The music of the Romantic Period is great to listen to. The concept of listening to music through the elements of music is key for understanding what we are listening to. Below breaks down each of these elements, building an awareness of how music is constructed. Furthermore, with the understanding of the elements comes the mindset of what to listen for in the music.

RHYTHM

Rhythm is the most important element because it gives motion to melody and harmony. In the Romantic Period, composers would use more complex rhythms. They changed the tempo quite frequently to give more substance and excitement to their compositions. Accents on certain beats were used to emphasize parts of the rhythms.

MELODY

Often referred to as the “tune”, the melody is what you can “hum” or “sing“. A skillfully crafted melody has the power to “stay in your head” for a long time. Therefore, it is safe to say, the melody is the most memorable of the elements of music.

Melodies during the Romantic Period were lengthy and consisted of irregular phrases. Compound intervals were used, giving some melodies a wide shape for expression. A wider range of dynamics and articulations were used to enhance the power of a good melody. Many of the melodies that we remember today came from the music of the Romantic Period.

There are certain words that we use to understand Melody.

• Pitch—a certain note with an assigned name.
• Interval—the distance or space between two pitches or notes.
• Shape—describes how the notation looks and sounds. Does it have larger leaps or smaller?
• Phrase—a melody is constructed much like a sentence in a language. It is made up of related musical ideas called phrases.
• Direction—small and large leaps in a melody are notated vertically. The rhythms of a melody are notated horizontally.

HARMONY

Along with the traditional harmonies used previously, composers of the Romantic Period used more complex harmonic devices in their music. They were using more dissonances through the use of semitones. Chromaticism was a popular device for many composers.

Extensions of a chordal structure by composers gave the music of the romantic a distinct sound. Frequent use of key changes enabled composers to change the tonal centers through a device called modulation.

Below are a few words to help you understand the concept of Harmony.

• Dissonance—two or more sounds played at one time that has tension and may be unpleasant.
• Consonants—two or more sounds played together that are pleasing to the ear.
• Chord—three or more notes played simultaneously.
• Triads—a three-note chord
• Major or minor keys—tonal centers

FORM

The structural design of a piece of music is called its Form. From the simplest rock ballad to a four-movement symphony, all music has structure. The more elaborate and complex the music, the more structure it needs. Form in music is the structure of music composition. Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony are the main elements that a composer (or arranger) uses to design the musical architecture of the piece.

A Symphony is a large composition composed of four different movements. A composer constructs this monumental work utilizing all of the other elements available.

TIMBRE

Tone color in music refers to the sounds of the different instruments or voices. The different combinations of instruments will affect the timbre of a particular ensemble.

 

During the Classical Period the orchestra used 30-60 musicians consisting of four sections: Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion. The Orchestra of the Romantic Period grew dramatically to over 100 musicians. Why was this? Great question, I’m glad you asked!

It seems obvious that the orchestra of the romantic period didn’t just spring up to 100 players one day. This gradual growth actually started with Beethoven as he was an important link between the Classical and Romantic styles. His style of composing was always demanding bigger and more dramatic sounds. The Orchestra began adding to each of these sections and expanding the sounds of the Woodwinds (contrabassoon, bass clarinet, piccolo) and Brass (more trumpets, horn in f, trombones, and tuba).

Expansion Was The Ticket

Well into the Romantic Period, composers like Berlioz, Wagner, Tchaikovsky wrote some of the greatest music with this now huge Orchestra. They also used this great concept of expansion of instrumentation. The Percussion Section for instance used a more complete complement of instruments. As an example, the percussion section added to the basic lineup of a snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, timpani by including

In essence, the makeup of the percussion section reflected the evolving trends of each era. Haydn and Mozart made occasional use of certain idiophones (bells, rattles, snare drums). But Beethoven applied bass drums, crash cymbals, and triangles more precisely; in The Battle of Victoria (1813), for example, he developed the spatial use of percussion by dividing the group into two sections placed on either side of the orchestra.

One of the most expressive, melodious and influential composers of the Romantic Period. A great book about this monumental composer – Unknown Facts About Tchaikovsky

You may want to read about the famous: Franz Liszt: Musician, Celebrity, Superstar

                               Or

Nicolo Paganini: His Life and Work

Liszt and Paganini—The Two “Rock Stars” of the Romantic Period.

 American Music During the Romantic Period

America during the Romantic Period was still learning from the Western world. Very few symphony orchestras developed. But the ones that were professionally developed and organized were excellent. The New York Philharmonic (1842), Boston Symphony (1881), and Chicago Symphony (1890) were the first major orchestras in the United States. American composers did not reach the level of their European counterparts until the 20th century.

The big development in the United States during this period was the Wind Band. The American Concert Band was extremely popular due to composers and great conductors like John Philip Sousa and Patrick Gilmore. These bands were large ensembles used for parades as well as entertaining large crowds at concert events. While orchestras were plentiful in Europe, Bands in the United States were growing at a rapid pace.

Famous Composers of the Romantic Period

Composer	Dates	Nationality
Felix Mendelssohn	1809-1847	German
Ludwig van Beethoven	1770-1827	German
Robert Schumann	1810-1856	German
Frederic Chopin	1810-1849	Poland
Franz Lizst	1811-1886	Hungarian
Richard Wagner	1813-1883	German
Johannes Brahms	1833-1897	German
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky	1840-1893	Russian
Antonin Dvorak	1841-1904	Czech
Richard Strauss	1864-1949	German
Carlo Coccia	1782-1873	Italian
Niccolò Paganini	1782-1840	Italian
Carl Maria von Weber	1786-1826	German
Gioachino Rossini	1792-1868	Italian
Mikhail Glinka	1804-1857	Russian
Johann Strauss I	1804-1849	Austrian
Giuseppe Verdi	1813-1901	Italian
Franz von Suppé	1819-1895	Austrian
Anton Bruckner	1824-1896	Austrian
Bedřich Smetana	1824-1884	Czech
Alexander Borodin	1833-1887	Russian
Camille Saint-Saëns	1835-1921	French
Modest Mussorgsky	1839-1881	Russian
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	1840-1893	Russian
Antonín Dvořák	1841-1904	Czech
Arthur Sullivan	1942-1900	English
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov	1844-1908	Russian
John Philip Sousa	1854-1932	American
Edward Elgar	1857-1934	English

 

Conclusion

In this article on Romantic Era Music Facts, I wanted to provide you with a beginning to a fantastic period in music history. The music is exciting to listen to and study.

It also set the stage for the next musical period, known as the Modern Era. I hope that you will listen to the music from this period and gain an appreciation of the time.

Related Material

Classical Era in Music: The Age of Enlightenment

What Is Melody in Music? How to Describe Melody with Examples

Active Listening in Music: A Skill Every Musician Must Develop

Listening Skills for Musicians: How to Hear Music More Deeply