Music History For Kids

Discover the fascinating world of music history! Explore famous composers, musical eras, instruments, and the stories behind the music through engaging lessons, listening examples, activities, and resources designed for elementary and middle school students.

Explore Music Through History

Travel through time and discover how music has changed across different cultures, time periods, and generations. From medieval chants to modern rock, every era tells a story about the people, cultures, and ideas that shaped music.

How to Use This Music History Curriculum

Music History for Kids is a free online music history curriculum that helps elementary and middle school students explore famous composers, musical eras, instruments, and the fascinating stories behind the music. Each lesson includes facts, listening examples, worksheets, and activities designed to make music history engaging and easy to understand.

Famous Composers for Kids

Learn About Instruments Through History

Why is Music History Divided Into Eras?

Have you ever wondered why music history is divided into eras? Music history spans thousands of years. To make it easier to see and discuss musical trends, music historians divide time into eras. The eras above apply to “Western Music History” and don’t take into consideration Indigenous American or Eastern music. “Western music” is any music from Europe and America that began with Ancient Greek and Roman culture.

What is a Music Era? An era of music is a period in history with unique stylistic trends, instruments, and compositional techniques that develop from the influence of its culture and historical events.

Music eras are organized by time periods according to their musical characteristics, instrumentation, and compositional techniques. Examples of musical characteristics include melody, rhythm, texture, dynamics, and harmony. New inventions, tastes, or politics can influence the music we listen to. Historians label a new era when there is a significant change in these elements.

What about composers who don’t fit nicely into an era?

The dates for each era are set, but that doesn’t mean composers stopped making music in that style on those exact dates. This is why we have “transitional” composers. Transitional composers are composers who overlap two musical eras. Beethoven is an example of a transitional composer. Beethoven composed music during the classical era, but helped usher in the Romantic era near the end of his life when he became deaf. An example of the opposite is Brahms, a Romantic era composer. Brahms was considered a “traditional” composer because he leaned on past musical tastes and forms for his compositions.

How Are the Music Eras Given Names?

Musical eras tend to coincide with similar trends in art, writing, and architecture. Consider the difference between Baroque and Classical architecture. You can see from the pictures below that there is a distinct difference between the two. Music also reflects these architectural preferences. Classical melodies are less embellished and have balanced phrases compared to the highly ornamented polyphonic Baroque era.

What is the difference between the two buildings above?

How Technological Advances Influence Music

Sometimes music era names have to do with technological advances. An example of an era named for its many innovations is the Renaissance Era. “Renaissance” is a term that describes a burst of new art, philosophy, and scientific ideas in society.

During the Industrial Revolution, machines, assembly lines, factories, and mass production rose to prominence. The Modern Era reflects this society. Music became very mathematical with the rise of Arnold Schoenberg and Serialism, and dissonant chromatic pitches were used more often.

Computers have recently changed music tastes again. Historians are beginning to label this the Postmodern era. Do you like this new name, or should we call it something else, like the Computer Era?

Critical Thinking

1. As a class, brainstorm new names for our current music era. Why did you pick these names? Vote for the name you like.
2. What is a transitional composer? Name an example of one.
3. Based on the photographs of the two buildings, what characteristics do you think Baroque and Classical music have?

Go on Another Adventure with the Music Animals