Music: the definitive visual history

1. Early beginnings

60,000 BCE-500 CE : introduction and timeline

Man, the music maker : early humans pass on history and legends through music

Music's cradle : musicians entertain courts and honor gods in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China

A philosophical view : for Greek philosophers, music and math hold the key to understanding the universe

Myth and tragedy : tragic choruses sing and musicians play at ancient Greek music and drama competitions

Sound the trumpet : music rallies the Roman troops, enlivens dinners and plays, and is played at ceremonies

2. Music in the Middle Ages

500-1400 : introduction and timeline

Sacred chant : chants, modes, and early notation develop in Europe's cathedrals and monasteries

Minstrels and troubadours : street entertainers and courtly musicians sing songs of unrequited love and political satire

Medieval instruments

Writing melody : to help monks remember chant melodies, Guido of Arezzo invents the four-line stave

Zither and lyre, sackbut and shawm : in medieval society, music accompanies dancing, banquets, and mystery plays

Islamic music : diverse musical traditions develop across China, Africa, Spain, and the Middle East

Islamic instruments

Music in ancient China : from military exercises and state functions to temples and teahouses, music plays a key role

Many voices : accurate musical notation paves the way for richly layered, complex music for many parts

3. Renaissance and Reformation

1400-1600 : introduction and timeline

Songs of love : the new polyphonic style influences regional song traditions in France, Germany, and Italy

Music goes to print : new printing techniques make sheet music widely available, encouraging amateur players

The rise of instrumental music : printing leads to a demand for anew pieces, and more complex compositions emerge

Church reform : congregations begin to sing in their own language, rather than silently listening to mass in Latin

Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina

The lute's golden age : in the 16th century, the lute becomes popular for solos and for accompanying singers

The madrigal : Italian sonnets of love and loss are taken up by composers, who set the emotions to music

Consort instruments

An Iberian flowering : sacred music flourishes in Spain and its colonies as diverse influences come together

Venetian glories : new styles emerge as composers rush to supply music for Venice's many civic occasions

4. The Baroque spirit

1600-1750 : introduction and timeline

The Baroque style : an exuberant, expressive new style emerges

The birth of opera : intellectuals and musicians in Florence merge stories from mythology and history with music, laying the foundations for opera

Oratorios and cantatas : new song styles emerge in Italy, oratorios, Biblical stories spun into sung dramas, and dramatic secular songs called cantatas

Patrons and composers : Europe's monarchs and aristocratic families support the arts on a lavish scale

The violin

Antonio Stradivari

String instruments

Antonio Vivaldi

The English revival : music, suppressed under Oliver Cromwell, revives under King Charles II, and choirs and opera flourish

Henry Purcell

The organ

Counterpoint and fugue : composers combine strands of music into a complex, harmonious whole

Johann Sebastian Bach

Sonatas, suites, and overtures : instrumental music grows in popularity, and new forms develop for small ensembles

Keyboard instruments

Keyboard maestros : as keyboard instruments evolve, composers write more technically demanding pieces

George Frideric Handel

Japanese theater : instrumentalists and choirs accompany the actors or puppets in stage performances

5. The Classical age

1750-1820 : introduction and timeline

A new clarity : composers begin to favor clear and balanced phrases over baroque complexity

The orchestra : the Duke of Mannheim has ambitions to found th

e greatest orchestra in Europe, famed for its technique and special effects

The sonata : the new music-loving middle-class enjoys elegant works for soloist and keyboard

Orchestral woodwind

The symphony : the innovations of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert transform the symphony

Joseph Haydn

Playing music among friends : chamber music is a treasured pastime in Austrian homes and spreads across Europe

Age of reason : enlightened principles of logic, structure, and clarity inspire a new style of composition

Opera comes alive : composers attempt to humanize opera, leaving old formalities behind and focusing on the drama of individual characters' emotions

Choral music : choirs being to sing in concert halls as well as in church services ; composers discover the dramatic potential of sacred texts

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The concerto : the pairing of soloist and orchestra develop into a popular and enduring format

The piano

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Bohemian rhapsody : in the 18th and 19th centuries, Prague becomes a hub of musical activity.

