Music Periods

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• Lute: a chordophone, which was invented in this period but it became more popular in the future.

• Rebec: an arab intrument, was play by rubbing a bow on the strings.

• Cornamuse: similar to the actual bangpipes, shepherds used to play it.

• Harp: a string instrument very used by minstrels in their performances.

• Guido d'Arezzo (992-1050): he was a teacher in a cathedral of Arezzo,Italy. He created the four-line stave, and gave the notes the names we used today.

Composers

• Has a monophonic texture
• Uses modal scales
• Texts are in latin
• Performed by male voices
• Neumes were created
• They strarted to use a neumatic notational system, on a four-line stave

In the 13th century goliards were also demanding

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Conductus

• New composition for 2 or 4 voices
• The same text was sung by all the voices
• It had a strong and solemn rhythm
• Drone

Polyphony

• It´s the earliest form
• The main voice was Gregorian melody
• A second parallel voice was added
• Parallel motion

Dicantus

• Appeared later
• A new voice was added to the Gregiorian melody
• It moved in the opposite direction to the voice
• Contrary motion

Secular monophony appeared in 9th century and was passed orally Characteristics:

• It had monophonic textures with musical accompaniment
• It's designed for entertainment
• The text are about love or history
• It's performed by male and female voices
• It was written in the local language
• The musicians who played secular music were minstrels

Secular vocal Music

Liturgical Polyphoy

Religious Music

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Instruments

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Gregorian Chant

476-1492

MIDDLE AGES