works for two
or more voices, namely part songs, choruses and cantatas. He completed eight orchestral
overtures and seven complete symphonies, in addition to fragments of six others. While he
composed no concertos, he did write three concertante works for violin and orchestra.
Schubert wrote a large body of music for solo piano, including eleven incontrovertibly
completed sonatas and at least eleven more in varying stages of completion, numerous
miscellaneous works and many short dances, in addition to producing a large set of works for
piano four hands.
1. Melody - the aesthetic product of a given succession of pitches in musical time, implying
rhythmically ordered movement from pitch to pitch. Also tune, voice or line, is a linear
succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most
literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the
term can include other musical elements such as tonal color.
2. Harmony - the sound of two or more notes heard simultaneously. In practice, this broad
definition can also include some instances of notes sounded one after the other. If the
consecutively sounded notes call to mind the notes of a familiar chord (a group of notes
sounded together), the ear creates its own simultaneity in the same way that the eye
perceives movement in a motion picture. In such cases the ear perceives the harmony
that would result if the notes had sounded together.
Importance of Romantic music
At the end of the 18th century and well into the 19th, Romanticism quickly spread
throughout Europe and the United States to challenge the rational ideal held so tightly during
the Enlightenment. The artists emphasized that sense and emotions - not simply reason and
order - were equally important means of understanding and experiencing the world.
Romanticism celebrated the individual imagination and intuition in the enduring search for
individual rights and liberty. Its ideals of the creative, subjective powers of the artist fueled
avant-garde movements well into the 20th century.
Romanticist practitioners found their voices across all genres, including literature, music,
art, and architecture. Reacting against the sober style of Neoclassicism preferred by most
countries' academies, the far reaching international movement valued originality, inspiration,
and imagination, thus promoting a variety of styles within the movement. Additionally, in an
effort to stem the tide of increasing industrialization, many of the Romanticists emphasized the
individual's connection to nature and an idealized past.
References:
https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/the-romantic-period-of-music
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/romantic/
https://www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludwig-van-Beethoven
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludwig-van-Beethoven
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Schubert
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/romanticism/

Activity # 1
Directions: Choose your answer from the words inside the box. Read the following questions
and write your answer in the space provided before each question given.

1930 Melody Quartet

Concerto Music Romantic Era
Enlightenment Musical Romanticism Symphony

Harmony Programmatic

__________1. An art form most capable of expressing the full range of human emotion.
__________2. The era where Romanticism quickly spread throughout Europe and the United
States.
__________3. The sound of two or more notes heard simultaneously.
__________4. Elements provided an important model for 19th-century Romantic composers.
__________5. The year where Romantic period started.
__________6. Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated
with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as.
__________7. A musical composition for four instruments or voices; also, the group of four
performers.
__________8. An extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for
orchestra.
__________9. The aesthetic product of a given succession of pitches in musical time.
__________10. Emphasis on originality and individuality, personal emotional expression, and
freedom and experimentation of form.
Activity # 2 Essay
1. What do you think is the use or purpose of Romantic music in this period?

2. Is emotional content important in Romantic music? If yes, explain your answer.

3. If you are to make a Romantic music, what specific artistic theme will you choose? Why?

4. Music was expected to communicate to the audience, often by using a narrative form
that told distinct stories. What personal story would you tell, through a song and what
would be the title?

Activity # 3 Reflection
•Ludwig van Beethoven •Franz Schubert
1. Symphony no. 5 1. Ave Maria
2. Moonlight Sonata 2. Trout Quintet, 4th Movement
3. Fur Elise 3. Symphony No 9 C major

