Medieval Music Essay, Research Paper

Music in the middle ages is similar to the music that we listen to today in the way that there are many different types of music for different types of people. There were many types of music in the middle ages including Slavic, Jewish, Popular, middle eastern, and many other types of religious music as well as music for entertainment.

Even though there are practically no records of popular music, this is beleived to be one of the most heard types of music in the middle ages. Most of the music in this category is taken from folk music, and was basically taken from other songs,chants, or the bible. This type of music would be the type you would hear on the street or at a festival of some sort. This was the everyday music that was played anywhere.

One song that came from this category was Media Vita. This was a song that was written in the eleventh century about some mysterious powers the song had. This song was either popular because of the powers it possessed or because of the tune. Either way, it lasted all the way into the beginning of the twentieth century.

Another song that was popular was Alma Redemptoris Mater. This song was very plain, in f-major, but it still stuck around for a very long time. This recognition to the blessed Virgin Mary was used from the eleventh century to almost the end of the middle ages.

The carol also was a very popular type of music in the middle ages as well. This style of music represented itself by making the text show strong, memorable imagery in your head. These came in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but shortly died out. Carols were used in church mostly to make the songs and words stick in your head. The structure, rhyme, and repeated motives throughout the carol, make that thought stick in your head like some songs do today.

As you can see music in the middle ages influenced many people just like it does today. There was a wide variety of music just like today, and a strong following in each area of music.