1.  Middle Ages 400-1400

2.   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

3.   Sacred Music  Secular Music Two types of Music

4.   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 http://youtu.be/2HEKhr002Ts Sacred Music

5.   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

6.   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

7.   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

8.   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

9.   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

10.   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