Part 1 – The Middle Ages (pp. 17-20)
Overview
 Middle Ages (Medieval Era) is 1st of 6 musical style periods
 Lasted from 476 (fall of Roman Empire) to early 1400’s (Renaissance)
 How was life different in the Middle Ages?
 What did people do for amusement?






Music was created for church services, courtly ceremonies, entertainment
Monks composed plainchant (or Gregorian chant); these were monophonic,
unaccompanied melodies sung by single voice or by choir in unison
Polyphony became more important in 10th century
Medieval music utilized different scales, tuning, and instruments than we use today
Process of notating music began during 10th century
Paris became cultural center of Europe during 12th century; Notre Dame was first
universal musical leader
Sacred music
 Why were churches so large and so ornate?
 How were church services different from today?
 Why was music so important to worship?
 Each type of church service had special music; most important service was Mass
 Mainly vocal, but started adding instruments (organ, strings, brass, and timpani) around
10th century
Court music
 Europe was divided into kingdoms, duchies, fiefdoms
 What was function of music in medieval courts?
 Some courts employed full-time musicians and composers; some used services of
travelling entertainers (goliards, trouveres, troubadours, jongleurs, minstrels,
minnesingers, meistersingers)
Notation
 Early medieval music was spread by oral transmission, because there was no system of
notation
 Even after development of notation, most music was not written down--Why?
 Most extant music from this period was written for church use; secular music was often
created by untrained musicians who could not write it down
 How was notation different from today?