6. Nationalism and romance

1820-1910 : introduction and timeline

Beethoven's later works Beethoven writes works of restless passion

Age of song : composers set poems to music, enhancing the lyrics with evocative harmonies and rhythms

Franz Schubert

Literary links : myth, legend, and literature inspire Romantic operas, songs, and program music

Expressive piano in Europe's salons, expressive and technically brilliant miniatures for piano are in vogue

The virtuosos : Paganini on violin and Liszt on piano dazzle audiences with their technique and style

Sacred choruses : large-scale choral works bring Romantic drama and intensity into sacred venues

Romantic opera : 19th-century Italian and German composers develop a highly expressive, dramatic style

Women composers and performers : as social conventions shift, women begin to perform in public an publish their works

Music in the home : in well-to-do drawing rooms, families play chamber music and sing "parlor songs"

Johannes Brahms

The Viennese waltz : an elegant dance that emerges in Austria's ballrooms, the waltz takes Europe by storm

National stirrings : composers seek inspiration and authenticity in their native landscapes and folk songs

Flamenco : Spain's passionate music for voice, guitar, and dancer develop out of Romany culture

Russia's big five : Balakirev, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui, and Mussorgsky give new life to Russian music

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Northern lights

folk culture, mythology, and striking Nordic landscapes inspire Scandinavian composers

Ballet music : from interludes in operas, ballet develops into a full-fledged genre with original scores

New tones and timbers : woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments are transformed by musicians and inventors

The saxophone

Symphonic supremacy : for Brahms, Dvorak, and Mahler, symphonies are and ideal format for developing big ideas

A lighter touch : full of dancing, choruses, and witty dialogue, operettas are lighthearted entertainment for cosmopolitan audiences

Italian opera gets real : a "young school" of Italian opera composers write realistic plots of hardship and passion

Chinese traditional opera : performers retell stories from myth and legend through singing, acting, and martial arts

Marching to the beat : military bands accompany marches and parades, and also sell out concert halls

Brass instruments

Impressionism :as in visual art, musical compositions begin to evoke and suggest using new harmonies

7. Music in the Modern Age

1910-1945 : introduction and timeline

The shock of the new : familiar tonality is left behind as composers experiment with modernist techniques

Igor Stravinsky

National flavors : amid political upheaval, composers from the US to Europe return to their folk heritages

The flute

Spanish classical music : the distinctive music of de Falla, Rodrigo, and Segovia create a new Spanish classical scene

Music of Mexico : Mexico's music absorbs disparate influences ; song lyrics often deal with gritty reality

The last romantics : Rachmaninov, Strauss, and Delius bring a Romantic sensibility into the age of modernity

Sergey Prokofiev

Ragtime : African Americans introduce syncopation and new rhythms to European dance tunes

Country's roots : through recordings, the Grand Ole Opry radio show, and Westerns, country music takes off

Tin Pan Alley : songwriters flock to New York, where they churn out popular songs by the hundreds

George Gershwin

Beginnings of jazz : jazz is born in New Orleans from African rhythms, brass bands, and popular dance music

Billie Holiday

The clarinet

Birth of the blues : in the juke joints of the Deep South, laborers listen to songs of raw, personal experience

Let's swing : a new, danceable form of big-band jazz becomes wildly popular in the 1930s and '40s

The trumpet

Jazz goes bebop : in New York, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillep

sie develop an innovative new jazz

Louis Armstrong

Latin beats : slaves brought to Cuba add African rhythms to the local music ; Mambo, rumba, and salsa soon become all the rage

Latin percussion

Let's tango : touring bands and radio broadcasts bring the Argentinian tango to Europe and the United States

Come to the cabaret : in the cafés and nightclubs of 1920s Berlin, dancers, singers, and comedians perform subversive and sexually charged shows

Recording and listening

Golden age of radio : radio shows brought music to homes across the United States, making stars of musicians.

