Baroque
1600–1750
Ornamented melodies, steady dance rhythms and interweaving voices, first written for harpsichord and organ.
Key figures
Through the eras
Each era's key figures are the composers you can play here today.
Classical
1750–1820
Clear melodies and balanced phrases, as the young piano became the home of the sonata.
Key figures
Romantic
1820–1900
Expressive, often virtuosic music that made the piano a solo voice, from nocturnes and waltzes to concert showpieces.
Key figures
Modern
1900–present
New colors and freedoms, from impressionist harmony to bold rhythms and repeating minimalist patterns.
Key figures
Questions and answers
Questions about eras
Quick answers about eras, their key composers and the pictures on this page.
Browse every sheet in the LibraryAn era is a period of classical music, such as Baroque or Romantic. A genre is a style, such as jazz, rock or new age, and can include music from any period.
Eras group classical composers by when they wrote, from the Baroque of Bach and Vivaldi to the Modern era after 1900. Genres group every sheet by style, so a film theme and a Chopin nocturne live on different pages.
In this Library, the composers with the most sheets in each era are Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi for Baroque, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for Classical, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Frédéric Chopin for Romantic, and Claude Debussy and Erik Satie for Modern.
The paintings and photographs come from Wikimedia Commons. Each one is in the public domain or shared under a Creative Commons license, and all of them are credited at the bottom of the page. The Play and Convert pictures are Zen Virtual Piano's own artwork.
Keep exploring
- LibraryPiano sheets by composerStart with the most-played names or jump to any composer from A to Z.Browse composers
- LibraryPiano sheets by genreFrom classical and jazz to soundtracks and pop, browse every genre.Browse genres
- PlayA virtual piano in your browserA 61-key piano for your computer keyboard, a USB MIDI keyboard or a touchscreen.Open the virtual piano
- ConvertFrom MIDI to letter notationTurn a MIDI file into playable Virtual Piano notation, right in your browser.Convert a MIDI file
Image credits
The images credited below come from Wikimedia Commons. Each one is in the public domain or shared under the Creative Commons license named beside it.
- Portrait of Frédéric ChopinAuthor Maria WodzińskaLicense Public domainChanges Cropped, resized and tonedSource Wikimedia Commons
- Schubertiade, painting by Julius Schmid (1897)Author Julius SchmidLicense Public domainChanges Cropped, resized and tonedSource Wikimedia Commons
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1748)Author Elias Gottlob HaussmannLicense Public domainChanges Cropped, resized and tonedSource Wikimedia Commons
- Leopold Mozart with Wolfgang and Nannerl (1763)Author Louis Carrogis CarmontelleLicense Public domainChanges Cropped, resized and tonedSource Wikimedia Commons
- Liszt at the Piano (1840)Author Josef DanhauserLicense Public domainChanges Cropped, resized and tonedSource Wikimedia Commons
- The Starry Night (1889)Author Vincent van GoghLicense Public domainChanges Cropped, resized and tonedSource Wikimedia Commons
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