Middle Ages 400-1400
Dec 16, 2015
Middle Ages400-1400
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
Society
Sacred Music Secular Music
Two types of 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
Sacred 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
Secular Music
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
Minstrels
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)
Composers
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.
End of an Era
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.
Medieval Music Characteristics in today’s
Music