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Music vocabulary · Genres and Styles

Classical music

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈklæsɪkəl ˈmjuːzɪk/nounCore term

In music, classical music means: The tradition of Western art music, including symphonies, concertos, operas and chamber music, usually written down in detailed scores and performed by trained musicians.

In Turkish: klasik müzik, Batı klasik müziği

How it is used

Used for the whole tradition: 'classical music concerts', 'a classical musician', 'classical training'. Music historians also use 'the Classical period' (roughly 1750–1820, Haydn and Mozart) in a narrower sense, often with a capital C.

Example sentences

  1. She trained in classical music before moving into jazz.

  2. The radio station plays classical music in the mornings and jazz at night.

Common collocations

  • classical music concert
  • classical training
  • classical musician
  • Western classical music
  • classical repertoire
  • orchestraA large group of musicians playing string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments together, usually led by a conductor.
  • conductorThe person who leads an orchestra or choir, setting the tempo, showing entries and shaping the performance with hand movements or a baton.
  • scoreWritten music that shows all the parts of a piece together, one above the other. It also means the original music written for a film, series or game.
  • genreA category of music with shared features such as rhythm, instruments, harmony or history, for example jazz, rock, hip-hop or classical music.
  • composeTo create an original piece of music, especially instrumental or classical music, film music or music written down in notation.

More terms: Genres and Styles

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