Year 10 - Music
The piano concerto through time
The concerto through time
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores the development of the concerto through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. Lessons focus on typical features and how these evolved in relation to stylistic trends during those periods. It also includes analysis of a series of case studies, exemplifying the developments.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to identify similarities and differences between the piano concertos of the Classical and Romantic periods.
Key Notes
- The piano became a very important instrument in Classical and Romantic concertos.
- Its dynamic range, pitch range, expressive abilities and ability to play multiple layers attracted composers to it.
- The piano concerto mirrored most of the trends of those periods, though there are some specific ways the piano is used.
- These include accompanying orchestral melodies with chords and playing both melody and accompaniment together.
Vocabulary To Learn
- chromatic: notes from outside the key; chromatic movement often involves moving by semitones
- diatonic: harmony which uses only notes from within the key
- arpeggio: a broken chord in which the notes of a chord are played in order, ascending or descending
- scalic: a melody using segments of a scale
- tutti: a section in a concerto where the orchestra play together, including the main melody
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Piano concertos are just the same as other concertos.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
The piano became a very important instrument in Classical and Romantic concertos. Its dynamic range, pitch range, expressive abilities and ability to play multiple layers attracted composers to it.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'chromatic'
notes from outside the key; chromatic movement often involves moving by semitones.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Piano concertos are just the same as other concertos. Correction: Not quite. Because of the unique abilities of the piano - including its range and ability to play multiple lines at once - composers use it slightly differently to other instruments. This includes using it to accompany itself, or the orchestra.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 10 Music guide library.