Medieval Music

The Middle Ages, otherwise known as the Medieval Period, was full of darkness and death in England. Due to the cold, artic temperatures in England at this time, illness was prone to strike many homes. With all of the sickness and death, England didn't have much room to advance. Musical advances were not common in the majority of England except in Monk societies. Different kinds of music the Monks used were: plainsong, parallel organum, free organum, melismatic organum, and counterpoint. Plainsong, or plainchant, was the basis or these types and was known as monophonic. Gregorain Chant, named after Pope Gregory I, was used in Catholic Mass and other religious services. Parallel Organum, usually consisting of 4th and 5th harmonies, was used greatly in Notre Dame. People such as the trouvéres and the troubadours, spread this music throughout England. They would sometimes spread this music in the form of a motet. A motet is a vocal composition in polyphonic style, on a Biblical or similar prose text, intended for use in a church service.
Different instruments used in the Middle Ages were the Hurdy-Gurdy, a wooden string instrument; the Harpsichord, a stringed piano; the Lute, a guitar like instrument with wide body; and the Medieval Shawm, a wooden clarinet-type instrument. One of the main instruments used in the Medieval Period was the harp. The harp is a stringed aristocratic instrument used in all parts of Europe. The Troubadors used this instrument the most and would often sing lyrics along with playing the harp. The harpers would sometimes lead armies into battle and were not harmed by the enemy because they were respected by them. These instruments were used for mostly entertainment, but were used for other things as well.
Besides in England, music was advancing in other countries. In China, the musicians were developing pentatonic and diatonic compositions. Pieces included 12 notes to an octave and were mostly diatonic. To me, the most interesting advances were the rap developments in Scotland. Rap music originated in Scotish pubs back in the Middle Ages. The Scots would battle with insults back and forth. This came from the ancient art of Caledonia and it was called flyting.
Medieval music was different in all parts of the world. Some of the advances during this time are a basis to modern music and instruments we use today. In knowing how things such as theory and scales started back in this time period, is very interesting. Even with all of the death and darkness, music still survived and prevailed.