Department of Education

Music 9
Medieval & Renaissance Music
First Quarter - Week 1

Jeffrey M. Raymundo
Writers

Ghia Cressida T. Hernandez

Lyra R. Zaragosa
Validators

Wilson F. Pascual
Edison C. Enerlas
Division Quality Assurance Team

Schools Division Office – Muntinlupa City

Student Center for Life Skills Bldg., Centennial Ave., Brgy. Tunasan, Muntinlupa City
(02) 8805-9935 / (02) 8805-9940
“After going through the activities in this SLeM, these are what you will
be able to achieve.”

1. Describe the musical elements of selected vocal and

instrumental music of Medieval and Renaissance,
2. Explain the performance practice (setting, composition, role of
composers/performers, and audience) during Medieval, and
Renaissance; and
3. Relate Medieval and Renaissance to other art forms and their
history within the era.

Directions. Choose a nd e ncir cle the letter of your answer.”

1. Gregorian chant is performed using voices only. What do you call

this kind of vocal music?
A. A cappella B. Free meter C. Monophonic D. Neumes
2. Which of the following statements refers to monophonic texture?
A. Choir of four (4) voices C. A song w/ music instruments
B. Duet of soprano and tenor voices D. Group singing in a flag ceremony

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Gregorian chant?

A. It uses church modes C. It is performed by female singers
B. It is performed w/o instruments D. It uses notation called neumes

4. What is Pope Gregory’s task with the Gregorian chant?

A. He compiled it B. He composed it C. He edited it D. He sung it
5. Which of the following events is NOT connected to the Medieval period?
A. Barbarian invasions C. Crusades
B. Discovery of heliocentric theory D. Spread of the ‘Black Death’

6. Which of the following textures refers to music having 2 or more melodic

lines?
A. Heterophony B. Homophony C. Monophony D. Polyphony

7. Which of the following symbols is used in written Gregorian chant music?

A. Hieroglyphs B. Neumes C. Notes D. Numbers

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 8. Where do you expect to hear Gregorian chants?
A. Church B. Market C. Party D. Transportation
9. It refers to the sacred vocal music of the Renaissance period.
A. Madrigal B. Mass C. Plainchant D. Troubadour
10. He is the well-known composer of Renaissance mass.
A. Giovanni Pierluigi B. Michelangelo C. Leonardo D. Raphael

11. Which of the following statements is TRUE about madrigals?

A. It is a Medieval vocal music C. It is a secular vocal music
B. It is a secular instrumental music D. It is a sacred instrumental music
12. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about the Renaissance
period?
A. Paintings are realistic C. Man-centered society
B. The heliocentric theory was discovered D. Church-dominated society
13. Which of the following symbols is used in Renaissance to write music?
A. Braille B. Letters C. Notes D. Numbers

14. Where do you expect to hear a Renaissance mass?

A. Church B. Home C. Market D. Meetings
15. It refers to the secular vocal music of the Renaissance period.
A. Cantata B. Gregorian chant C. Madrigal D. Mass

Directions. Match the dialogues with the element of music that is

referred to by them. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space
provided before each number.

___1. “There are changes between loudness A. Timbre

and softness in this music!”
___2. “I can recognize every sound of instruments B. Texture
and voices in the music!”
___3. “This music doesn’t have lyrics!” C. Dynamics
___4. “This music is pure voices!” D. Vocal music
___5. “Some music have a second voice, others, E. Instrumental music
don’t have!”

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The music of the Medieval and Renaissance periods is varied and distinct from each other.
We will discover their differences through their background, characteristics, and music
forms. Ready? Let’s get started!

Let us now discuss Medieval and Renaissance music!

Medieval Music

Gregorian Chant or plainsong is the

sacred vocal music of the Medieval period. It
came from the name of the pope who compiled
them, Pope Gregory
I. Let’s analyze its definition!
● Sacred: relates to religion, church, or
worship (in this case, it is Christianity)
● Vocal music: music that uses the
human voice as a medium
● Medieval period: a historical period

from around 300 CE to 1400 CE.

“Which means that Gregorian chant is

sung during worship for around a
thousand years!”

Pope Gregory I
Historical Background
“Let us look at the events that took place for around a thousand years!”

