THE RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance Period lasted from about 1450 to 1600 AD

Renaissance means “Rebirth”. Art, music, literature, and architecture

were all changing immensely.

Church music started to become more complex. A type of song

called a “canon” was used. In a canon, the melody overlaps itself. What is another name for this type

of song?

A “Round”

During the Renaissance, written music

started to spread outside

the realm of the most powerful

organization of the Medieval Period. What

was this organization?

The Roman Catholic Church

Now, music that had non-religious topics was being written with the

music notation that the monks invented. The music included topics

that we still write about today.

This kind of non-religious music is called “secular.”

The writers of secular music were called troubadours, while the people who

played or sang it were called minstrels. What’s their names today?

Composers and musicians

An important invention during this time made people more informed of good

music and good composers. This invention also made it easier to obtain music for entertainment in the home.

It was invented in 1436 by a 39 year old German

man named Johann Gutenberg. Before the

development of this time-saving and

economical machine, monks & composers had

to hand copy everything. This time-consuming and tedious process made written

music extremely hard to come by, and very

expensive. This invention was a great

improvement over hand-copying.

The Printing Press

The Printing Press made it easier and faster to print music for public sale.

Music could now be printed.

Music could now be sold.

The printing press eventually led to the invention of the “Newspaper.” Now people

could read about a good composer and buy his music

for personal use.

Most of the Medieval instruments were poorly made and out of tune. But now,

with more advanced science, better instruments were being…

and ManufacturedInvented

There are many music groups around today that celebrate Renaissance music with Renaissance instruments. The group

pictured here is called the “Jubilatores .”

One of the most popular instruments of the renaissance was similar to the guitar. Listen to this instrument.

Lute

This is the ancestor of the bassoon. Listen to a group of them playing.

Dulcian

Here are two brass

instruments that were used

during this period. The

one on the left did not have a slide yet, and the one on the right did not have valves

yet.

Can you guess what they are?

Trombone and trumpet

This beautiful instrument used raven quills to pluck the strings. It was very

popular until the piano took its place many years later.

Harpsichord

The End