Beyond the Notes

 Vocal music in the Medieval and Renaissance periods is some of the most interesting and beautiful music of all time. Use this guide as a jumping-off point to explore some of the more important genres and techniques in the Medieval era through the Renaissance (ending around 1600).

Topics:

• Medieval and Renaissance Music: Why is it Important?
• Chant — the first major body of European music that was notated (written down).
• Organum — the earliest genre of polyphony, which developed out of chant.
• Polyphony — a style of music that was especially popular and sophisticated during the height of the Renaissance (16th century).
• Madrigals and Word Painting — a sub-category of polyphony: secular music that illustrates words through melody and texture.

Exercises:

• Listening to Medieval and Renaissance Vocal Music
  Develop and test your ability to recognize the genres and techniques discussed in this guide. I recommend using this exercise as a tool to learn what to listen for, and how to listen.

…video coming soon!

This entry was posted on January 30, 2012 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Guides, Medieval, Music, Renaissance, Videos with tags exercises, Medieval music, Renaissance music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.