Download Renaissance Period

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 handThe Printing Press
copying.
The Printing Press made it easier and
faster to print music for public sale.
Music could now be printed.
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.
Music could now be sold.
Most of the Medieval instruments were
poorly made and out of tune. But now,
with more advanced science, better
instruments were being…
Invented
and Manufactured
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
Harpsichord
This beautiful instrument
used raven quills to pluck
the strings. It was very
popular until the piano
took its place many years
later.
The End