20th-century classical music

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/20th-century-classical-music

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the period of innovation?1901 to 2000
2. What is the geographic centers?Western Europe (especially Austria, France, Germany) and North America
3. Why did composers change the way music sounded in the 20th century?They wanted to express the fast changes in the world, like wars and new science, so they broke old rules of harmony and rhythm.
4. How did technology affect 20th-century classical music?New gadgets let composers make electronic music and use real sounds in new ways, changing what could be heard as an instrument.

Atonality: A musical system that avoids establishing a clear tonal center or key.
Serialism: A method of composition using a predetermined series of pitches, rhythms, or other elements.
Musique Concrète: Compositional technique using manipulated recorded sounds as raw material.
Minimalism: A style characterized by extreme sparseness, repetition, and gradual transformation.