Skip to main content

How to Learn Music History

The history of music goes hand-in-hand with the history of the world, politics, fashion, art, war, and changing socioeconomic climates. Music history encompasses musical eras and the styles that defined them, as well as important composers and their works. It teaches performers the appropriate manner of playing for varying musical works, based on the piece’s composer and date of publication. Whether you’re a serious music student, an aspiring composer, the casual music hobbyist, or even just a concert lover, the study of music history is an integral part of appreciating the art form.

Step 1 Start with a general book on music history that with all the major time periods — from Ancient Greece to contemporary music. Listen to the musical examples of each time period.

Step 2 Learn about specific composers and how their music influenced others. Listen to their music and delve into the techniques that made the music important. Become familiar with the names of the most important composers of each time period.

Step 3 Enroll in a course at a local community college or university.

Step 4 Read a textbook that chronicles the history of music from the beginning. Recognize that often in music history, earlier topics underlay the significance of later events. Composers often find influence by innovations from a previous period of music.

Step 5 Return to areas that are unclear. Look for additional resources and references to get a deeper knowledge of the subject.

Study with a partner to help quiz and check your knowledge. Listen to musical examples daily until they are familiar.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Claude Debussy Never Cared About Music Theory

  Claude Debussy was born on August 22, 1862. So, I felt writing a blog post to celebrate would be appropriate. Debussy was a revolutionary composer who challenged the conventions of Western music. He was influenced by the impressionist painters, the exotic sounds of gamelan music, and the symbolist poets. He created a musical language that was expressive, colorful, and atmospheric. One of the most remarkable aspects of Debussy's music is his use of harmony. He did not follow the rules of tonality and functional harmony that dominated the music of his time. Instead, he used modes, scales, chords, and parallel movements that created a sense of ambiguity and fluidity. He also experimented with timbre, texture, rhythm, and form to create musical images that evoked moods and emotions. Debussy's music can inspire us to think outside the box and explore new possibilities in our own compositions. We can learn from his innovative techniques and his artistic vision. We can also apprecia...
Post a Comment
Read more

List of Musical Techniques and Their Meanings

Musical techniques are the building blocks of any basic music training. These techniques allow performers to improve their coordination and develop accuracy through repetitive daily exercises. Musical techniques progressively build upon previously learned techniques. Scales Scales form the basis for other musical techniques. Student may study major and minor scales as well as modern scales, such as the whole-tone and octatonic scales. A scale consists of patterns of half steps and whole steps. These whole steps and half-step arrangements will be different for each scale. Scales are musical techniques that can help a performer to play faster and more accurately, and make learning new pieces easier. Chords Chords require knowledge of major and minor scales. Chords come in several different forms that affect the sound. Triads consist of three notes spaced a third apart and classified as major, minor, augmented and diminished chords. Seventh chords build on triads and have an additional no...
Post a Comment
Read more

Similarities of Classical and Baroque Music

Music has evolved through the centuries and undergone drastic changes. One of the most significant transitions was from the Baroque to the Classical period of music. In this paragraph, I will compare and contrast some of the main features of these two styles, such as ensembles, instrumentation, and counterpoint study. The Baroque and Classical periods of music have many similarities. While the style of music changed drastically, certain key elements remained the same between the two styles. Composers in the Classical period sought to simplify music and create clearly audible musical lines. In contrast, composers from the Baroque period were interested in creating complex and highly ornamented musical lines. The Baroque period occurs from approximately 1600 to 1750, and the Classical period extends from 1750 to 1820. Ensembles Ensembles are groups of musicians that perform together. Both the Baroque and the Classical period had similar types of ensembles, such as operas, orchestras, str...
Post a Comment
Read more