Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Music - Essay Example and ran up to 1000A.D. Gregory, a Christian pope who served for 14 years, from 590 A.D. is believed to have largely contributed to the type of music. One of the major characteristics of the medieval period music is the monophonic feature that developed a single melody line for a piece of music. Polyphonic types of music however developed late in the period, after the 12th century, but this music type remains unique and cannot be confused with music from other periods (Thinkquest, n.d.). The renaissance period, a two-century long duration, marks the second phase of music’s history. Even though the period’s developments were engineered from the church, secular artists soon took centre stage and significantly dominated music. The basis of transition from the medieval period to the renaissance period was emotional attachment that was associated with words in music. The initiative that was developed by a church bishop was then followed by more advancement such as use of instruments in music. The polyphonic type of music in the period also differed from the one that developed in the medieval period (Thinkquest, n.d.). The end of the 17th century marked a transition from the renaissance music period to the baroque period that lasted for about a century and a half. It marked significant developments in music’s history with development of art that was â€Å"highly ornate, colorful and richly textured† (Thinkquest, n.d., p. 1). The period also incorporated other forms of art such as poetry into music’s presentation and involved higher-level application of instruments in music besides establishment of homophony as a music style. Polyphonic style of music also advanced besides other approaches such as orchestra, opera, and vocal music approaches (Thinkquest, n.d.). Classical period marked the end of baroque period in the year 1750 A.D. It involved transitions into a more balanced, proportionate and principled approach that marked a