During the Middle Ages, troubadours performed songs using small instruments such as the lute or fiddle. The topics of these songs ranged from love and poetry to politics and historical events. Around the 1600s, new styles were developing. Among these were the basso continuo, a bass line written in the score indicating the root or most important notes of the accompaniment part. Antonio Vivaldi`s "The Four Seasons" is a set of concertos written for strings and basso continuo. Basso ostinato is a melodic line repeated several times during the piece, just like Pachelbel`s "Canon in D Major," or the rhythmic ostinato in "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel.
The Classical Period started in the mid-eighteenth century. Composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used different accompaniment styles like the Alberti bass. A good example of this style is the first measures of Mozart`s "Piano Sonata in C major k.545." A representative and more rhythmic style is the accompaniment heard in the beginning of the third movement from "Piano Sonata in A Major k.331: Turkish March" by Mozart. The arpeggio is a style widely used in classical music. "Ave Maria," written by German composer Franz Schubert, is sung over an arpeggio accompaniment.
During the nineteenth century, music became more popular than ever before. Artistic music was no longer considered a privilege of court or clerical members. Chamber music was the favorite style of families. Solo instruments like violin or cello would ideally be accompanied by piano, and they would often play together as a trio. The "lied" (German for "song") was a popular genre usually performed by one singer and accompanied by one piano. Franz Schubert was one of the most prolific composers of this kind of song, with around 600 published. "Die Forelle" (The Trout) and "Standchen" (Serenade) are two of the most beloved lieder. Viennese waltzes are one of the most famous styles associated with classical music. The famous composer Johann Strauss II wrote some of the most popular Viennese waltzes such as "By theBeautiful Blue Danube" (1867),"Voices of Spring" (1883) and "Tales from the Vienna Woods" (1868).