The Baroque Period was a time of great development in both vocal and instrumental music. With the patronage of wealthy noble families, composers wrote increasingly complex and large-scale music. Music schools called conservatories were established in major cities around Europe. Important composers of the Baroque Period included: Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Frideric Handel.

Composers in Florence began to experiment with a new fusion of theater and singing, which was similar to the theater of the ancient Greeks. They decided to do away with the complex polyphony of the Renaissance period, and wrote music with a single vocal line and simple accompaniment. This allowed listeners to focus on the lyrics, so that a story could be told through the music. This new style marked the beginning of opera in Europe.

Instrumental music made great advances during the Baroque period. No longer tied to dancing, instrumental music became a style worth listening to on its own. Composers began to write music that was increasingly virtuosic, which means that it was difficult to play and impressive to hear. One style that promoted virtuosic writing was the concerto. In a concerto, a prominently-featured soloist performed with an orchestra. A concerto would be divided into sections, or movements, which would have varying tempos and melodies.

Keyboard instruments also increased in popularity during the Baroque period. Johann Sebastian Bach was largely responsible for the instrument’s rise in popularity, thanks to his publication of a book of keyboard music called The Well-Tempered Clavier. The organ assumed its prominent role in church music. The clavier (an early form of the piano) was also widely used. The Baroque period marked the peak of popularity for the harpsichord, a type of keyboard instrument. The harpsichord differed from the piano in that it used quills to pluck the strings. (Modern pianos use hammers to strike the strings).