Music Throughout the Ages

Music has been around for around 70,000 to 100,000 years. No matter how much you listen to music outside of school, music is everywhere. Music is in the shows and movies we watch, in ads we see, in TikTok and YouTube videos, and everywhere in between. There are many ways people listen to music, like using modern streaming services such as Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, and Apple Music. Other common methods of using digital streaming options are listening to radio stations and listening to podcasts. People also listen to music using physical media sources like Vinyl Records, CDs, and Cassette Tapes. You can also listen to music at live concerts, which is also how people listened to music before we had modern streaming services and physical media.

The earliest musical instrument we have is a 60,000 year old flute found in modern day Slovenia. We don’t know what it sounded like, nor did we have any recording or any musical notation. Some other discoveries Archeologists have made are 20,000 year old bullroarers found in modern day Ukrainian. A bullroarer is an ancient ritual instrument and the design is a thin, flat piece of wood attached to a piece of cord. There was also a 10,000 year old stone lithophone found in modern day Vietnam. A stone lithophone is an ancient percussion instrument consisting of rocks or stone slabs. Stone lithophones have been found in archaeological sites across Asia, Africa, and Europe dating back as early as 10,000 BCE. A 3,300 year old trumpet found in Tutankhamen’s tomb that is still playable to this day. Archeologists have also found a variety of primitive bone flutes in modern day Turkey, Syria, China, and many other places.

The Different Styles of Music Throughout the Ages

In the antiquity period (before 500 BCE) composers were mostly anonymous but there was a Sumerian priestess, Enheduanna, who is credited with creating 42 hymns. The style of the music is largely unknown and cannot be transcribed into modern music notation. The musical compositions were usually hymns, instrumental dance music, and storytelling songs.

During the Medieval period (500-1400 CE) composers like Hildegard of Bringen, Lèonin, Pèrotin, Guillaume de Machaut, John Dunstabl, and Guillaume Dufay created music. The style of the music featured a strong melody and was based on modes rather than the diatonic scales we use today. In the early Medieval period the music was usually only written on one line. The music compositions were usually chants, instrumental music, troubadours, and art songs. A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the Middle Ages.

During the Renaissance period (1400-1600 CE) some famous composers were Joaquin des Prez, Giovanni da Palestrina, Orlande de Lassus, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and Thomás Luis de Victoria. During this time period music started to be used for entertainment and the songs became more complicated and emotional. The Renaissance period was also the beginning of opera and staged musical performances. The Renaissance also started the movement toward the traditional scale system we use today. The musical compositions consisted of madrigals, operas, and instrumental dances. A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music typically used in the Renaissance period.

During the Baroque period (1580-1750 CE) some famous composers were Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Claudio Monteverdi, and Jean-Philippe Rameau. The style of the music was set in the modern scale structure, had more complex compositions, and used music as a tool of expression. Dances also started to be used as concert pieces and were not danced to like in the past. Most of the musical compositions were operas, concertos, sonatas, and dances.

In the Classical period (1750-1820 CE) composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christian Bach, and Antonio Salieri. The music had a lighter, clearer texture and a clearer structure and form. In this time period, the piano became the main keyboard instrument and the size of the orchestra increased. Most of the musical compositions were symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, and string quartets.

In the Romantic period (1800-1910 CE) some famous composers were Felix Mendelssohn, Fanny Mendelssohn, Gioachino Rossini, Franz Schubert, Clara Schumann, Anton Brucker, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Franz Liszt, and Antonín Dvořák. The style of the musical had a new musical structure and forms, had a wider use of harmonies, and emphasized the melody. The music also started the use of folk songs or stories from the composer’s native and use of their own language in opera, not just Italian, French, or German. The musical compositions were usually symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, string quartets, and rhapsodies.

During the modernism period (1890-1975 CE) composers like Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Claude Debussy, Béla Bartók, Sergei Prokofiev, Charles Ives, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern. In this time period, the variety of styles became wider and more varied. The music also moved toward more complex harmonies, even breaking the traditional structures sometimes. In the later years of this time period, we see the influence of jazz and pop music. The use of speakers, recordings, and other synthesized or prerecorded sounds also started to be used in the later years. The musical compositions were usually, symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, and string quartets.

In the Contemporary period (1950 CE-present) composers like Olivier Messiaen, Philip Glass, Charles Weorinen, John Adam’s, Peter Maxwell Davies, Mason Bates, Frank Ticheli, and Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, and Eric Ewazen. In this time period, even more styles ranging from atonal works to neoclassical. There was also an interest in early music in this time period. The influence of jazz, pop, electronic music, and other music also started in this time period. Some of the music compositions were operas, chamber music, symphonies, band scores, concertos, and sonatas.

From medieval to modern times, music is a powerful form of art used to express ideas, emotions, societal values, and innovations. Since the creation of music, it has been used in melodies, rhythms, harmonies, and dynamics to serve as a powerful tool for expressing emotion. Music has also been described as an universal language, having many different backgrounds from many different societies. It still remains an important part of life as it was thousands of years ago. Influential song writers from the 1950s – 2000s are still popular to this day. Even composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Claude Debussy are popular and relevant today even though they created music hundreds of years ago.

Works cited:

“History of Music Theory.” School of Composition, http://www.schoolofcomposition.com/history-of-music-theory/. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026 Skagit Symphony.

“Time Periods in Music History.” Skagit Symphony, https://www.skagitsymphony.com/time-periods-in-music-history. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026

Annabelle is a 7th grade student at Shaler Area Middle School and a writer for the SAMS Salmon. She enjoys history, musicals, reading, writing, playing her oboe and flute, listening to music, drinking ice tea, and watching movies.