See also: List of years in music, Timeline of trends in music (1900-1949), Timeline of trends in music (1950-1969), Timeline of trends in music (1970-1979), Timeline of trends in music (1980-1989), Timeline of trends in music (1990-present)
c. 4000 BC
Harps and vertical flutes are played in Egypt
c. 3500 BC
Double clarinets and lyres are played in Egypt
c. 3000 BC
The bamboo pipe is invented in China
c. 2500 BC
The five tone system dominates Chinese music
c. 2000 BC
The trumpet is played in Denmark
Percussion instruments are added to Egyptian orchestras
c. 1500 BC
Hittites use guitars, lyres, trumpets, tambourines
Harps are used to accompany dances in Egypt
c. 1000 BC
Music accompanies religious ceremonies in Israel
c. 800 BC
Five and seven tone scales are used in Babylon
A cuneiform hymn from Sumeria is the earliest known written music
Rhapsodes, traveling musicians, appear in Greece
c. 700 BC
Arion, a Greek composer, invents the strophe and antistrophe
c. 685 BC
Tyrtaeus invents the trombone
c. 675 BC
Terpander invents a new seven-stringed lyre and the Mixolydian scale
c. 600 BC
Modes appear in music
The vina is invented in India
c. 586 BC
Music becomes a part of the Pythian Games
c. 550 BC
The diatonic scale is invented in Greece
Lasos of Hermione discovers that vibrations are the source of all sound
c. 500 BC
Pindar begins writing odes
Greek choral music reaches its peak
aulos, citharas, lyres are played in Greece
Pythagoras of Samos makes great strides in musical theory
400 BC
Trumpet competitions are popular in Greece
340 BC
Aristotle lays the foundation for modern musical theory
320 BC
Aristophanes defines rhythm as tripartite
300 BC
Buddhism arrives in Sri Lanka, and its cultural aspects help establish a Sinhalese identity distinct from India
c. 250 BC
Ktesibios invents the hydraulis
c. 200 BC
The earliest evidence of music in Japan
146 BC
The Romans conquer Greece and begin exporting its musical knowledge elsewhere in Europe
140 BC
Emperor Han Wudi takes over China and establishes an Imperial Office of Music
c. 50 BC
The oboe appears in Rome
38 BC
The Chinese octave is divided into 60 notes
c. 350
Antiphonal psalmody appears in Christian churches
386
Ambrose of Milan introduces hymn-singing in the Christian church
c. 450
Alternating singing between precentors and parishioners is introduced in Christian churches
453
80 Korean musicians arrive in Japan, greatly influencing gagaku
c. 500
Flutes, tubas and drums are used in Peru
521
Boethius introduces Greek notation to the West
c. 6000
Buddhism (and shomyo) arrive in Japan
600
Pope Gregory the Great codifies Roman Catholic chanting; it comes to be called Gregorian chanting in his honor
c. 600
The first flowering of Arab music occurs in what is now Syria during the rule of the Umayyad dynasty
609
The Celtic crwth appears
619
The Chinese begin using large orchestras
650
Neumes, a system of notation, are introduced in Europe
c. 700
In Romania, letters are used to signify tempo and intensity
710
Beginning of the Nara period in Japan, and the introduction of komagaku and togaku music
c. 750
Gregorian chanting is popular throughout Europe
Byzantine wind organs begin to replace water organs
850
Hucbald writes rules for composing the organum
c. 850
Vocals in church music begins moving in parallel; this is the beginning of polyphony (see organum)
980
Antiphonarium Codex Montpellier is written
c. 1000
Gryffull ab Aynam separates the positions of bard and minstrel in Wales
Hat cheo begins to develop in Vietnam
c. 1015
Sight singing is introduced at Pomposa Monastery near Ravenna
1026
Guide of Arezza develops solmization
1050
"sys willekommen heirre kerst" is the oldest surviving German Christmas carol
c. 1050
The harp is introduced to Europe
1050
The earliest reference to what are believed to be Gypsies as musicians in Constantinople
c. 1030
Guido of Arezzo develops a method to learn music by ear, solfège
c. 1095
Le Chanson de Roland composed
c. 1100
Bagpipes appear in England
The rondeau appears
1116
Chinese ritual music (aak) appears in Korea
1121
The earliest performance of roi nuoc, or water puppetry, is recorded in Vietnam
c. 1125
Trouveres and troubadours appear in France
c. 1150
French troubadours become more organized
1151
Leoninus, a French composer, develops the ars antigua style
c. 1180
Minnesingers appear in Germany
c. 1182
Lauda appear in Italy
c. 1200
The faux bourdon style begins in England
Hat tuong, which evolved from Chinese opera, appears in Vietnam
Cymbals are invented
In England, France and Germany, wandering musicians form collectives to help each other
Trumpets are used as signals in battle in Europe
1225
"Summer is icumen in" is the first English round
c. 1250
Perotinus moves the ars antigua school of music to its peak
Amir Khusrau is said to have invented qawwali, the sitar and the tabla in Pakistan
1253
Kublai Khan arrives in Yunnan, supposedly bringing with him baisha xiyue
1262
Adam de la Halle writes the first operetta, "LeJeu de la Feuillee"
c. 1265
Franco of Cologne and Pierre de la Croix develop the motet
c. 1300
Jongleurs appear in France
1309
Marchettus of Padua tries to introduce the counterpoint
1322
