Includes bibliographical references and index.

I: Elements. Sound : pitch, dynamics, and tone color ; Performing media : voices and instruments ; Rhythm ; Music notation ; Melody ; Harmony ; Key ; Musical texture ; Musical form ; Performance ; Musical style -- II: The Middle Ages. Music in the Middle Ages (450-1450) ; Gregorian chant ; Secular music in the Middle Ages ; The development of polyphony : organum ; Fourteenth-century music : the "new art" in Italy and France -- III: The Renaissance. Music in the Renaissance (1450-1600) ; Sacred music in the Renaissance ; Secular music in the Renaissance ; The Venetian school : from Renaissance to Baroque -- IV: The Baroque period. Baroque music (1600-1750) ; Music in Baroque society ; The concerto grosso and ritornello form ; The fugue ; The elements of opera ; Opera in the Baroque era ; Claudio Monteverdi ; Henry Purcell ; The Baroque sonata ; Arcangelo Corelli ; Antonio Vivaldi ; Johann Sebastian Bach ; The Baroque suite ; The chorale and church cantata ; The oratorio ; George Frideric Handel -- V. The Classical period. The Classical style (1750-1820) ; Composer, patron, and public in the Classical period ; Sonata form ; Theme and variations ; Minuet and trio ; Rondo ; The Classical symphony ; The Classical concerto ; Classical chamber music ; Joseph Haydn ; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ; Ludwig van Beethoven -- VI: The Romantic period. Romanticism in music (1820-1900) ; Romantic composers and their public ; The art song ; Franz Schubert ; Robert Schumann ; Clara Wieck Schumann ; Frédéric Chopin ; Franz Liszt ; Felix Mendelssohn ; Program music ; Hector Berlioz ; Nationalism in nineteenth-century music ; Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ; Bedřich Smetana ; Antonin Dvořak ; Johannes Brahms ; Giuseppe Verdi ; Giacomo Puccini ; Richard Wagner ; Gustav Mahler -- VII: The twentieth century and beyond. Musical styles : 1900-1945 ; Music and musicians in society ; Impressionism and Symbolism ; Claude Debussy ; Maurice Ravel ; Neoclassicism ; Igor Stravinsky ; Expressionism ; Arnold Schoenberg ; Alban Berg ; Anton Webern ; Béla Bartók ; Dmitri Shostakovich ; Music in America ; Charles Ives ; George Gershwin ; William Grant Still ; Aaron Copland ; Musical styles since 1945 ; Music since 1945 : nine representative pieces -- VIII: Jazz. Jazz styles : 1900-1950 ; Ragtime ; Blues ; New Orleans style ; Swing ; Bebop ; Jazz styles since 1950 -- IX: Music for stage and screen. Musical theater ; Leonard Bernstein ; Music in film -- X: Rock. Rock styles ; Rock in American society ; The Beatles -- XI: Nonwestern music. Music in nonwestern cultures ; Music in Sub-Saharan Africa ;Classical music of India ; Koto music of Japan.

Intends to transform students into active participants in the Music Appreciation space. Helping inculcate active listening, active reading, and active learning, this book empowers students by providing tools that make assessment easier, learning more engaging, and studying more efficient.

Text in English.