Classical music in the 20th century

Key learning points

1. In the 20th century, classical music developed in various different ways.
2. Many composers used non-functional harmony, while some experimented with atonal and microtonal music.
3. Experimental composers challenged core principles of the Western Classical Tradition (e.g. silent music, chance music).
4. Minimalist composers wrote mostly diatonic music based on repeating ostinati and gradual changes.

Keywords

• Atonal - music which has no key or tonic note

• Minimalist music (minimalism) - a style of music that emerged in the 1960s in the USA, defined by its repetition of minimal musical ideas

• Non-functional harmony - where chords don’t have their traditional roles (e.g. chord V resolving to I, using mostly primary chords)

• Experimental music - music that radically challenges what we think of as 'normal' music

• Ostinato - a short, repeating musical idea (plural: ostinati)

Common misconception