Topmusicanswers
- What are the 5 basic characteristics of Baroque music?
- What are the performance practices of baroque music?
- How does baroque music sound?
What are the 5 basic characteristics of Baroque music?
Baroque orchestral music
- long flowing melodic lines often using ornamentation (decorative notes such as trills and turns)
- contrast between loud and soft, solo and ensemble.
- a contrapuntal texture where two or more melodic lines are combined.
What are the performance practices of baroque music?
In the Baroque period, composers expected musicians to add ornamentation, including trills, mordents, turns, appoggiaturas, grace notes, passing tones, etc. Use of vibrato was also considered an ornament. In addition to adding ornamentations, performers were expected to improvise, especially on cadences.
How does baroque music sound?
Baroque, a term originally applied to the art and architecture of the time, means overly elaborate or ornate. Baroque music was filled with musical flourishes either through improvisation or by composer's design. Most Baroque music features: A basso continuo played by a harpsichord and a bassoon.