8. Global music

1945-present : introduction and timeline

Experimental music : in a shaken, postwar world, Stockhausen, Boulez, and Cage seek a new framework

Modern chanson : a unique song tradition emerges in 20th-century Paris, championed by Charles Trenet and Edith Piaf

The German revival : in the aftermath of war, composers turn in new directions to reinvent German culture ; avant-garde music flourishes in Darmstadt

Romany music : once marginalized, Romany music is widely admired for its emotional range and energy

Brazilian beats : from Brazil's vibrant music and dance culture comes samba and, in the 1950s, bossa nova

Jazz goes Latin : American jazz musicians adopt Cuba's slow habanera rhythm, and a new genre is born

Celia Cruz

Operatic rebirth : Benjamin Britten in England and John Adams in the United States found a modern opera tradition

Early musical theater : hit musicals by rogers and Hammerstein feed a Broadway craze in the 1940s and '50s

Maria Callas

The guitar

Smooth operators : the microphone facilitates the soft, crooning style of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra

Music for screen : Hollywood directors begin hiring composers to write original movie scores

Hollywood musicals : after World War I and the post-Depression, musicals provide escapism with singing, dancing, comedy, and romance

One voice : the gap between gospel and soul narrows, and singers raise their voices for civil rights

The music of Indonesia : Indonesia is home to the gamelan orchestra; different styles evolve in Bali and Java

Gamelan

Island music : over the years, Hawaii's music absorbs elements from hymns, yodeling, and ragtime

Celtic music : traditional music from parts of Britain, Ireland, France, and Spain is revisited and reinvented

Longing for Fado : rooted in Lisbon, Portugal's poetic folk music sings of melancholy, longing, and urban life

Bright lights, big city blues : African American musicians flock to Chicago, where electric guitars and recording transform the blues of the South

The harmonica

Rhythm and blues : in the 1940s and '50s, African American artists dominate the US market with a new style of music

Plugged-in for sound : when guitars and keyboards go electric, a new sound and style is born, rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll models : Elvis Presley, buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran have explosive appeal for teenage audiences

Leaders of the pack : New York's Brill Building houses dozens of songwriters, who define the era's pop sound

The sounds of soul : impassioned, personal, and political, soul singers make the move from church to charts

Protest music : in the United States and Europe, musicians such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Mercedes Sosa respond to political upheaval through song

Beatlemania : four young band mates from Liverpool take the work by storm in the 1960s, a string of self-written hits

John Lennon

Blues rock : in Britain, the blues is enthusiastically taken up by the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac

Heavy rock : Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and Kiss amp up the sound

Jazz fusion : while some jazz musicians go electric, many rock, R & B, and pop musicians adopt jazz styles

The electric guitar

Electronic rock : in the 1970s, rock bands start to experiment with synthesizers and electronic effects

David Bowie

Ragas and talas : voice, drums, and sitar play hypnotic rhythms and elaborate melodies in Indian music

Indian instruments

Music festivals : from Woodstock to Glastonbury, festivals become a rite of passage for young fans

The Nashville sound : with stars such as Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, country becomes a top-selling genre

Reggae

bass-heavy reggae emerges from Jamaica, and Bob Marley takes it global

Music goes pop : with catchy tunes and clever marketing, singers become megastars

Chart toppers : awards ceremonies, best-seller charts, and music television help to shape the charts

Disco inf

erno : djs learn new tricks to keep people moving to the up-tempo beats of 1970s disco

Punk explosion : loud and irreverent, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols challenge pop conventions

Alternative rock : a wave of young independent record labels springs up in the 1980s, revolutionizing rock

Musical revival : writers of musical theater look to pop and rock for inspiration, creating long-running hit shows

Japanese popular music : Japan's pop culture spans J-pop idols to vocaloids (animated singers)

African music : Musicians from all over the continent find new audiences with pan-African and Western fusions and political lyrics

African instruments

Hip-hop : the rap music of African American ghettos of Los Angeles and New York becomes a global commercial force

Club culture : from electro to house, trance to dubstep, new sounds emerge in dance music

The Korean wave : South Korea's pop scene goes from strength to strength, fueled by artist agencies and government encouragement

New voices in classical : composers experiment with minimalism and avant-garde techniques

Digital revolution : digitization and the internet transform the way music is listened to, initiating a new relationship between musicians and fans

Visual glossary

Genres

Biographies

Instruments.