Like many aspects of modern culture, modern music has evolved in many different directions. In general, the most common element among the various types of what can be called Modern Music is the element of experimentation.
The Modern Era of music evolved from the late Romantic and Impressionist periods as a result of the experimental efforts of such composers as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss.
While some composers in the Modern era of music continued to use the traditional harmonies that were developed during the Romantic period, many other Modern composers experimented with new and unusual harmonies
Some of these composers, such as the American composer Aaron Copland, the French composer Francis Poulenc, the German composer Paul Hindemith and the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky developed their own unique harmonic vocabularies that make their music highly recognizable. Please listen to the musical samples linked on the next page for examples of each of their works.