The Rise Of Medieval Music And Its Impact On The Of Music In Whole
I live by the motto that music can change the world because it can change people. I witness this change first hand when I dare to look in the mirror.
According to the Billboard Music Chart statistics, this past year R&B/hip-hop music took the top rank for most popular genre accounting for 24. 5 percent of all music consumed with rock right on its tale accounting for 20. 8 music consumed. Having said this, I stick out like a sore thumb with my music tastes straying from mainstream hits and instead ranging anywhere from new wave, alternative, psychedelic, reggae, funk and yep you guessed it, even medieval music made the cut! Throughout this essay I will describe the rise of medieval music and its influence on the history of music.
Having recently completed a journal entry over medieval music I know off the top of my head that medieval music made its debut in about 500 A. D. and lasted until 1400 A. D. During this period new instrumental pieces, songs, and liturgical and secular branches of music emerged. Medieval music was an era of Western music, including as aforementioned, liturgical music which was used for the church and secular (non-religious) music. Medieval music includes just vocal music, such as Gregorian chant and choral music, just instrumental music and music that uses both voices and instruments. According to Study. com, the chants were “monophonic, meaning it was one melody without harmony, resulting in just one musical part. ” As per my religion teacher, Gregorian chant was originally sung in unison by monks during Catholic Mass since Mass is “a reenactment of Christ's Last Supper, intended to provide a spiritual connection between man and God.” I put two and two together and concluded that part of this aforementioned connection was established through music. The rise of medieval music didn’t stop at just the pure the invention of the genre, traces of it can still be observed in modern tunes as well.
It might come as a shock, but Medieval music is still considered some of the most influential music of all time. During the Medieval period the foundation was laid for practices that would alter Western music for the better. For starters, EssentialHumanities. net states that throughout the Middle Ages, innovations in music were driven mainly by sacred music which over centuries led to more development of non-religious music for entertainment purposes. Aside from the development of a music notational system that allowed composers to write out their songs on parchment, the introduction of church modes was another notable innovation of music. Brighthubeducation. com explains that “Church modes consisted of eight different tones at half and whole steps.” These medieval modes vary from the minor and major scales we use today since the arrangement has changed. Regardless, church modes still ended up influencing music throughout history. Furthermore, we also have medieval music to thank for the creation of polyphonic music. As previously mentioned, medieval music was typically monophonic, but once polyphonic music was introduced there was no going back. Music was revolutionized once and for all. For instance, Gregorian chants were re-energized by this innovation because now they could change the chant by weaving in and out of various melodies.
In conclusion, the rise of medieval music is associated with the fall of the Roman Empire which one might think isn’t necessarily an occasion for celebratory jam sessions, but seeing as music was regulated by the church, members of the public either went along with the plans or were deemed unholy. The rise of medieval music not only led the way for the creation of new types of music, but also left permanent footprints in those following genres.
