Medieval Music
Modern music of the western world has its roots in medieval music. It may seem illogical, but it is actually quite true. Some music in America even has routes from medieval times in the western world. Modes, notation, polyphony music, and other musical ideas of this sort date back to these times. Also, ideas of polyphony music from the Middle Ages are the foundation in much of western music. However, "the medieval musical experience is impossible to recapture, for most of the music of daily life is lost" (Cyrus 1). But still, one can see how important this time in musical growth was, because their ideas have survived for us to use.Firstly, troubadours and trouveres are a topic worth knowing about. They were typical medieval people. In the medieval world, the troubadours and trouveres traveled around singing to praise noble women and the knights who loved them. But there was a difference between a troubadour and trouvere. Troubadours were the poets who were associated with Provencal, the language of Provence France. A trouvere was a poet who spoke a variation of the French language. As said, these poets admired women. The most admired women of the times lived from 1122 to 1204. Her name was Eleanor of Aquitaine. "
Besides the organ, there were many other instruments used during the Middle Ages, despite the church's thoughts. One of those instruments was the harp. The harp was thought to be an instrument of royalty, but by the twelfth century commoners, such as jongleurs, were using it. Next, there were the psaltery and lute. These were instruments plucked not by the fingers but a rod or quill. And like the harp, jongleurs and wandering actors used these instruments. By the way, jongleurs were the wandering poets or musicians in the Middle Ages. Fourthly, notation started to develop during the Middle Ages. By the time of 1000, a kind of staff started to develop. A system of notation was really not needed at first, since music could easily be memorized and passed down generation to generation. But by the time polyphonic music started to develop, only educated musicians could understand it. So, a notation system was needed and by the fourteenth century the staff was near perfection. Although it was not the same harmony that would become later understood, polyphony of this time was a very important part of the medieval way. For it set western music apart from other civilizations. "While other civilizations do have music with a multitude of individual melodic lines sounding at the same time, in most cases there is reliance upon improvisatory skills of the performer to produce this variety, not the guiding hand of the inventor" (Seay 77). Lastly, the music of the medieval ages may be vague for modern scholars to decode; "yet the music that does survive forms a sumptuous legacy, ranging from the sacred to the profane and from the monophonic texture with a single melody sung alone to the richly polyphonic with several independent voices operating simultaneously" (Cyrus 1). The ideas of music in the Middle Ages still live on in daily life. The transition in music during the Middle Ages will never be forgotten. Medieval music laid the foundation for music during the renaissance in the western world and the logic of modern music in the western world still has roots that date back to the ideas about modes, notation, polyphony, and such from people of the medieval world. By the tenth century, people had forgotten the past attitudes towards musical instruments. They were starting to loosen up. By this time, instruments were a recognized part of the medieval musical system and were a part of every musical performance. Music was unthinkable without being associated with some sort of instrument. However, as fa
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Approximate Word count = 1709
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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