Year 10 - Music
The Baroque period
The Western Classical Tradition: extended
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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 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 identify key features of Baroque music.
Key Notes
- Baroque music has certain distinctive characteristics.
- These include use of continuo, terraced dynamics and contrapuntal textures.
- Melodies are often long and flowing and are decorated with ornamentation.
- Key genres include the trio sonata, suite, prelude and fugue, concerto and overture.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Baroque period: the period of Western classical music between 1600 and 1750
- continuo: the accompaniment section of the Baroque orchestra, normally including harpsichord and a bass stringed instrument (e.g. cello)
- ornamentation: when a performer decorates a melody with extra notes (e.g. trills, turns)
- terraced dynamics: where dynamics change suddenly, rather than gradually
- contrapuntal: a type of polyphonic texture that includes two or more interweaving melodic lines
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All Baroque music is contrapuntal / polyphonic.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Baroque music has certain distinctive characteristics. These include use of continuo, terraced dynamics and contrapuntal textures.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'Baroque period'
the period of Western classical music between 1600 and 1750.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: All Baroque music is contrapuntal / polyphonic. Correction: Textures are varied in the Baroque period, but use of contrapuntal/polyphonic textures was very common and contrasts with the later Classical period. This is a typical texture of the period, but not the only one.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 10 Music guide library.