1. Periods of Classical Music
Classical Music is art music rooted in the traditions of Western Music.
Medieval and Renaissance

2. Time: Approximately 500 – 1450 A.D
The Medieval Period
Time: Approximately 500 – 1450 A.D

3. The Medieval Period
Most of the music at this time was sacred music (church music); this music was called plainsong or chant and represented the earliest known music of the Christian church.
Plainsong is monophonic, which means that is consisted of a single vocal part.
Around 1011 AD the Roman Catholic Church wanted to standardize the Mass and chant, the resulting music is what is called Gregorian Chant.
Most composers are not known.

4. Troubadours and Minstrels
During the High Middle Ages (late Medieval period) the troubadour came into existence. A troubadour is a composer and performer of poetry who made a living as an entertainer, hired by wealthy nobles.
Most were not simply wandering entertainers, though some did travel extensively from one court to another.
A troubadour is similar to a minstrel, but minstrels generally told stories of distant places and events and did not always create their own poetry.
Most troubadours and minstrels also played instruments or sang their stories.

5. Instruments
Many of the instruments we use today existed in the Medieval Era, but in a different form. At that time the flute was made of wood instead of metal.
Early versions of the organ, fiddle, and trombone (called the sackbut) existed.
Other instruments used include: The Pan Flute, Recorder, Lute, Psaltery, Zither, Hurdy-gurdy and hammered dulcimer. Jaw Harp/Jew’s Harp.
Bowed psaltery is not a true psaltry, came into use in 1900s.

6. Instruments
Zither
Jaw Harp
Pan Pipes
Psaltery
Hurdy Gurdy
Lute

7. Hammered Dulcimer

8. Music Notation
Music in the early part of the Medieval period was generally passed on orally. Eventually music began to be notated, though without a staff, and this is where our modern music notation originated.

9. The Renaissance Period
Approximately

10. Early Staff Notation

11. The Renaissance
The Renaissance time period was a period of intellectual rebirth, when the arts flourished, and ideas and intellectual pursuits were highly valued.
Music was still dominated by the church but with more sophisticated melodies and harmonies; different styles begin to emerge.
Polyphony, having more than one note (having harmony) came into common usage.
The development of printing made distribution of music possible on a wide scale, and demand for music as entertainment and as an activity for educated amateurs increased.

12. Renaissance Instruments
Brass: Slide trumpet, cornetto (like recorder but blown like brass, largest was called serpent), trumpet, sackbut (early trombone).
String: viol, lyre, Irish harp, hurdy-gurdy, harpsichord.
Percussion: jaw harp and tambourine.
Woodwind: shawm, reed pipe, bag pipe, transverse flute, recorder, panpipe.

13. Renaissance Instruments
Slide
Trumpet
Viol
Irish Harp
Shawm
Cornetto
Serpent (largest Cornetto)

14. Notable Composers William Byrd (c. 1540–1623)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, c. 1525–1594
Giovanni Gabrieli
(c. 1554/1557 – 1612).
Claudio Monteverdi, 1567–1643

15. Need to Know
Approximate time periods for Medieval ( ) and Renaissance ( )
Sacred vs. Secular – religious music vs. non-religious music
Some instruments for extra credit
What a Troubadour is
What polyphony and monophony mean (more than 1 part, one part)
What period printing began (Renaissance)