Music as a Form of Art - Essay Example

Music
Music is a form of art that is expressed through variations of sound. The absence or presence of sound in varying extents defines the art through factors such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and quality. These factors have also historically varied to define different types of music across periods that include medieval, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary music periods.

The renaissance period, a two-century long duration, marks the second phase of music’s history. Even though the period’s developments were engineered from the church, secular artists soon took center stage and significantly dominated music. The basis of transition from the medieval period to the renaissance period was an emotional attachment that was associated with words in music. The initiative that was developed by a church bishop was then followed by more advancement such as the use of instruments in music. The polyphonic type of music in the period also differed from the one that developed in the medieval period (Thinkquest, n.d.).

The end of the 17th century marked a transition from the renaissance music period to the baroque period that lasted for about a century and a half. It marked significant developments in music’s history with the development of art that was “highly ornate, colorful and richly textured” (Thinkquest, n.d., p. 1). The period also incorporated other forms of art such as poetry into music’s presentation and involved the higher-level application of instruments in music besides the establishment of homophony as a music style. Polyphonic style of music also advanced besides other approaches such as orchestra, opera, and vocal music approaches (Thinkquest, n.d.).

The classical period marked the end of the Baroque period in the year 1750 A.D. It involved transitions into a more balanced, proportionate, and principled approach that marked a generational change as most of the period’s composers were children of composers of the preceding Baroque music. Even though the period introduced new styles, it simplified texture as was applied in the baroque period. The most significant introduction was the sonata structure of music (Thinkquest, n.d.).

At the beginning of the 18th century, another revolution that led to deviation from principled approach to freedom-oriented music marked the romantic period. Emotional orientation and narrations besides advanced instrumentation and more talented artists also characterized the period (Thinkquest, n.d.).

The last period is the contemporary time that developed at the beginning of the 20th century and runs to the current period. The period’s composers are majorly driven by influence, leading to modification of music styles from previous periods. The period’s features also include a high level of technology such as computer systems that are used for instrumentation and vocal boost (Thinkquest, n.d.).

Music has therefore evolved across periods in history. Each of these periods has distinct characteristics and marks different types of music that have existed in history and the ones that exist today, either in their original forms or in modified contemporary forms.