Baroque
The period of Western art music spanning roughly 1600 to 1750, characterised by ornate expression, basso continuo, and the development of tonal harmony.
Category
fundamental
Pronunciation
/bəˈrɒk/
Origin
Portuguese/Spanish (barroco, irregular pearl)
Length
197 words · 1 min read
About Baroque
The Baroque era produced some of the most enduring music in the Western canon, from the operas of Monteverdi to the fugues of J.S. Bach and the concertos of Vivaldi.
More fundamental terms
Drone
View all fundamentalterms →A sustained or continuously repeated note or chord that sounds throughout a passage or entire piece
KeyThe tonal centre that organises a piece of music around a specific note and scale.
TempoThe speed at which a piece of music is performed.
MelodyA sequence of single pitches perceived as a coherent musical line.
DynamicsThe variation in loudness between notes or phrases in a performance.
Synonyms
Antonyms
See Also
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v1 · 10/04/2026Browse all terms →