Twentieth century music, the pieces that were written during 1901-2000, is the most experimenting

music throughout the past era. Lots of new style music was developed in this twentieth century period,
such as Surrealism, neo-classicism, minimalism…etc. This music was having a huge influence toward not
only to music, but also to the whole world. They change the concept of the classical music and rebuild it
with new elements and forms. Although nowadays, twentieth century music is mostly accepted by the
people. In the past days, this music is not accepted and stops the concert when the performances start.
People were not able to get used to the new music in this sudden change, while the past periods have
never been done like that. Twentieth century music was often shown up in our life, but we could hardly
tell that it is twentieth century music; they have become part of our life. In this essay, you will learn
more about the importance of twentieth century music.

In twentieth century music, composers were trying to break out the frame of the music and all the rule
and regulations, to get rid of the shadow of classical music. Therefore, most of the music was a sudden
change, pieces with no tone, no rhythm or even no sound at all. Although these examples might be too
extreme and some of the composer would follow the classical music rules, these are the pieces which
influence the most in the later development of music.

The 20th century saw dramatic innovations in musical forms and styles. Composers and songwriters
explored new forms and sounds that challenged the previously accepted rules of music of earlier
periods, such as the use of altered chords and extended chords in 1940s-era Bebop jazz. The
development of powerful, loud guitar amplifiers and sound reinforcement systems in the 1960s and
1970s permitted bands to hold large concerts where even those with the least expensive tickets could
hear the show. Composers and songwriters experimented with new musical styles, such as genre fusions
(e.g., the late 1960s fusion of jazz and rock music to create jazz fusion). As well, composers and
musicians used new electric, electronic, and digital instruments and musical devices.
nswer:

During the 20th century there was a large increase in the variety of music that people had access to.
Prior to the invention of mass market gramophone records (developed in 1892) and radio broadcasting
(first commercially done ca. 1919–20), people mainly listened to music at live Classical music concerts or
musical theatre shows, which were too expensive for many working class people; on early phonograph
players (a technology invented in 1877 which was not mass-marketed until the mid-1890s); or by
individuals performing music or singing songs on an amateur basis at home, using sheet music, which
required the ability to sing, play, and read music. These were skills that tended to be limited to middle-
class and upper-class individuals. With the mass-market availability of gramophone records and radio
broadcasts, listeners could purchase recordings of, or listen on radio to recordings or live broadcasts of a
huge variety of songs and musical pieces from around the globe. This enabled a much wider range of the
population to listen to performances of Classical music symphonies and operas that they would not be
able to hear live, either due to not being able to afford live-concert tickets or because such music was
not performed in their region.

Sound recording was also a major influence on the development of popular music genres, because it
enabled recordings of songs and bands to be inexpensively and widely distributed nationwide or even,
for some artists, worldwide. The development of relatively inexpensive reproduction of music via a
succession of formats including vinyl records, compact cassettes, compact discs (introduced in 1983)
and, by the mid-1990s, digital audio recordings, and the transmission or broadcast of audio recordings
of music performances on radio, of video recordings or live performances on television, and by the
1990s, of audio and video recordings via the Internet, using file sharing of digital audio recordings, gave
individuals from a wide range of socioeconomic classes access to a diverse selection of high-quality
music performances by artists from around the world.[1] The introduction of multitrack recording in
1955 and the use of mixing had a major influence on pop and rock music, because it enabled record
producers to mix and overdub many layers of instrument tracks and vocals, creating new sounds that
would not be possible in a live performance.[2] The development of sound recording and audio
engineering technologies and the ability to edit these recordings gave rise to new subgenres of classical
music, including the Musique concrète (1949) and acousmatic[3] (1955) schools of electronic
composition.

In Beethoven's and Felix Mendelssohn's time in the 19th century, the orchestra was composed of a fairly
standard core of instruments which was very rarely modified. As time progressed, and as the Romantic
period saw changes in accepted modification with composers such as Berlioz and Mahler, the 20th
century saw that instrumentation could practically be hand-picked by the composer. Saxophones were
used in some 20th-century orchestra scores such as Vaughan Williams' Symphonies No.6 and 9 and
William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, and many other works as a member of the orchestral ensemble.
Twentieth-century orchestras generally include a string section, woodwinds, brass instruments,
percussion, piano, celeste, harp(s),[4] with other instruments called for occasionally, such as electric
guitar[5] and electric bass.[6]
The 20th century saw dramatic innovations in musical forms and styles. Composers and songwriters
explored new forms and sounds that challenged the previously accepted rules of music of earlier
periods, such as the use of altered chords and extended chords in 1940s-era Bebop jazz. The
development of powerful, loud guitar amplifiers and sound reinforcement systems in the 1960s and
1970s permitted bands to hold large concerts where even those with the least expensive tickets could
hear the show. Composers and songwriters experimented with new musical styles, such as genre fusions
(e.g., the late 1960s fusion of jazz and rock music to create jazz fusion). As well, composers and
musicians used new electric, electronic, and digital instruments and musical devices.

20th- and 21st-century music

Main article: 20th-century music

With 20th-century music, there was a vast increase in music listening, as the radio gained popularity and
phonographs were used to replay and distribute music. The invention of sound recording and the ability
to edit music gave rise to new subgenre of classical music, including the acousmatic[44] and Musique
concrète schools of electronic composition. Sound recording was also a major influence on the
development of popular music genres, because it enabled recordings of songs and bands to be widely
distributed. The introduction of the multitrack recording system had a major influence on rock music,
because it could do much more than record a band's performance. Using a multitrack system, a band
and their music producer could overdub many layers of instrument tracks and vocals, creating new
sounds that would not be possible in a live performance.

