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While music existed before this time period, this is when music historians first began learning about specific styles of music.

Location: Western Europe

Carriers of music: Mainly the Catholic Church, Troubadours, mostly aurally

Genres/Styles: Gregorian Chant (vocal)

Main innovations: Organum (rudimentary harmony consisting of 2 or more lines of music sung at the same time)

Important composers: Works of this era are often attributed to certain individuals, as the origins of certain pieces are nearly impossible to trace. The Ars Nova Period (14th century) gave way to such composers as Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de Machaut, and Francesco Landini.

Audio: Invitatorium: Deum Verum by Etienne de Liege

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Renaissance music continued the trend of vocal music, building upon the sounds of voice in the church. A few instrumental works began being written but were mainly choral works disguised as instrumental pieces. Toward the end of the 15th century is where we begin to see standalone instrumental works.

Location: Western Europe

Carriers of music: Catholic Church

Genres/Styles: Choral Music: masses, motets, anthems, psalms, and madrigals.

Main innovations: Harmony and Polyphony- the use of two or three simultaneously moving parts. Textural variety

Important composers: John Dowland, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Giovanni da Palestrina, Orlando de Lassus, Duarte Lobo, and Carlo Gesualdo.

Video: Miserere, mei Deus by Gregorio Allegri performed by the Tenebrae Choir (one of Mr. Groth's favorites!)

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Miserere mei, Deus - Allegri - Tenebrae conducted by Nigel Short

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This period is attributed to the creation of many new genres and categories of composition. Instrumental music had become much more prevalent. Harmonically, this era lends itself much more to the modern "Classical" style that which many of us are accustomed to.

Location: Western Europe

Carriers of music: Catholic Church, written music, general populous

Genres/Styles: Modern orchestra, opera, concerto, sonata, cantata.

Main innovations: Transition from church modes to tonal music using major and minor sonorities, invention of the harpsichord, choral music no longer dominated. Tonal colors and terraced dynamics were implemented.

Important composers: Claudio Monteverdi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Dieterich Buxtehude, Henry Purcell, Jean Baptiste Lully, Hohann Sebastian Bach, G.F. Handel, Philipp Telemann, Domenico Scarlatti, and Antonio Vivaldi.

Audio: Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Spring

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The classical era is known for its clarity in structure and texture, While still creating much more dramatic sound.

Location: Western Europe

Carriers of music: Written music, the composers themselves

Genres/Styles: Primarily orchestral & opera

Main innovations: sonata form, the modern concerto, symphony, sonata, trio, and quartet.

Important composers: Christoph Gluck, Luigi Boccherini, CPE Bach, JC Bach, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert.

Audio: Eine Kliene Nachtmusik #1 Allegro, Mozart

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The intensity and expression of composers increased in the Early Romantic Period. With this, the size of the orchestra found itself booming to new sizes, hitting high double-digits. The emotional side of composing came to the forefront.

Location: Western & Eastern Europe

Carriers of music: Written music, the composers themselves

Genres/Styles: Choral, Orchestral, Sonata, Opera, solos, duets, trios, quartets, quintets

Main innovations: Vituosic, extremely difficult music that was often composed specifically for one person to play (usually the composer himself), harmonic language was expanded, thematic music, music that shows action such as galloping horses. Very similar to modern film scores!

Important composers: Hector Berlioz, Frederic Chopin, Feliz Mendelssohn Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, and Giuseppe Vedri.

Video: Valentina Lisitsa playing Fanz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

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von Aichberger & Roenneke Neue Medien GmbH

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Valentina Lisitsa plays Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

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With the boom of music schools in Europe, the composers in this era were very focused on inspirational free rein. The expansion of opera- especially with Verdi and Wagner, increases the dramatic feeling of these compositions.

Location: Globally

Carriers of music: Written music, the composers themselves, recordings

Genres/Styles: Choral, Orchestral, Sonata, Opera, solos, duets, trios, quartets, quintets

Main innovations: Emotional and dramatic growth, the joining of different styles of composition.

Important composers: Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner

Audio: Prelude from Tristan Und Isolde by Richard Wagner (So gorgeous, such a masterpiece)

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Post 'Great War' Years (c.1920 - Present)

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Post 'Great War' Years (c.1920 - Present)

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Breaking the rules! All of the rules about composition are now being broken. The lines between music and sound are being blurred, new genres of music emerge, and a booming global music scene.

Location: Globally

Carriers of music: Written music, the composers themselves, recordings, artists performing the music not necessarily written by them.

Genres/Styles: Choral, Orchestral, Sonata, Opera, solos, duets, trios, quartets, quintets, jazz, pop, rock, funk, indie, ragtime, many more.

Main innovations: Chance music and serialism, operetta style, jazz.

Important composers: Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Carl Orff, Dimitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky. Film composers John Williams, Danny Elfman, Michael Giaccino, and Randy Newman. Broadway composers Rodgers & Hammerstien, Pasek & Paul, and more. Jazz artists such as Dizzie Gellespie and Jelly Roll Morton. And, of course, modern song writers such as Ryan Tedder, Taylor Swift, and Meghan Trainor.

Video: Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra