Historical Periods Information for ABRSM Candidates

This 1-page resource on the Historical Periods of Music contains detailed information on the Historical Periods of Music for students taking ABRSM exams (where the examples will be played on the piano only).

An alternative version of this resource is available for students taking GCSE or A-level Music, where examples could include many different types of instrumentation, or vocal music. I also have a combined Historical Periods resource which contains both versions, plus some supplementary information.

Key features are identified which help students to choose the correct historical period for the music they are hearing, and some examples of composers are included in each section.

Encourage students to identify the historical periods of musical extracts with this sheet in front of them initially, in order to familiarise themselves with the sorts of features they need to listen out for.
ABRSM students could look at the pieces they have been learning and try to identify the historical periods those are from, before progressing to identifying the periods aurally, as part of the aural tests (from Grade 5* onwards)

Useful for introducing comparisons of the historical periods of music and also for revision purposes.

Please leave a review if you find this resource useful.

*syllabus information correct at the time of publishing