1. Choose from the two famous composers during the Romantic era, and listen to one of their
compositions. While listening to their music make a reflection regarding the following aspects:
1.1. Melody (fast or slow),
1.2. Emotion (happy, angry or sad),
1.3. What do you feel while listening;
1.4. What moment/s comes to your mind while listening to the music?
 Modern Music
Music is everywhere to be heard. But what is music? Commentators have spoken of
“the relationship of music to the human senses and intellect,” thus affirming a world of human
discourse as the necessary setting for the art. A definition of music itself will take longer. As
Aristotle said, “It is not easy to determine the nature of music or why anyone should have a
knowledge of it.”
General background on the Modern Era
The Modern Era has been a period of massive technological and socio-political change,
sparked largely by the increasingly rapid transit of people and information (via automobiles,
airplanes, spacecraft and telephone, radio, television, satellite transmission, the Internet, etc.).
There have been more wars and outbreaks of social violence in the past century than in all
previous ages combined, including two major World Wars that dramatically affected all aspects
of life in Europe and America between 1914-18 (WWI) and 1939-45 (WWII). This era has seen
the gradual decline of the worldwide British Commonwealth (which once included India, Hong
Kong and other parts of the Far East, much of Africa, Canada, and the British Isles), the
establishment of the United States as the major force of the Free World, and the rise and fall of
Soviet Communism. The ever-changing delicate balance of economic and political power is
now--more than ever--of urgent global significance.
The Modern Music (1900-present)
Music is an art that, in one guise or another, permeates every human society. Modern
music is heard in a bewildering profusion of styles, many of them contemporary, others
engendered in past eras. Music is a protean art; it lends itself easily to alliances with words, as
in song, and with physical movement, as in dance. Throughout history, music has been an
important adjunct to ritual and drama and has been credited with the capacity to reflect and
influence human emotion. Popular culture has consistently exploited these possibilities, most
conspicuously today by means of radio, film, television, musical theatre, and the Internet. The
implications of the uses of music in psychotherapy, geriatrics, and advertising testify to a faith
in its power to affect human behavior. Publications and recordings have effectively
internationalized music in its most significant, as well as its most trivial, manifestations.
Early in the 20th century, it was regarded as a commonplace that a musical tone was
characterized by the regularity of its vibrations; this uniformity gave it a fixed pitch and
distinguished its sounds from “noise.” Although that view may have been supported by
traditional music, by the latter half of the 20th century it was recognized as an unacceptable
yardstick. Indeed, “noise” itself and silence became elements in composition, and random
sounds were used (without prior knowledge of what they would be) by composers. Tone,
moreover, is only one component in music, others being rhythm, timbre (tone colour), and
texture. Electronic machinery enabled some composers to create works in which the traditional
role of the interpreter is abolished and to record, directly on tape or into a digital file, sounds
that were formerly beyond human ability to produce, if not to imagine.
 Modern songs often draw ideas from the music of other countries, devise skills to apply
tunes in a striking manner, avoid monotony in creating tunes, bring about variety in rhythm,
etc. Modern songs also demand a knowledge of musical instruments and deftness in using
them.
Important Developments in Modern Art Music
The Breakdown of Tonality
Tonality is commonly described as setting up an expectancy of a tonal center, a leaning toward
a resolution on a key note, called the tonic. Tonality is an organized system of tones (e.g., the
tones of a major or minor scale) in which one tone (the tonic) becomes the central point for the
remaining tones. The other tones in a tonal piece are all defined in terms of their relationship to
the tonic. "Tonal music is music that is unified and dimensional. As a result of the gradual
disintegration of tonality (key-centered music), various non-traditional modern approaches to
harmony have emerged:
 EXTENDED TONALITY (Pan-Diatonicism)
The free use of tonal harmonic/melodic sounds, without their usual functional reference to
a central key.
 POLYTONALITY
Two or more tonal centers functioning at the same time within a musical composition.
 ATONALITY
Music with NO TONAL CENTER
 SERIALISM
The process of putting pitches into a numerically-ordered SERIES that becomes the basis for
all melodic/harmonic material in an atonal work.
 MULTI-SERIALISM (and TOTAL SERIALISM)
An approach in which several (or all) aspects of an atonal work are serialistically controlled
(rhythm, dynamics, melody, harmony, articulation, instrumentation, etc.).

10 genres in the music industry currently:

