Musical Periods and History

By swalter
  • Period: 400 to

    Ancient Music

    Vocal music, simple stringed instruments, drums
  • Jan 1, 600

    Lute invented

    Stringed instrument, looks like oval guitar.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1400 to

    Renaissance Period

    New instruments, vocal music, ways of writing music, harmonies.
  • Jan 1, 1425

    Harpsichord invented (est.)

  • Jan 1, 1440

    Printing Press Invented

  • Oct 12, 1492

    Columbus Lands in America

  • Period: to

    Baroque Period

    Harpsichord, Organ, brass, percussion, woodwinds, opera, choral pieces, "fancy" complicated music.

  • Birth of J.S. Bach

  • Forte-Piano Invented

    Came before modern piano. Black and white key colors reversed.

  • Modern Piano invented

    Not fully used until early 1800s.
  • Period: to

    Classical Period

    Refined instruments, concertos, "Age of Reason," simplified, pleasant sounds, Mozart/Beethovn/Haydn.

  • Death of J.S. Bach

  • Birth of Mozart

  • Birth of Beethoven

  • Period: to

    American Revolution

  • Death of Mozart

  • Period: to

    Romantic/19th Century Period

    Larger orchestras, program music, emotion, chromatic notes, different keys of music, longer pieces, modern piano invented.

  • Death of Beethoven

  • Camera invented

    Not for home use

  • First Audio Recording Made

    On carbon coates paper.

  • Birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff

    Late Romantic, Early Modern Composer.

  • Phonograph (record player)

    Patented by Thomas Edison

  • Birth of Stravinsky

    Started Modern period.
  • Period: to

    Modern Period

    Non-tonal music, dissonance, mathmatically composed music, new instruments and sounds, "anything goes."

  • Printed Music

    Earliest records found dating back to 2000 B.C.

  • Aram Khachaturian-Birth

    Composer of Sabre Dance

  • Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" Premiers

    So controversial it causes a riot in the theater.
  • Period: to

    World War I

  • Period: to

    Big Band (Swing/Jazz) Era

  • Period: to

    World War II

  • Death of Rachmaninoff

  • Period: to

    Post-Modern/Present Day

    Continued with modern techniques, rock and pop music, jazz, country, neo-classical.

  • Audio Tape Introduced

  • Rock Music

  • Cassette Tapes Introduced

    by Phillips Electronics

  • Death of Stravinsky

    Moved to United States before death.

  • Aram Khachaturian Dies

  • Death of Elvis Presley

  • First Digital Camera

    Not for consumers

  • Compact Disc (CD) Introduced

    by Phillips Electronics

  • Mp3 Files

  • iPod Introduced

    by Apple, Inc.
  • Period: to Jan 1, 1400

    Medieval Period

    Gregorian chant, vocal music, basic strings, organ