Music is a part of our lives today more than at any other time in history. We spend hours and hours listening to music while we work, travel, play games, watch movies, shop, and otherwise go about our daily lives. If you are fascinated by the music that flows in and out of your everyday experience, and you find yourself wondering how that music is created, organized, and performed, then this is the website for you!
Theme and Variations: New Perspectives in Music History
The guide begins with several sections devoted to the basic structures of music. These sections will establish the essential concepts and terminology necessary for further consideration of music history, theory, and performance practice. These sections include
- pitch elements including melody, scales, harmony, and keys,
- time elements including beat and meter as well as rhythm,
- expression markings including articulation and dynamics,
- basics of form and examples of form in popular and art music, and finally
- timbre, instruments, voices, and ensembles.
The subsequent sections are devoted to topics in history and performance, which are organized thematically around topics such as
Each of these sections will discuss compositions and people from both the popular and art music traditions at several points throughout history, including contemporary musicians and pieces. The combination of historical and modern pieces in these sections is designed to reveal the ways that current music has emerged from the performances and compositions of the past, and also to demonstrate the role that historical music still plays in modern culture.
Enjoy!