The word "Baroque" in the Baroque period derives from the Portuguese word "barroco," meaning oddly shaped pearl. The reason why it's a "pearl" is because the period is closely associated with royals, and the "oddly shaped" part is saying that it is characterized by overly royalness. The Baroque period lasted from 1600~1750 A.D. It is a period of unique art. Music is one of the most important arts during the Baroque period. A lot of characteristics of Baroque music are influenced by the culture and lifestyle during the Baroque period. The royal, Catholic Church lifestyle, and the characteristics of musical instruments form the style of Baroque music.

Baroque music is often played to royals, therefore causing Baroque music to have characteristics such as having a distinct beat, a continuity of rhythm, and being overly ornamented and exaggerated. Royals often hire violinists to play for them. The violinists would play pieces such as fugas, minuets, gavottes, or bourrees. These are all tunes that allow people in the royal palaces to dance along with. To make the music easier to dance to, Baroque music has a distinct beat. Bach's Minuet in G Major is an example. Also, to make the music more appealable to the royals, there is a continuity of rhythm in a piece. Therefore, the music would be simpler for the people to follow along. According to musicofbaroque.com, nineteenth century critics have said that Baroque music sounded overly ornamented and exaggerated, as to that applied the term "Baroque", meaning "oddly shaped pearl". An example of musical ornamentation of the Baroque period is the trill, which is played with rapid alternations between two nearby notes. These ornamentation would make the music sound splendid, which is most suited for the royals.

The fact that Baroque lifestyle is closely associated with the Catholic Church caused Baroque music to become harmonious and have a consistent mood throughout a piece. The Catholic Church was powerful and very influential during the Baroque period. They have affected the lifestyle of the people, and of course, the music during that period. In modern churches, the music sounds harmonious. It is also common that choirs sing church music. To make church music sound holy and have that divineness, the notes have to match to sound like harmonious chords. There are certain connections between these notes that produce a certain harmonious feeling. You won't feel like the notes are out of place. Baroque music acquired harmony to make it suitable in church. In a church, it is important to have consistent mood throughout a piece. Having too much mood change would not display that holiness in a church. Being happy at first, then sad, and then angry is too dramatic in a church. No one would act like that in a church, so the music should not be so either. Baroque music acquired characteristics like harmony between notes and a consistent mood throughout a piece to make the music more suitable for church.

The musical instruments of the Baroque period made Baroque music have terraced dynamics and sound grand. According to miafy.org, the harpsichord is a keyboard instrument most closely associated with the Baroque period in music. Due to the technology during that time, the harpsichord's keys cannot produce different dynamics. No matter how hard the key is pressed, it's always the same volume. There are two rows of key on a harpsichord; one row has a bigger volume, and the other has a smaller volume. This characteristic of the harpsichord causes it to have terraced dynamics, which is a big contrast of volume. There's no "in between" volume when playing a harpsichord. The instrument used is very important to the music played. It is not appropriate to use recorders to play rock, but it is to use guitars and drums. The violin provides a sound of rich texture, so it is most appropriate to play music that sounds splendid and grand. A musical instrument used can determine what kind of music should be played with that instrument. The terraced dynamics and grand style of Baroque music is formed because of the characteristics of the musical instruments at that time, such as the harpsichord and the violin.

The characteristics of Baroque music are affected by the royalties, the Catholic Church, and the musical instruments during the Baroque period. The royalties caused Baroque music to have a distinct beat, a continuity of rhythm, and being overly ornamented. The Catholic Church caused Baroque music to become harmonious and have a consistent mood throughout a piece. The characteristics of the musical instruments cause Baroque music to have big contrasts of volume and sound splendid. The music of the Baroque period formed into an "oddly shaped pearl" because of the culture and lifestyle during the Baroque period.