Medieval Music Flashcards
When did the Medieval era take place?
400-1400
In 500 A.D. music was generally sung in…
the mass.
During the term of Gregory I, music was…
collected and written down in the form called plainsong or plainchant.
Monks wrote down some Latin poems and music was added so the poems could be sung. These chant collections were kept in…
monastery libraries.
What are neumes?
Dots above or below words that showed singers how music went, but not the exact pitch or length of the notes.
What are staves or staffs?
Lines that represent individual notes.
Music with just one singing line was called…
homophony or monody.
Singing minstrels often traveled in…
troupes.
Troubadours concentrated on writing…
music and poetry.
In Germany, troubadours were called…
minnesingers (singers of love).
Mastersingers’ guilds often held…
competitions.
Polyphony describes…
music with more than one part.
Music with multiple parts became known as…
Ars Nova (new art).
The most famous center of the Ars Nova type music was in…
Paris, where the great cathedral Notre Dame was being built.
