Key Stage 2 music · History of music

KS2 history of music: medieval to Classical explained

The National Curriculum asks Key Stage 2 children to develop an understanding of the history of music. The programme of study does not set out which periods to cover, so schools choose. The first half of the story, from medieval music through the Renaissance and Baroque periods to the Classical period, is a common starting point because it shows how music, instruments and ideas changed over several hundred years.

History of music: early to Classical, explained

Music history is usually divided into periods, and the dates are only approximate. The medieval period runs from roughly the year 500 to about 1400. Its most familiar music is plainsong (or chant), a single line of unaccompanied melody sung in churches. Music with several voice parts had already begun in the medieval period, and in the Renaissance (about 1400 to 1600) several independent vocal lines woven together became the main style, in madrigals and church choral music. The Baroque period (about 1600 to 1750) is the age of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Purcell, and the Classical period (about 1750 to 1820) is the age of Haydn and Mozart.

Children are not expected to memorise a timeline, but they do build a picture of how music changed. Early on, music was mostly made by voices in church or by travelling musicians. Over the centuries, instruments developed: the harpsichord, which plucks its strings, was important in Baroque music; the piano, which strikes them and lets the player play softly or loudly, took over in the Classical period. Orchestras grew from small groups of strings with a keyboard to larger ensembles with woodwind, brass and percussion. Printing and, later, public concerts helped music reach more people.

Each period has typical sounds, though these are tendencies, not strict rules. Medieval plainsong has one line of melody and no harmony. Renaissance music often has several voice parts of equal importance, singing overlapping lines. Baroque music tends to have decorated tunes over a steady bass line, with a keyboard playing chords. Classical music usually has clear, balanced phrases, a lighter texture and a tune with simple accompaniment. Many pieces do not fit neatly, and composers influence each other, so teachers use these as clues rather than labels.

Learning is mainly through listening, singing and playing. A class may sing a medieval round, perform a Renaissance dance on recorders, follow the layers of a Baroque piece, or play the theme of a Classical symphony on tuned percussion. Children also place composers and pieces on a timeline and learn to describe how a piece uses the dimensions of music: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure. Because the programme of study does not list what to teach, the composers and pieces chosen will differ from school to school.

Words your child will hear

Medieval: The period from about 500 to 1400, when much written music was sung in church.
Renaissance: About 1400 to 1600, a period of interwoven vocal lines and the spread of printed music.
Baroque: About 1600 to 1750, with decorated melodies over a steady bass line.
Classical period: About 1750 to 1820, with balanced phrases and a clear, lighter style.
Plainsong: A single line of unaccompanied melody sung in a free rhythm, also called chant.
Polyphony: Music with several melodic lines sounding together.
Harpsichord: A keyboard instrument that plucks its strings, common in Baroque music.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to develop an understanding of the history of music
Aim: pupils perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: placing a mystery piece on the timeline

In a listening lesson children hear an unlabelled piece and are asked, ‘Which period might this be from, and what clues tell you?’ The piece features a harpsichord playing a decorated tune over a steady bass line, with a cello holding the bass.

Start with what is heard, not the answer. Name the instruments: a harpsichord and a cello. Describe the texture: a decorated tune on top, a steady low bass line underneath, and the harpsichord filling in chords.
Think about the instrument. The harpsichord was the main keyboard of the 1600s and early 1700s. The piano, which became common in the second half of the 1700s, would suggest a later piece.
Think about the texture. A single plain line of singing would suggest medieval plainsong, and several equal voices overlapping would suggest the Renaissance. Decorated melody over a steady bass line points to the Baroque.
Say how sure you are. Clues are not proof: someone could write a new piece for a harpsichord today. Use ‘probably’ and ‘it sounds like’.

This is probably Baroque music, roughly 1600 to 1750. The clues are the harpsichord, the decorated tune and the steady bass line with chords. It is less likely to be medieval or Renaissance because a steady bass line with keyboard chords filling in above it is a typical Baroque texture, and it is less likely to be Classical because the piano is not used.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking ‘classical music’ and ‘the Classical period’ are the same thing

The word ‘classical’ is often used for all concert music, so children assume Bach and Mozart are the same kind of composer.

What helps: Explain that the Classical period is one slice of music history, about 1750 to 1820, and that Bach is Baroque. Put the two composers on a timeline and let your child see the gap.

Believing early music was simple or primitive

Medieval and Renaissance music sounds different from what children hear every day, so it can seem as though musicians had not got the hang of it yet.

What helps: Listen to a complicated Renaissance choral piece and count the separate voice parts. Singing several independent lines at once takes enormous skill.

Thinking each period starts and ends on a particular date

Textbooks give neat dates, and a timeline makes it look as if the music changed overnight in 1750.

What helps: Say the dates are approximate and that periods overlap. Composers were influenced by earlier music and by each other, and the period names were mostly given later by historians.

Assuming instruments were always the same as today

Children see modern orchestras and pianos and think they have always looked and sounded that way.

What helps: Look up pictures of a harpsichord, a recorder and a viol and compare them with a piano, a flute and a cello. Ask what has changed and what has stayed the same.

How to help at home

Build a timeline. Stretch a long strip of paper or a piece of string across a wall, mark the four periods, and add composers and pieces your child learns about. Seeing the gaps between people makes the history real.
Sing a round. Rounds are a good way to feel early layered music. Pick a simple one your child already knows from school and sing it in two or three parts, each group starting a little after the last. The medieval round ‘Sumer is icumen in’ dates from around the thirteenth century, and recordings are easy to find.
Play the guessing game. Play a short extract and ask which period it sounds like, and why. You are not looking for the right answer, only for a reason: ‘It has voices only’, ‘The tune is decorated’, ‘It sounds light and tidy’.
Visit an old building. Churches, cathedrals and historic houses often have choirs, organs or free recitals. Listening in the space the music was written for gives children a sense of why plainsong sounds the way it does.
Compare then and now. Ask what a musician in 1600 would have used to listen to music. No recordings, no radio: music was live, or you made it yourself. It is a quick way to feel the difference.

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Western classical music and its history
Key Stage 3: Popular music and world traditions