Read brief notes on each period and listen to some sample tracks (these are the tracks you need to listen to if you are a new student). A fuller selection of tracks are available on Moodle. I recommend this link from Gramophone for a continuous read through the main periods with some examples: Brief history of Classical Music.
1550-1600 |
Late Renaissance |
1600-1750 |
Baroque |
1750-1810 |
Classical |
1810-1900 |
Romantic |
1900-1999 |
Twentieth Century |