Music History Assignment.

   Hello. This post is going to be about music history, starting with the 20th century. One of the newest types of music is electronic, which uses computer-made beats as the main part of a song.
   During the 1990s, alternative rock, pop, and rap were very popular. Music from this decade was quickly changing from the music in the 80s. The style and lyrics from both times were very different. The compact discs were becoming more popular than cassettes which somewhat encouraged people to buy more music and enjoy it in a different way.To me, music from the 90s was a bit gloomy. Not all of it, but some of it was.
   In the 1980s, most of the music was upbeat with a lot of rhythm. Music during this period had a lot of catchy melodies. New Wave, Synthpop, Rock, and a new genre called Metal were popular at this time. And of course, Pop was still popular as it was in 70s. Dance music was popular in this time also. World music was becoming popular also, this gave people new beats and rhythms from around the world to listen to. The popularity of vinyl records was declining.

   The 1970s was a time that had a lot of new genres emerging. The first rap song was released in 1979... (destroying music forever... just kidding.) Music in this time had so much rhythm. A lot of new rock bands had established after the psychadelic time was pretty much over with. The deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison had left people wanting newer music. The breakup of The Beatles had left people waiting on something new. There's a pic down there. But by the end of the year, each of them had made a solo album. Rock, disco, pop, and country music had new artists, but yet some of them from the 60s were still popular.

  The 60s was basically about psychadelic rock and pop. The Beatles were one of the most popular pop bands of this time, since they started making music in 1963.There were also many big bands popular in this time. The 40s and 50s also had this. Country music was becoming popular in the 30s and 40s, along with Jazz.

During the 20s and back to the 1900s, Orchestra music was popular. Music like this was played in Carnagie Hall in New York which opened in the late 1800s.
   Music in the 1800s sometimes was used in plays. Johannes Brahms completes his First Symphony  in this time. This time period was 1825-1900. Music then was starting to tell stories, rather than just be a composition. Composers also found ways to make their musical ideas represent people, things, and dramatic situations as well as emotional states and even philosophical ideas.

   The classical era was from 1750-1825. In this time, simplicity, balance and an interest in real emotions were important for the composer. Art and literature were set aside, and music became more essential to people. Being a composer was starting to be looked at as more of a occupation than a hobby. Beethoven and Mozart were popular during this time, even though I think their music was different in many ways. Below is a manuscript of Beethoven's, which gives an idea of the notation of his time.

   The next period was the baroque period, which lasted from 1600 to 1750. Musicians here thought that music could embrace a person in a real and physical way. Opera was the main idea of this theory, it was a blend of music and drama. Composers also made effects on their pieces, when they were used in plays. Vocal and instrumental music developed in Europe, and new types of instruments were made. Many of them were woodwinds. Composers made up new types of techniques unique to themselves, and showed them in their pieces. the instruments often blended with the voices in a compostion.

   The Renaissance period was from 1450 to 1600. This period was a time of rebirth and classical learning, many things were going on, but not just with music. Music books were printed, and many people gave new interests to it. Governments and courts appreciated music as they had never done before in this time. Musical supports was given by churches. The rhythms alternated in different pieces, with smooth sounds to them. The melodies were balanced, and simple dances went with them. There were many Italian composers who were popular during the Renaissance period.

   The final time period I am going to talk about is the Middle Ages, they lasted from 1450 to 400, making this time very long. Music was basically either homophonic or polyphonic, because polyphony had just started to be used.  It was also the beginning of musical notation. Before this time, all music was written for the church, and this changed with the start of the Middle Ages. This is an overview of the time periods of music, from the newest, back to the oldest known. Here is a Link to a music timeline! I used the ideas from this for this post. This one is pretty good too.