Study Guides

Unit Summary

This unit builds on the Introduction to the WCT unit, exploring the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods in greater depth, assessing the development of key musical trends, and finishing with a look at developments in the 20th century.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain how classical music developed in the 20th century, identifying key features and genres.

Key Notes

• In the 20th century, classical music developed in various different ways.
• Many composers used non-functional harmony, while some experimented with atonal and microtonal music.
• Experimental composers challenged core principles of the Western Classical Tradition (e.g. silent music, chance music).
• Minimalist composers wrote mostly diatonic music based on repeating ostinati and gradual changes.

Vocabulary To Learn

• atonal: music which has no key or tonic note
• minimalist music (minimalism): a style of music that emerged in the 1960s in the USA, defined by its repetition of minimal musical ideas
• non-functional harmony: where chords don't have their traditional roles (e.g. chord V resolving to I, using mostly primary chords)
• experimental music: music that radically challenges what we think of as 'normal' music
• ostinato: a short, repeating musical idea (plural: ostinati)

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Non-functional harmony sounds the same as functional harmony.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Texture and harmony across the eras Study Guide
• The Baroque period Study Guide
• The Classical period Study Guide
• The Romantic period Study Guide