... pieces and this brought about a change in musical dynamics. Instead of using the old terraced dynamics of the Baroque era, music now rose from loud to soft and vice versa in rising crescendos and falling decrescendos. The want for more of this eventually led to the widespread use of a new keyboard instrument, the piano, which was able to perform these dynamic changes simply by varying ... the pressure placed on the keys by the player. By the end of the Classical, nearly all composers were composing for the piano rather than the harpsichord, clavichord or organ. The Classical period was ...

• Word Count: 2641
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... still somewhat damp - before the musicians. That is why Mozart could state after the first night that somehow or other a few of the notes "had fallen under the desks-. As to the music it is obvious that Mozart uses characteristic keys. The listener connects certain keys ... quite accurately, without propagating naturalistic "sound pictures-. The opera as a whole goes for more than three hours, with the overture lasting about 6-7 minutes. The orchestra consists of 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, drums, mandolin, and strings ( first and second violins,...

• Word Count: 1856
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School