Fall of Rome (c. 300 CE) → Barbarian Invasion

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 → Conversion to Christianity → → Crusades
(of the barbarians)

→ Black Death → Birth of the Renaissance (c. 1300)

“So, the Medieval period consists of hardships on Christianity.

Also, it started when Rome fell and ended during the birth of the
Renaissance.”

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“Let us now look at its characteristics!”

Characteristics of Gregorian Chant

● A cappella: vocal music performed

without using musical instruments. It
is pure voice or voices! (“Remember, no
music instruments allowed!”)
● Monophonic: a piece of music having
only one melodic line. (“It is like when
we sing nationalistic songs during flag
ceremony!”)
● It is without 2nd voice or blending of
voices!
“Here’s how nuemes look
● Free meter: a piece of music without a like.”
fixed or regular beat.
● Sung by male singers only (“No girls
allowed?”)
● Uses church modes (“these are like our do-re-mi, but having different
tones”)
● Uses neumes for notation

Renaissance Music

“Before we get into the music, let’ us first have some background on the society
during Renaissance.”

Comparison of Society Before and During Renaissance Period

Before Renaissance
Period
(Medieval period)
Church-centered
Life and (“Everything is regulated
Society by the church!”)
During Renaissance
Period
Man-centered (“Man is
the measure of all
things!” - Protagoras)

Geocentric Theory Heliocentric Theory

Science (“Earth is the center of the (“No! It’s the sun which
solar system?”) is the center!”)

Arts Non-realistic Realistic

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“Let us look at the following images to further explain what it means!”

Nicolaus Copernicus Renaissance painting of God

proposed heliocentric theory in the image of a man

A Medieval “Mother and Child” A Renaissance “Mother and Child”

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 A Medieval “Entombment of Christ” A Renaissance “Entombment of
Christ” “Now, let’s have the music!”

Renaissance Music: the music of Europe from 1450 to 1600.

There are two types of Renaissance Vocal Music:
1. Mass: sacred vocal music (“You already know what sacred means
as well as vocal music, right?”)
2. Madrigal: secular vocal music (“Secular is simply the reverse
of sacred. Madrigal is a song not intended for the church or
religion!”)

“This time, let us compare Renaissance music from our previous topic,
the Medieval. Also, let’s look at some of the famous composers of
Renaissance music!”

Comparison between Medieval and Renaissance Music

Medieval Music Renaissance Music

A cappella: voices
A cappella: voices only
only or without
Medium or without musical
musical instruments
instruments
“They are still not using music instruments!”

Monophonic: one Polyphonic: more than

melodic line one melodic line
Texture
“I think Renaissance music sounds like a choir!”

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 Free Meter: Metered: the presence
without a regular of a regular beat
Time Signature beat
“So you can regularly tap to the beat of the
Renaissance music!”

Male and Female singers:

Male singers only
Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass
Timbre
“Renaissance music is indeed sounding like a
choir!”
Neumes Notes
System of
Notation “I bet you already know the difference between the
appearance of a neume and a note!”

Church modes Diatonic scale

Tonality
“Otherworldly character” “Heavenly character”

Music Forms, Representative Composer and Titles

Music Form Composer Titles

Giovanni Pierluigi
da Palestrina

“Missa Papae Marcelli”

Mass: sacred music of ● Kyrie • Sanctus
the Renaissance ● Gloria • Agnus
period Dei
● Credo

Thomas Morley

Madrigal: secular “April is in

music of the My Mistress Face”
Renaissance period

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 Activity 1. Medieval Music
Directions. Match the following statements with the corresponding music
characteristic. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided
before each number.
___1. “I can’t recognize this written music!” A. A cappella
___2.“I can’t tap a steady beat with the music! B. Monophony
___3. “I can only hear voices, no music instruments!” C. Free meter
___4. “Why is there no female singers in this music?” D. Male singers only
___5. “There’s no harmony, only one melodic line!” E. uses neumes
F. Polyphony

Activity 2. Renaissance Music

A. Directions. Match the following definitions with their corresponding words.

Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided before each
number.

