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Medieval Period
Listen to this Gregorian
Chant. Does this song have
harmony or
rhythm?
Does this kind of tune have another name? Is this song
polyphonic?
This a
sacred song. What is
sacred ? Who is
Pope Gregory I
and why should we remember him?
The Medieval period represents almost a thousand years of
the music Most of the composers of this time are anonymous. That means we don't know who they are. They didn't want to be thought of as bragging, so they didn't sign their work. They were told it would make God unhappy if they took credit for what they created.
Harmony: Later on other musical lines were added, creating harmony. This is also called polyphonic music. This is music for more than one voice and it appeared during the later Medieval period. This marked the beginning of harmony. Notation:
During the Medieval period most music was not
written down.
Pope Gregory I: As music became more complicated, someone needed to make up some rules for writing down music. That person was Pope Gregory I. Pope Gregory l declared that music be standardized. That means that musicians and composers had to use the same rules when writing and performing their music. This music can still be heard today. It is called Gregorian chant.
Sacred music: This is religious music. Most of the music of the early Middle Ages was written for the Catholic Church. At first almost all the music that was written down was sacred music for the Catholic Church. As time went on, non-religious music started being written down. Learn More About the Medieval Period To learn more about Medieval instruments, click here. To learn more of this period, visit the History of Music web site. To hear more Gregorian chants, visit the Chant MIDI Files page. To hear examples of music from the Medieval period, click here. 1. Why don't we know the names of the popular Medieval musicians who played, sang, and wrote songs from town to town? 2. Why do you think music notation began in the Catholic Church rather than with the traveling musicians? 3. Why is it important to write down music? 4. Should the rules for writing down music be the same for everyone? 5. Can you identify instruments of the Medieval period that no longer exist? 6. Why do you think some instruments from the Medieval period disappeared? 7. What are some instruments we use today that were not known during the Medieval period? 8. Why do you think non-religious music was becoming more and more popular? 9. Why did it take almost a thousand years for music to develop rhythm, harmony, and instruments? You are ready to take the test at Funbrain. Good luck!
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Capistrano Elementary School |
Capistrano School
Listen to this round, 
history of Europe. Much of the music of this time has been lost. This period is
also called the Middle Ages and the Dark Ages.
Many people died of disease during this period. It was a dark time
in history because of ignorance, sickness, and death. 
Composers who did write their music down usually worked for the Catholic Church.
The Church could afford to buy the materials the composers would need to write
music. People outside the Church were too poor to buy what was needed to
compose music. 
