What is Classical Music?
Updated: April 16, 2019
What is Classical Music?
This term is used loosely! The term classical music actually means ‘Classical Era Music’ which is music produced in the western world between 1750 and 1820..
However, for whatever reasons, the term ‘classical music’ now loosely used. Classical music, art music or even the term serious music are all synonymous to music that has an advanced structure, theoretical structure and follows and builds on previous structures.
Classical Music is a term popularly used to describe the music rooted in the western culture of the world. Western Culture? Europe! Is Classical Music still being made today? YES! Classical music is still being composed today. I am a classical music composer! And thanks to globalization, classical music is now composed by people all over the world, from Europe to Africa, to America, and even to my small twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago! Thank God for opportunity and technology!
How long has it been around?
Just like most history, it’s hard to track the exact beginning of anything! But here are some periods in Western Classical Music. If you hear someone referring to Classical Music, it’s probably the music from these periods they are talking about.
The history of Western Classical Music is comprised of these eras. Remember, these dates are approximate values! Medieval or Gothic Period (800-1400) Renaissance Period (1400-1600) Baroque Period (1600-1750) Classical Period (1750-1820) Romantic Period (1820-1910) Modern Period (1910-present)
Fun Fact! The term classical music usually refers to western classical music. However, there is also eastern classical music (Indian classical music)!