The Pope expressly forbids the counterpoint
c. 1325
Organ pedals are invented
"Tournai Mass", the first polyphonic Mass, is written
c. 1330
The ars nova style is invented
1332
The first mastersingers appear in France
c. 1350
Mastersingers appear in Germany
1360
Original forms of the clavichord and cembalo appear
1377
Musicians at the papal chapel in Avignon move to Rome, making it the capital of music in Europe
1385
The marriage of Charles the VI and Isabella of Bavaria is the first French court ball
1392
The Choson Dynasty begins in Korea; a rich tradition of court music arises during this dynasty
c. 1400
The dulcimer is invented
Secular songs with French lyrics, chansons, are popular
1400
The Thais sack Angkor and bring apsara dancers back to the royal Thai court
c. 1420
The Burgundian School begins
c. 1426
Holland becomes the musical capital of Europe
1428
The Le dynasty comes to power in Vietnam; it will go on to restrict music like cheo, which is perceived as anti-establishment
1430
The Renaissance begins, leading to the increasing popularity of secular music as well as the diversification of musical styles across Europe
Aak music in Korea is reconstructed from surviving 12th century compositions
1465
First printed music appears in Europe
c. 1490
Ballet appears
c. 1500
Broadside ballads begin their period of popularity in England
Italian madrigals appear
1505
The Portuguese begin colonizing Sri Lanka, forever influencing its culture
1508
The Spanish begin their domination of Puerto Rico
1522
The Spanish begin mass importation of African slaves to Cuba and other Caribbean islands
1553
Ancestral forms of the violin are invented
1562
Pius IV's Counter-Reformation eliminates all instrumentation except the organ, as well as all secular elements, harmony and folk melodies
1565
Women are banned from singing in Christian churches; the desire for adult female voices leads to the practice of castration
1574
Castration is common in Europe
1578
Jean De Léry publishes the first account of Brazilian music, Viagem à Terra do Brasil
1587
Gabriel Soares de Sousa publishes the first account of native Brazilian musical forms, Tratado Descritivo do Brasil
1588
Thomas Morley's English Madrigal School is firmly established
1590
Count Giovanni de Bardi gathers a group of artists, leading to the invention of opera
c. 1590
Son is known in Cuba
1594
Jacopo Peri's Dafne is the first Italian opera
c. 1600
The European Renaissance ends and the Baroque period begins; this is marked by increasing rigidity and codification in music
The harp is added to European orchestras
Slaves brought to Morocco from Mali lead to the development of gnawa
1601
Caccini invents a vocal style called nuove musiche
1606
The first open-air operas appear in Rome
1607
Claudio Monteverdi writes Orfeo, Favola in Musica, an influential early Baroque opera
1609
Japan begins its domination of Okinawa
1631
The first professional female singers in Europe for several centuries appear in England for a production of Chloridia
1639
Virgilio Mazzocchi and Marco Marazzoli write the first comic opera, Chi Soffre Speri
1648
The aria and the recitative became separate parts of opera
c. 1650
Beginning of modern harmony
The overture emerges
1652
The minuet becomes popular in French courts
c. 1660
The seis arises in southern Spain
1664
The French horn is added to European orchestras
1675
Matthew Locke's Psyche is the oldest surviving English opera
1685
Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederick Handel are born; they will be the two most influential Baroque composers
First ballets arrive in Germany
c. 1690
Andalusian ballads arrive in Puerto Rico, vastly influencing future forms of music including the decima
1692
Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas, leading to European, African and American musical forms mixing, especially in the Caribbean
1696
The sonata is introduced
1705
French horns appear in an opera for the first time -- Octavia by Reinhard Keiser
1709
The pianoforte is invented
1711
The clarinet is added to European orchestras
1719
Dimitrie Cantemir writes the first book on Turkish music
1725
Vivaldi writes The Four Seasons
1742
Handel's Messiah premieres in Dublin
1750
Bach dies; this is often considered the end of the Baroque period and the beginning of the relatively simple Classical period
1751
The minuet becomes the most popular dance in Europe
1762
Christoph Willibald von Glück writes Orfeo ed Euridice with the express purpose ofreturning opera to its roots
1767
The Burmese sack Ayuthaya and bring Thai musicians to their homeland, thus leading to a mixture of Burmese, Thai and Cambodian musics in Burma and elsewhere in southeast Asia
1772
The barrel organ is invented
1773
Waltz is popular in Vienna
1774
Earliest flamenco appears in Spain
1780
Sebastiano Carezo invents the bolero in Spain
1783
Spain adopts a policy of encouraging Roman Catholics to move to its colonies, leading to a French majority on the island of Trinidad; the French immigrants bring Carnival and the roots of calypso
1786
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro premiers
1787
Mozart's Don Giovanni premiers
c. 1790