The 20th-century orchestra was far more flexible than its predecessors.[45] In Beethoven's and Felix
Mendelssohn's time, the orchestra was composed of a fairly standard core of instruments which was
very rarely modified. As time progressed, and as the Romantic period saw changes in accepted
modification with composers such as Berlioz and Mahler, the 20th century saw that instrumentation
could practically be hand-picked by the composer. Saxophones were used in some 20th-century
orchestra scores such as Vaughan Williams' Symphonies No.6 and 9 and William Walton's Belshazzar's
Feast, and many other works as a member of the orchestral ensemble. In the 2000s, the modern
orchestra became standardized with the modern instrumentation that includes a string section,
woodwinds, brass instruments, percussion, piano, celeste, and even, for some 20th century or 21st
century works, electric instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass and/or electronic instruments
such as the Theremin or synthesizer.

Electric and electro-mechanical

Main article: Music technology (electric)

Electric music technology refers to musical instruments and recording devices that use electrical circuits,
which are often combined with mechanical technologies. Examples of electric musical instruments
include the electro-mechanical electric piano (invented in 1929), the electric guitar (invented in 1931),
the electro-mechanical Hammond organ (developed in 1934) and the electric bass (invented in 1935).
None of these electric instruments produce a sound that is audible by the performer or audience in a
performance setting unless they are connected to instrument amplifiers and loudspeaker cabinets,
which made them sound loud enough for performers and the audience to hear. Amplifiers and
loudspeakers are separate from the instrument in the case of the electric guitar (which uses a guitar
amplifier), electric bass (which uses a bass amplifier) and some electric organs (which use a Leslie
speaker or similar cabinet) and electric pianos. Some electric organs and electric pianos include the
amplifier and speaker cabinet within the main housing for the instrument.

Electric piano

A Rhodes Mark II Stage 73 electric piano.

An electric piano is an electric musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the
keys of the piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal
strings or tines, leading to vibrations which are converted into electrical signals by magnetic pickups,
which are then connected to an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to make a sound loud enough for
the performer and audience to hear. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic
instrument. Instead, it is an electro-mechanical instrument. Some early electric pianos used lengths of
wire to produce the tone, like a traditional piano. Smaller electric pianos used short slivers of steel,
metal tines or short wires to produce the tone. The earliest electric pianos were invented in the late
1920s.

Electric guitar

A Kramer XKG-20 electric guitar circa 1980.

An electric guitar is a guitar that uses a pickup to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical
impulses. The most common guitar pickup uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction. The
signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before being
sent to a loudspeaker. The output of an electric guitar is an electric signal, and the signal can easily be
altered by electronic circuits to add "color" to the sound. Often the signal is modified using electronic
effects such as reverb and distortion. Invented in 1931, the electric guitar became a necessity as jazz
guitarists sought to amplify their sound in the big band format.

Hammond organ
A Hammond C-3 electric organ.

The Hammond organ is an electric organ, invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert[46] and
first manufactured in 1935. Various models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to
create a variety of sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current
from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup. Around two million Hammond organs
have been manufactured, and it has been described as one of the most successful organs. The organ is
commonly used with, and associated with, the Leslie speaker. The organ was originally marketed and
sold by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe
organ, or instead of a piano. It quickly became popular with professional jazz bandleaders, who found
that the room-filling sound of a Hammond organ could form small bands such as organ trios which were
less costly than paying an entire big band.

Electric bass

The electric bass (or bass guitar) was invented in the 1930s, but it did not become commercially
successful or widely used until the 1950s. It is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or
thumb, by plucking, slapping, popping, strumming, tapping, thumping, or picking with a plectrum, often
known as a pick. The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with
a longer neck and scale length, and four to six strings or courses. The electric bass usually uses metal
strings and an electromagnetic pickup which senses the vibrations in the strings. Like the electric guitar,
the bass guitar is plugged into an amplifier and speaker for live performances.

Electronic or digital

Main article: Music technology (electronic and digital)

Electronic or digital music technology is any device, such as a computer, an electronic effects unit or
software, that is used by a musician or composer to help make or perform music.[2] The term usually
refers to the use of electronic devices, computer hardware and computer software that is used in the
performance, playback, recording, composition, sound recording and reproduction, mixing, analysis and
editing of music. Electronic or digital music technology is connected to both artistic and technological
creativity. Musicians and music technology experts are constantly striving to devise new forms of
expression through music, and they are physically creating new devices and software to enable them to
do so. Although in the 2010s, the term is most commonly used in reference to modern electronic
devices and computer software such as digital audio workstations and Pro Tools digital sound recording
software, electronic and digital musical technologies have precursors in the electric music technologies
of the early 20th century, such as the electromechanical Hammond organ, which was invented in 1929.
In the 2010s, the ontological range of music technology has greatly increased, and it may now be
electronic, digital, software-based or indeed even purely conceptual.
An early Minimoog synthesizer by R.A. Moog Inc. from 1970.

A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates electric signals that are converted to
sound through instrument amplifiers and loudspeakers or headphones. Synthesizers may either imitate
existing sounds (instruments, vocal, natural sounds, etc.), or generate new electronic timbres or sounds
that did not exist before. They are often played with an electronic musical keyboard, but they can be
controlled via a variety of other input devices, including music sequencers, instrument controllers,
fingerboards, guitar synthesizers, wind controllers, and electronic drums. Synthesizers without built-in
controllers are often called sound modules, and are controlled using a controller device.