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Jan 1, 600
Chanting
Pope Gregory the Great codifies and collects the chant, which is used in Roman Catholic services and is named the Gregorian chant in his honor. -
Jan 1, 1030
Solfège
Guido of Arezzo, an Italian monk, develops a system for learning music by ear. Voice students often use the system, called solfège, to memorize their vocal exercises. In the 19th century, solf ège developed into the tonic sol-fa system used today. -
Jan 1, 1430
Renaissance
The Renaissance begins. This rebirth favors the simplistic virtues of Greek and Roman Classic styles, moves from polyphony to one harmonized melody and sees the increased importance and popularity of secular music. -
Opera
It is during this period that opera is born and Jacopo Peri's Dafne, is the first Italian opera that is produced. -
Baroque Period
Johann Sebastian Bach is born and becomes a principal classical composer of the Baroque period. He explores musical forms associated with the church. -
Baroque Period comes to an End
Bach dies and the end of the Baroque period is often seen in conjunction with his death. -
Period: to
Classical Era
The classical era was dominated by three composers: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). -
Blues & Jazz
The slave trade introduces West African rhythms, work songs, chants and spirituals to America, which strongly influence blues and jazz. -
Ragtime
Ragtime, a combination of West Indian rhythm and European musical form, is born. -
Period: to
Swing Era
Jazz composer Duke Ellington writes “It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing,” a song that presaged the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s. -
The King of Rock'n Roll
Elvis Presley emerges as one of the world's first rock stars. The gyrating rocker enjoys fame on the stages of the Milton Berle, Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan shows, as well as in the first of his many movies, Love Me Tender. -
British Invasion
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones dominated this era and were seen somewhat as polar opposites as The Beatles had a more laid back rock and pop sound and The Rolling Stones having a more aggressive rock and blues-derived style. -
Reggae
The Jamaican film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, launches the popularity of reggae music in the United States. -
Disco Fever
The film Saturday Night Fever is released and sparks the disco inferno. Disco can be described as being typically soul-influenced and melodic with a regular bass beat. -
Rap
The Sugar Hill Gang releases the first commercial rap hit, “Rapper's Delight,” bringing rap off the New York streets and into the popular music scene. Rap originated in the mid 1970s as rhyme spoken over an instrumental track provided by snatches of music from records. Over the decades, rap becomes one of the most important commercial and artistic branches of pop music. -
The King of Pop
Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which sells more than 25 million copies, becoming the biggest-selling album in history. The genres of this album included post-disco, pop, R&B, rock, and funk. -
Grunge Rock
Seattle band Nirvana releases the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the LP Nevermind and enjoys national success. With Nirvana's hit comes the grunge movement, which is characterized by distorted guitars, dispirited vocals,and lots of flannel. -
EDM
A number of factors led to the increased prominence for Electronic Dance Music in North America in the mid-2000s. In 2004, Tiësto opened the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Daft Punk's performance at Coachella in 2006 was said to be the "tipping point" for EDM. In 2009, French house musician David Guetta began to gain prominence in mainstream pop music thanks to several crossover hits. -
Period: to
Present Day
Music today seems to be dominated mostly by the pop genre with the likes of Taylor Swift and One Direction being one of the biggest household names in the industry today. However, EDM continues to sustain a strong place in the music industry as well with producers such as Skrillex and Zedd. There is also the new genre by the name of PBR&B which is associated with the hipster subculture and is dominated by new artist The Weeknd. -
Polyphony
Western music begins to move from monophony to polyphony with the vocal parts in church music moving in parallel intervals.