Bumba-meu-boi, a form of comedic dance, is popular in Brazil
1791
The waltz is popular in England
The Haitian Revolution sends refugees to Cuba, bringing with them native musical forms (see: charanga)
1794
"Tammany, or The Indian Chief" by James Hewitt is one of the first American operas
1802
The Garifunas arrive in Belize (then British Honduras) and soon develop paranda music
1803
Ludwig van Beethoven's Eröica marks the beginning of the Romantic period
1807
Beethoven'sSymphony No. 5 is written; this is perhaps the most popular classical symphony ever
1814
The metronome is invented
1821
Der Freischutz by Carl Maria von Weber debuts, marking the beginning of his primacy in German opera
1829
The accordion is invented in Vienna
Fado may have existed in Brazil
c. 1830
"Jump Jim Crow" by Thomas Rice becomes popular in the United States
The growth of Carnival in Trinidad begins, leading to the development of calypso music
The Great Awakening (a religious revival) sweeps the United States, inspiring slaves to use their own vocal styles with English hymns; these songs are called negro spirituals
c. 1835
Lundu is developed in Brazil
Tamburitza is developed into increasingly complex forms in Croatia
1835
The first music conservatory in Switzerland opens in Geneva
Elias Lönnrot's collection of runolaulu traditional Finnish song, the Kalevala is first published
1836
Maria Severa's performance of a fado for the Comte de Vimisio causes him to fall in love with her and an ensuing public controversy; this is the earliest certain example of fado's existence
1838
Indians begin arriving in the Caribbean, especially Trinidad, in large numbers
1839
Barzaz-Breizh, the first collection of Breton folk song, is published
"Te voglio bene assaie" is written; this is often said to be the beginning of canzone napoletana
1840
Harmonium invented
c. 1840
The danza is invented in Puerto Rico
1841
Adolphe Sax invents the saxophone
1848
The Kalevala, a collection of traditional Finnish runolaulu, inspires a rise in Finnish nationalism
c. 1850
UPA moves from Cuba and Puerto Rico to other Caribbean islands, most importantly Hispaniola
1852
Fredrik Pacius publishes the first Finnish opera
The earliest known appearance of mariachi music in Mexico
1853
Richard Wagner's The Ring Cycle debuts
1854
Franz Liszt invents the symphonic poem
1860
Indian musicians move to the royal court in Kabul, Afghanistan, bringing their musical influences
The rise of the Pocomania and Revival Zion churches in Jamaica influences developing folk forms across the island
The bandoneon was invented in Germany
1865
Ernest Gagnon publishes the first collection of traditional Quebecois folk songs
1868
The Meiji Restoration revolutionizes and democratizes Japanese music
1869
The golden age of flamenco is usually said to begin
c. 1870
Christian missionaries bring gospel music to Australian Aborigines
Choro is invented in Rio de Janeiro
Tin Pan Alley begins to dominate popular music in the US
1870
A Hindustani theater group, Elphinstone, comes to Colombo, and Hindustani theater and song soon dominates the island of Sri Lanka
1871
African-American spirituals are popular in Europe, even being played for Queen Victoria, who is said to have been moved to tears by the performance
1874
Society for Culture and Education is founded in Finland
1875
Earliest origins of plena in Puerto Rico
1877
Thomas Edison invents the first machine to record sound
1878
N'Dusseldorf forms in Vienna, soon becoming the pioneers of modern schrammelmusik
1880
John Paine's In Spring is the first symphony published in the US
Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado premiers
Spanish zarzuela is introduced to the Philippines
The Canboulay Riots in Trinidad led to the British banning some forms of celebration during Carnival
c.1880
A gold rush prompts large-scale Caribbean immigration to Venezuela, leading to the development of a distinctive style of Trinidadian calypso referred to as Venezuelan calipso.
Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe begin a period of large-scale immigration to the United States, establishing North America as the hub of klezmer music
The Ghost Dance spreads from Paiute Native Americans in Nevada to other tribes across the United States
Auvergnat bal-musette is popular in Paris
1886
Celesta invented
Miguel Failde helps invent habanera music out of danzón
c. 1890
Jean Sibelius' Kullervo inspires a rise in Finnish nationalism, greatly influencing music in his native land
The sabha (paying classical concert performances) associations begin to shit from music into dance
The accordion is introduced to Mexico by Bohemian immigrants
Uilleann pipes are introduced to Ireland in their modern form
Augusto Hilario pioneers student fado at Coimbra University
1895
The National Czecho-Slavonic Ethnographical Exhibition is held in Prague, leading to a revival of traditional music and nationalist pride
Béla Vikár makes the first recordings of Hungarian folk music
1896
Ragtime and cakewalk are popularized in the United States
1898
F. Myers made some of the first field recordings ever in Papua New Guinea
1899
Mariachi bands begin playing at weddings in Jalisco, Mexico
