Major Style Periods in Western Music

	Medieval	Renaissance	Baroque	Classical	Romantic	20^th Century
Dates	- 1450	1450 - 1600	1600 - 1750	1750 - 1820	1820 - 1900	1900 -
Features	Development of polyphony and music notation	Invention of music printing	Rise of separate instrumental genres	Dramatic changes within the movement- emphasis on form and balance	Emphasis on emotional impact- feeling over form	Emphasis on innovation, many technical developments
Harmony	Experimentation with different harmonic combinations	Triad emerges as basic harmony	Triads are arranged in functional harmonic progressions	Tension between tonic and dominant keys becomes primary	Greater chromaticism, weaker tonality	Much experimentation with new kinds of harmonies
Textures	Monophonic, polyphonic	Imitative polyphonic, homorhythmic	*Homophonic, anchored by basso continuo	*Homophonic, rhythmic accompaniment figures	*Homophonic, wider ranges, thicker textures
Vocal genres	Mass, motet, secular songs	Mass, motet, madrigals, chansons	Opera, cantata, oratorio, mass	Opera, mass	Solo song (German lied), opera, oratorio, mass	Opera, various sacred and secular choral works
Instrumental genres		Based on vocal forms, dances	Sonata, concerto, suite, fugue	Sonata, symphony, concerto, quartets, trios, etc.	Character piece, tone poem, symphony, concerto, ballet	Tone poem, ballet, symphony, concerto
Intended audience	Monastery, cathedral, court	Cathedral, court, some merchant (upper) class	Church, court, upper-class public	Church, court, public	Middle class, public audience	Middle class, media audience (recordings, radio, television, etc.)

*in these style periods, the textures at the outset were simpler, more homophonic, but by the end of each were more polyphonic