Western classical music
| Periods and eras of Western classical music |
|
|---|---|
| Early | |
| Medieval | c. 500–1400 |
| Renaissance | c. 1400–1600 |
| Common practice | |
| Baroque | c. 1600–1750 |
| Classical | c. 1730–1820 |
| Romantic | c. 1780–1910 |
| Impressionist | c. 1875–1925 |
| Modern and contemporary | |
| c. 1890–1975 | |
| 20th century | (1900–2000) |
| c. 1975–present | |
| 21st century | (2000–present) |
Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music, including both liturgical (religious) and secular music. While a more accurate term is also used to refer to the period from 1750 to 1820 (the Classical period), this article is about the broad span of time from roughly the 11th century to the present day, which includes the Classical period and various other periods. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common-practice period. The major time divisions of Western art music are as follows:
European art music is largely distinguished from many other non-European classical and some popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century. Western staff notation is used by composers to indicate to the performer the pitches (e.g., melodies, basslines, chords), tempo, meter and rhythms for a piece of music. This can leave less room for practices such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, which are frequently heard in non-European art music and in popular-music styles such as jazz and blues. Another difference is that whereas most popular styles adopt the song (strophic) form, classical music has been noted for its development of highly sophisticated forms of instrumental music such as the concerto, symphony, sonata, and mixed vocal and instrumental styles such as opera which, since they are written down, can sustain larger forms and attain a high level of complexity.
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