Transcript history_of_music_middle_ages

Middle Ages
400-1400

Society

 3 classes of people
 First class consisted of nobility: rich landowners,
knights in shining armour
 Second class consisted of clergy, priests & monks
 Third class consisted of most of the people of this
time period: poor farmers known as peasants
 Peasants lived an average age of 30
Two types of Music

 Sacred Music
 Secular Music
Sacred Music

 Church was the centre of people lives
 Sacred music was called plainsong
 Language sung was Latin
 Words came from Roman Catholic Mass
 Monks wrote the music
 http://youtu.be/2HEKhr002Ts
Sacred Music

 Music had 4 staves
 Notes were square called neumes
 Most well known plain song is Gregorian
chant……in honour of Pope Gregory the first
Secular Music

 People travelled from castle to castle singing songs
called Minstrels
 Songs were about love, life and chivalry
 Faster than sacred songs, simple text and one melody
 Not typically Latin but the common language was
used
Minstrels

 Minstrels would tell jokes, sing songs and perform
tricks
 Quite often play stringed or percussion instruments
 Formed guilds and worked at becoming respected
members of the middle class
Composers

 Guido D’Arezzo (Italian) is believed to have lived
from 991/992-1033
 He was the inventor of modern musical notation
(staff notation)
 Created/invented the Guidonian hand: musical
notes were mapped to the parts of the hand
 Other composers of this time period were:
Guillaume de Machaut (French), John Dunstable
(English), Leonin (French)
End of an Era

 Over 1000 years, life became better, more civilized
 People started to focus on themselves
 Until now music had been homophony – music with
only one melody at a time
 Music was starting to be called polyphony – music
with 2 or more melodies happening at the same time.
Medieval Music Characteristics
in today’s Music

 Often accompanied by stringed or percussion
instruments
 Songs were about love and life
 Secular music was faster than Sacred music, usually
only having one melody.