What Is Music History?
How classical music history is organized into a handful of eras — and why that makes hundreds of years of music easier to explore.
Music has existed for as long as people have — but when people say "music history," they usually mean written, classical music from Europe, starting roughly 1,000 years ago and continuing today.
To make that long story easier to follow, historians group music into a few big eras: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern (20th century and beyond). Each era lasted roughly 100-200 years and had its own popular styles, instruments, and famous composers.
The eras follow one another in order, like chapters in a book: Medieval music (roughly 500-1400) came first, then the Renaissance (1400-1600), then the Baroque era (1600-1750), then the Classical era (1750-1820), then the Romantic era (1820-1900), then the Modern era (1900-today).
As you explore each era in this section, look for what changes: which instruments were popular, what kinds of music people wrote (church music? opera? symphonies?), and who the era's most famous composers were.
Worksheet
Put these eras in the order they actually happened, earliest first: Classical, Baroque, Romantic.
Answer: ______________________
True or false: each musical era lasted for hundreds of years, so only a handful of composers are from each one.
Answer: ______________________
Which era comes right after the Renaissance?
Answer: ______________________
True or false: historians group music into eras based only on which instruments were invented.
Answer: ______________________
Answer Key
- Baroque, Classical, Romantic — Baroque (1600-1750) came first, then Classical (1750-1820), then Romantic (1820-1900).
- False — Most eras lasted 100-200 years, and each one had dozens of active composers — the "famous" ones you learn about are just the most well-known.
- Baroque — The order is Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern.
- False — Instruments are one clue, but eras are really defined by shared styles, forms (like the symphony or opera), and the culture composers were writing for.
1. Put these eras in the order they actually happened, earliest first: Classical, Baroque, Romantic.
2. True or false: each musical era lasted for hundreds of years, so only a handful of composers are from each one.
3. Which era comes right after the Renaissance?
4. True or false: historians group music into eras based only on which instruments were invented.