Baroque Period of Piano Music

Sunday, June 11, 2006

The Baroque period of music was dominated with the harpsichord, which is often thought of as the predecessor of the piano. A harpsichord worked in a slightly different manner than a piano. Instead of a hammer striking the string, a quill plucked them which made it so the instrument could not create dynamic ranges in volume.

The use of harpsichord influenced the style of the music. Since they could not add variations of volume or sustain tones, the composers of the baroque period had to do things with the rhythm in order to add some movement to the pieces.

The most famous composer from this time period was Bach. Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. His father taught him violin, and his brother taught him keyboard. He worked as an organist and was known as one of the best throughout Europe. His most known work is "The Well-Tempered Clavier." This is often called the Old Testament of piano music.

Most music from the Baroque period was fairly complex and involves a lot of finger work to play properly. In later periods of piano history, less finger work was required and there was more concentration on dynamics that could be obtained from a modern piano.