From Monks to Metal: A condensed history of western music

Well, maybe not quite as far as metal. That’s a story for another day, and probably another writer. But we are going to start with monks. When Sulli asked me to think of a series, we spent a couple of late night hours trying to brainstorm and getting nowhere. Then I looked to my upcoming class schedule for inspiration. Theory IV... not a good place to start. Aural Skills IV? Can't exactly teach solfege in a blog post. Class Piano and Recital Class are completely off the table. Then it hit me. Starting next week, I’m beginning a 3 semester journey through the history of western music. And before somebody starts to freak out and think and I’m talking about country-western, this term refers mostly to European sacred and art music from the common practice period (roughly 1550-1900). 

I love history, I love music... and its a subject that would be fairly easy to translate into something fun to read while still being useful and information. So here you have it. This is the first post in a series that could potentially last a year and a half.

The foundation for this type of music was laid in the church music tradition dating back to the inception of organized Christianity. Our studies will take us from the early church modes moving through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods to the Contemporary styles. We may even touch on some of the post-modernistic writing going on today.

Every two weeks, I will take what I have learned and condense it into a post for you all. By time it’s finished you and I (hopefully) should be able to ace any college level music history exam. That being said, today’s post will be fairly short for two reasons. First, because this is only an introduction to the series and second, because I haven’t actually learned anything in my class yet. Unless of course you count course policy and evacuation procedures.

                So what exactly are we going to be learning? Yes, there will be birth place and death dates of the important composers for each period, but that’s not really going to be the focus. Instead, we will discuss the melodic and harmonic rules of western music, and how they are added to, modified, or scratched completely as music has developed over the last 500 years or so. There will probably be a discussion of Johann Fux’s rules for counterpoint that he wrote down in the early 1700s (and don’t worry, it’s pronounced ‘fooks’), and of course the various church modes that date back to the 600s A.D.

                We’ll also find out why old chants sound mysterious and Romantic music sounds… well, romantic, and what it was about Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” that was so revolutionary that its first performance included a riot started by offended concert goers. Also, we’ll see how events and trends in history were reflected in the music of the day, and sometimes even vice versa. And of course, there will be a discussion of compositional forms and their conventions and unconventional digressions.

                If none of that means anything to you, don't worry! I'll do my best to make it as user friendly as possible. And if you have questions, or want to know more about a certain subject, well that's what the comment section is for! Glad to have you along for the ride.