Each era of classical music has a general sound and style, so throughout the project I tried to teach children to recognize pieces from each era. Knowledge of the time period the piece was created in is a great way to gain more background knowledge on occurrences that could have influenced music.
Eras of Classical Music
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
20th Century
Baroque music has simple melodies that repeat a lot with minor differences. These melodies sometimes get passed around to different instruments. Terraced dynamics, which, in short, are sudden changes of volume throughout the same piece, became more common. The notes played are usually short and crisp, Choral music was the most popular form of music at the time, as religion was very important.
Classical era music, not to get confused with classical music as a whole, puts emphasis on elegance and balance, and usually sounds light and clear compared to the darker Baroque music. Pieces will often contain contrasting moods. Melodies are generally shorter and instrumental music became moe popular than choral music.
Romantic era music gets its name from the amount of energy and passion in the music. Contrary to Baroque music, notes are longer and richer. The melodies become longer as well, and intense emotions are carried throughout the piece. Here, music that is more unconventional becomes more popular.
At this point in time, the classical music genre is completely different from how it began in the Baroque peiod. Music becomes much less traditional and even more unconventional. Polyrhythms (many different rhythms) become prominent in the music of this era, as well as dissonance in melodies.