How did music in the classical era 1750 1820 influence the way your music sounds nowadays?
The main influence Western Classical music has on modern day
music is the two main types of scale there are, major and minor.
Before the classical era, people used mainly modal scales, that is,
only the white notes on the piano starting on any note for
different modes. Pentatonic and raga scales would also be used more
without the classical era.
Another notable influence is musical structure. The
verse-chorous structure of modern music is a relative of the rondo,
and binary and tenery structures from the classical era are still
widely used. The micro structure of classical music is also common
today - four bar phrases for example, and regular meter mainly in
triple and quadruple time.
Instrumentation is a big influence, not so much in modern pop,
but in jaz, blues and TV and Film music. The piano is the most
notably used classical instrument, and the idea of large enssembles
like big bands are ideas seeded from an orchestral setting.
Even writting music down for others to perform only came from
the classical era!
So next time you hear someone say classical music sucks, just
say if it wasn't for it mordern music wouldn't exist.