Today's music can be divided into any number of categories and subcategories, encompassing
genres such as pop, jazz, rock, alternative, country, electronic, rap, and much more.
1. Electronic Dance Music:
Generally referred as EDM, this form of music is produced by DJs who add dozens of tones to a
piece to create unique music. You can hear them in clubs or even live, depending upon your
accessibility for the same. In the early twenties, electronic dance music was known in the form
of Jamaican dub music, the electronic music of Kraftwerk, the disco music of Giorgio Moroder,
the Yellow Magic Orchestra and many more.
2. Rock Music:
Originated as “Rock & Roll” in the United States, Rock music has been rocking the world since
the 1950s. It is a form of music that started actually around string instruments, but now uses
other modern instruments too making it a little difficult to give it an accurate definition. Its loud
and strong beats make it popular among the youths. Some of the rock stars who have
popularized the culture include Little Richard, Bill Haley and Chuck Berry while rock bands like
Pink Floyd, The Doors, Metallica, Nirvana and Megadeth are the modern bands who have taken
the culture by storm.
3. Jazz:
Identified with swing and blue notes, Jazz has its roots both in the West African and European
culture. It is said that Jazz is “One of America’s original art forms” and boasts a unique
combination of creativity, coactions and interactivity. Originating in the late 19th to early 20th
century, Jazz has also played an important role in introducing the world to a number of women
performers like Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Ethel Waters.
4. Dubstep:
The use of instruments attracting music lovers for its bass and rhythm, this falls in the electronic
music genre. People consider it to be a darker form of music, but since its birth in the late
1990s, this genre has successfully made its place in the industry.
5. Rhythm and Blues:
Vocalists like Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Usher and the legendary Michael Jackson have
all made it huge in the music industry with their love for this form of music. Originated in the
1940s, this African-American music is a combination of hip hop, funk, dance, pop and soul
focusing on themes like relationships, sex and freedom.
6. Techno:
You may have listened to a number of techno music while clubbing, but it is Detroit techno that
is considered to be the foundation of this form of music. Unlike the days of its emergence, the
use of technology today has greatly enhanced the quality of techno style music and
popularizing it among people day by day.
7. Country Music:
Another popular genre of American music which originated in the 1920s, Country music has its
roots from American folk and western music. It is formed using simple forms of instruments
ranging from electric and steel guitars to drums and mandolin or mouth organ. Some very
popular country music singers include Shania Twain, Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift and Kenny
Rogers.
8. Electro:
A perfect blend of hip hop and electronic music, electro or electro-funk uses drum machine,
vocoder and talkbox helping it to distinguish itself from another similar form of music, Disco.
Notable artists who have been into this form of music include Arthur Baker, Freeez, Man
Parrish and Midnight Star.
9. Indie Rock:
Falling in the genre of alternative rock music, Indie Rock originated in the 1980s and has
gradually changed the music industry. After a decade, it also gave birth to a couple of sun-
genres in related styles such as math rock, emo, noise pop, post rock and lo-fi.
10. Pop Music:
“Pop” is a term derived from “Popular” and thus Pop Music is known to be a genre of popular
music. With its roots in the rock & roll style, this form can include any form of music ranging
from urban and dance to rock, country and Latin. Instruments highly used are electric guitars,
synthesizer drums as well as bass and one can listen to this form of music by listening to songs
by Britney Spears, Madonna, Beyonce Lady Gaga and of course the “King of Pop”, Michael
Jackson.

References
https://www.britannica.com/art/music
https://wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus150/1500%20webbook%20modern%20artmusic/Modern
%20ArtMusic.htm
https://medium.com/giglue/top-10-genres-of-music-industry-7f19cdb177cb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonality
Activity # 1
Directions: Read the following items in the column A and match it with column B which
contains the different genres in the music industry today. Write the letter of the correct answer
on the space provided.
Column A Column B
_____1. Rock music originated in the 1980s Country Music
_____2. Has its roots from American folk and western music. Dubstep
_____3. Is known to be a genre of popular music. EDM
_____4. Has its roots both in the West African and European culture. Electro
_____5. This form of music is produced by DJs. Indie
_____6. Consider it to be a darker form of music. Jazz
_____7. A music used to play in clubbing. Pop
_____8. Music that started actually around string instruments. Rhythm and Blues
_____9. A perfect blend of hip hop and electronic music. Rock
_____10. Originated in the 1940s focusing on themes like relationships, Techno
sex and freedom.

Activity # 2 Essay
1. How does the modern music shape our society today?
2. How does technology help in the emergence of the Modern music?
3. What type of genre in the music industry today you usually listen to? Why?
4. What is the importance of knowledge of musical instruments and deftness in using them in
modern music?
5. Tonality is defined as an organized system of tones, for you what is the significance of tone in
any forms of music?
Activity # 3 Reflection
1. Listen to your favorite song that falls under any of the 10 genres in the music industry today.
And write your reasons why you love to listen to that particular song.
2. One of the famous person in the music industry today is Taylor Swift. I want you to listen to
one of her songs and write down the message of the song and what do you feel while listening
to it.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________
Answer key
Romantic Music
Activity # 1 Top 10 Baroque Music
1. Music Activity #1
2. Enlightenment
1. G
3. Programmatic
2. B
4. 1930
3. C
5. Romantic Era
4. I
6. Quartet
5. A
7. Symphony
6. H
8. Melody
7. B
9. Harmony
8. E
10. Musical Romanticism
9. D
10. B
Modern Music
Activity # 1 Classical Music
1. Indie Activity #1
2. Country Music
1. TRUE
3. Pop
2. TRUE
4. Jazz
3. TRUE
5. EDM
4. FALSE
6. Dubstep
5. FALSE
7. Techno
6. TRUE
8. Rock
7. FALSE
9. Electro
8. TRUE
10. Rhythm and Blues
9. TRUE
10. TRUE