![]() In the early organization of the church, music was used to unify the different Christian practices throughout Europe. The early medieval chants used a small tonal range and used only a single note at a time, but this evolved to more varied and complex compositions. Within church services, prayers were often chanted and throughout the Middle Ages were set to polyphonic music. Whereas art tended to be almost exclusively within the realm of the Church, music had both secular and religious uses. In Germany the Geisslerlieder style focused on religious music of a penitent nature, using song to atone for sins. The Trecento of Italy is similar to the contemporaneous French style, but are sung in Italian and often feature a two-voice harmony structure. In France the Ars nova period saw an evolution of secular music to match the sophistication of religious composition. In the early 14th-century more sophisticated regional composition styles develop. It is from approximately 1300 that musical composers become known for their work. Music from the Late Middle Ages shows an increase in claimed authorship of music. Medieval music was often anonymous and often untitled, as a result songs were known by principal lyrics. ![]() These early chants tended to be very simple in composition, but over time became more advanced and complex. ![]() Christians adopted the use of plainsong chanting Psalms for use in their liturgy. The development of Middles Ages music stems from Jewish musical traditions. ![]() Most stringed instruments in the Middle Ages were plucked or strummed, but Byzantium is noted as developing the lyra, which was one of the earliest bowed string instruments. The psaltery was a hand-held member of the harp family. The pear shape of the gittern blurs the boundary between the body and the neck that is so clear in the lute. The gittern is the predecessor of the modern guitar and originated in Muslim-occupied Spain. The lute is one of the more recognizable medieval instruments. Unlike the woodwinds, playing a stringed instrument left the mouth unoccupied, thereby allowing the musician to sing and play simultaneously. Stringed instruments were also common to add depth of sound and composition to the woodwind instruments. The recorder was held in place while fingering created notes, but with the pan flute the entire instrument needed to be moved to produce the correct notes. Unlike the recorder or flute where covering a combination of holes produces different tones, the pan flute consists of several lengths of wooden tubes, each producing a different tone. The pan flute was a common feature of Greek images of Pan, the satyr, and it’s popularity was carried over into the medieval period. The recorder, which remains virtually unchanged in modernity, is an instrument with finger holes on the front and is held at a downward angle. Woodwind instruments were popular in the Middle Ages and were almost exclusively made from wood. Primarily woodwind and stringed instruments were used in musical compositions, and often singing was an integral part as well. ![]() Some of these instruments are still used in modernity though in a different form, material, or other change. Many regional varieties develop in medieval music, and it is difficult to classify a single style.Ī variety of instruments were used to create Middle Ages music. Medieval music can be further subdivided into early medieval music from before 1150, high medieval music from 1300-1400, and then Renaissance music began after 1400. The timing of Middle Ages music is generally agreed upon my music historians to encompass the time between approximately 550-1400 CE. All cultures and epochs throughout history have music as a part of their culture for entertainment, devotional, or other purposes. ![]()
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