Skip to content


 Select a Chapter |       RSS  Today in Music History |             Online Listening Lab


"A real musical culture should not be a museum culture based on music of past ages. . . . It should be the active embodiment in sound of the life of a community—of the everyday demands of people's work and play and of their deepest spiritual needs." —WILFRID MELLERS

Key Points

  • Music provides different functions—for religion, work, entertainment—in societies around the world.
  • Most cultures have sacred music, for religious functions, and secular music, for nonreligious activities.
  • There are many genres, or categories, of music; some works cross over categories, borrowing elements of one style for use in another.
  • The medium is the specific group (e.g., orchestra, chorus) that performs a piece.
  • Some music is not written down, but is known through oral transmission.
  • The distinctive features of any artwork make up its style.
  • A musical style is created through individual treatment of the elements (melody, rhythm, harmony, texture, form, dynamics, tempo).
  • We organize styles of artworks into historical periods, each with its own characteristics.

Section Menu

Norton Gradebook

Instructors now have an easy way to collect students’ online quizzes with the Norton Gradebook without flooding their inboxes with e-mails.

Students can track their online quiz scores by setting up their own Student Gradebook.