Free Essays on Classical And Romantic Music

Prior to the twentieth century when jazz, blues, country, and rock and roll music entered the scene, almost all music was what we called â€Å"classical music.† From the 1700’s to the 1900’s classical music composed for orchestras or instruments such as flutes, trumpets, violins and pianos were played everywhere from concert halls to restaurants. Today the term â€Å"classical music† has come to define the style of Western music that began in Europe in the Middle Ages. It includes symphonies, chamber music and opera. Classical music is composed of several elements that help define its character. Since music takes place in time, rhythm is the foundation upon which every song is built. Composers determined the feel of music by alternating the pulse between fast, slow, and medium. Italian terms used in musical notation denote more than a dozen different tempos, which included allegro, moderato, and lento. Within the changing meter of rhythm, song notes of various pitches were intertwined. Tone color (timbre) distinguished the sound and characteristics that separated one instrument or voice from another. The classical era between 1750 and 1820 was defined by the great composers who were famous during that period, and the names Mozart and Beethoven stand above all others in the pantheon of Western music. Other composers, however, such as Franz Joseph Haydn and Franz Peter Schubert also contributed to the classical era. Musicians of the classical era were influenced by those of the baroque era. The classical period in music tends to be associated with the movement called the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment, which began earlier in the eighteenth century. Following the scientific and intellectual advances of the previous century, thinkers such as Voltaire, Diderot, Locke, Jefferson, and Franklin laid groundwork for a new human agenda, a willed progress toward humanitarian and democratic societies, based on the belief thr... Free Essays on Classical And Romantic Music Free Essays on Classical And Romantic Music Prior to the twentieth century when jazz, blues, country, and rock and roll music entered the scene, almost all music was what we called â€Å"classical music.† From the 1700’s to the 1900’s classical music composed for orchestras or instruments such as flutes, trumpets, violins and pianos were played everywhere from concert halls to restaurants. Today the term â€Å"classical music† has come to define the style of Western music that began in Europe in the Middle Ages. It includes symphonies, chamber music and opera. Classical music is composed of several elements that help define its character. Since music takes place in time, rhythm is the foundation upon which every song is built. Composers determined the feel of music by alternating the pulse between fast, slow, and medium. Italian terms used in musical notation denote more than a dozen different tempos, which included allegro, moderato, and lento. Within the changing meter of rhythm, song notes of various pitches were intertwined. Tone color (timbre) distinguished the sound and characteristics that separated one instrument or voice from another. The classical era between 1750 and 1820 was defined by the great composers who were famous during that period, and the names Mozart and Beethoven stand above all others in the pantheon of Western music. Other composers, however, such as Franz Joseph Haydn and Franz Peter Schubert also contributed to the classical era. Musicians of the classical era were influenced by those of the baroque era. The classical period in music tends to be associated with the movement called the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment, which began earlier in the eighteenth century. Following the scientific and intellectual advances of the previous century, thinkers such as Voltaire, Diderot, Locke, Jefferson, and Franklin laid groundwork for a new human agenda, a willed progress toward humanitarian and democratic societies, based on the belief thr...

How to Name a Dinosaur

How to Name a Dinosaur Most working paleontologists dont get the opportunity to name their own dinosaur. In fact, for the most part, paleontology is a somewhat anonymous and tedious occupationthe typical PhD candidate spends most of her days laboriously removing encrusted dirt from newly discovered fossils. But the one chance a field worker really gets to shine is when he or she discoversand gets to namea brand-new dinosaur. (See The 10 Best Dinosaur Names, The 10 Worst Dinosaur Names, and the Greek Roots Used to Name Dinosaurs) There are all sorts of ways to name dinosaurs. Some of the most famous genera are named after prominent anatomical features (e.g., Triceratops, Greek for three-horned face, or Spinosaurus, the spiny lizard), while others are named according to their presumed behavior (one of the most famous examples is Oviraptor, which means egg thief, even though the charges later turned out to be overblown). A bit less imaginatively, many dinosaurs are named after the regions where their fossils were discoveredwitness the Canadian Edmontosaurus and the South American Argentinosaurus. Genus Names, Species Names, and the Rules of Paleontology In scientific publications dinosaurs are usually referred to by their genus and species names. For example, Ceratosaurus comes in four different flavors: C. nasicornus, C. dentisulcatus, C. ingens and C. roechlingi. Most ordinary people can get by with just saying Ceratosaurus, but paleontologists prefer to use both the genus and species names, especially when describing individual fossils. More often than you might think, a species of a particular dinosaur is promoted to its own genusthis has happened numerous times, for instance, with Iguanodon, some former species of which are now referred to as Mantellisaurus, Gideonmantellia and Dollodon. According to the arcane rules of paleontology, a dinosaurs first official name is the one that sticks. For example, the paleontologist who discovered (and named) Apatosaurus later discovered (and named) what he thought was an entirely different dinosaur, Brontosaurus. When it was determined that Brontosaurus was the same dinosaur as Apatosaurus, official rights reverted back to the original name, leaving Brontosaurus as a deprecated genus. (This sort of thing doesnt only happen with dinosaurs; for example, the prehistoric horse formerly known as Eohippus now goes by the less user-friendly Hyracotherium.) Yes, Dinosaurs Can Be Named After People Surprisingly few dinosaurs are named after people, perhaps because paleontology tends to be a group effort and many practitioners dont like to call attention to themselves. Some legendary scientists, though, have been honored in dinosaur form: for example, Othnielia is named after Othniel C. Marsh (the same paleontologist who caused the whole Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus brouhaha), while Drinker wasnt a prehistoric alcoholic, but a dinosaur named after the 19th-century fossil hunter (and Marsh rival) Edward Drinker Cope. Other people-saurs include the amusingly named Piatnitzkysaurus and Becklespinax. Perhaps the most widely recognized people-saur of modern times is Leaellynasaura, which was discovered by a married pair of paleontologists in Australia in 1989. They decided to name this small, gentle ornithopod after their young daughter, the first time a child had ever been honored in dinosaur formand they repeated the trick a few years later with Timimus, an ornithomimid dinosaur named after the husband of this famous duo. (In the past few years, there have been many more dinosaurs named after women, correcting a long-time historical imbalance.) The Silliest, and Most Impressive, Dinosaur Names Every working paleontologist, it seems, harbors the secret desire to come up with a dinosaur name so impressive, so profound, and so just-plain-cool that it results in reams of media coverage. Recent years have witnessed such unforgettable examples as Tyrannotitan, Raptorex and Gigantoraptor, even if the dinosaurs involved were less impressive than you might think (Raptorex, for example, was only about the size of a full-grown human, and Gigantoraptor wasnt even a true raptor, but a plus-sized relative of Oviraptor). Silly dinosaur namesif theyre within the bounds of good taste, of coursealso have their place in the hallowed halls of paleontology. Probably the most famous example is Irritator, which received its name because the paleontologist restoring its fossil was feeling, well, particularly irritated that day. Recently, one paleontologist named a new horned, frilled dinosaur Mojoceratops (after the mojo in the expression Ive got my mojo working), and lets not forget the famous Dracorex hogwartsia, after the Harry Potter series, which was named by pre-teen visitors to the Childrens Museum of Indianapolis!