___1.Vocal music having more than 1 melodic line A. Giovanni Pierluigi

___2. Music that uses voices only as medium B. A cappella
___3. A Renaissance secular vocal music C. Metered
___4. Music having fixed regular beat D. Polyphony
___5. He is the well-known composer of mass E. Madrigal
F. Thomas Morley

B. Directions. Analyze the given words. Tell if it relates to Renaissance

or NOT. Write “R!” for Renaissance and “N!” if NOT.
___1. Polyphonic ___6. Giovanni Pierluigi
___2. A cappella ___7. Gregorian chant
___3. ALL male singers ___8. Church modes
___4. Madrigal ___9. Thomas Morley
___5. Neumes ___10. Polyphonic

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Activity 3. Medieval or Renaissance?
Directions. Compare items 1-5 with the given sample artworks from
Medieval and Renaissance periods and try to classify them as
Medieval orRenaissance.”

An example of Medieval artwork An example of Renaissance artwork

1. _________________ 2. _________________ 3._________________

4. _____________________________ 5. _______________________________

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 There are differences between Medieval and Renaissance music
brought about by the difference in what is happening in the society
between the two periods such as church influence, science, and the
arts.
Although both Medieval and Renaissance music is a cappella, they
sound far different from each other because of the developments in music.
But no matter how different they are, Medieval and Renaissance
music have established music styles that survived across generations.
And if you want to travel across time, all you must do is to grab those
headphones and MP3 players, sit back and start listening to these
timeless music styles!

Directions. Underline the correct word to complete the statement.

I have learned that Gregorian chant is a/an (plain,
ornamented) music. Because of (successes,
hardships), people during the Medieval did not have time for (artistic,
spiritual) developments and focus their attention on religion.

I have learned that there’s a significant (difference, similarity)

between Medieval and Renaissance music owing to the shift from
church-centered to (man, art) –centered
Renaissance society. However, this improvement in music did not
happen overnight but gone through a (short, long) period
of development.

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Directions. Choose and encircle the letter of your answer.

1. Gregorian chant is a cappella. Which of the following statements

describes a cappella?
A. Music with only one melodic line
B. Music performed with voices only
C. Music with more than one melodic line
D. Music with instrumental accompaniment

2. Gregorian chant music is performed with only one melodic line.

Which of the following music characteristics is being referred to by
this statement?
A. A cappella C. Homophonic
B. Free meter D. Monophonic

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Gregorian chants?

A. It uses church modes
B. It is performed by male singers
C. It is performed with musical instruments
D. It uses a system of notation called neumes

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Pope Gregory the

Great and the Gregorian chants?
A. He compiled the Gregorian chants
B. He has commissioned the chants
C. He composes the Gregorian chants
D. He is a well-known singer of Gregorian chants
5. Which of the following events is connected to the Medieval period?
A. Invention of printing
B. Barbarian invasions
C. The invention of polyphonic music
D. Discovery of the heliocentric theory
6. Renaissance music is mostly polyphonic. Which of the following
statements does BEST describe polyphony?
A. Music for solo violin
B. Choir of four (4) voices
C. Group singing in a flag ceremony
D. Solo Voices w/ guitar accompaniment
7. Which of the following symbols is used in written Gregorian chant music?
A. Hieroglyphs C. Notes
B. Neumes D. Numbers
8. Where do you expect to hear Gregorian chants?
A. Church C. Transportation
B. Market D. Party

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9. Madrigal is a Renaissance secular vocal music. Which of the
following statements refers to the meaning of secular music?
A. Music that is sacred
B. Music i s sung in a church
C. Music relating to religion
D. Music that has nothing to do w/ religion

10. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is a well-known composer of which

of the fol- lowing music forms?
A. Mass C. Organum
B. Madrigal D. Troubadour
11. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Renaissance mass?
A. It is a Medieval vocal music
B. It is a sacred vocal music
C. It is a sacred instrumental music
D. It is a secular instrumental music
12. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the Renaissance period?
A. Geocentric theory was believed
B. Barbarians invaded countryside
C. Society is dominated by the church
D. Emphasis on man-centered society

13. Which of the following symbols is used in Renaissance to write music?

A. Braille C. Notes
B. Letters D. Numbers
14. Where do you expect to hear a Renaissance mass?
A. Church C. Market
B. Home D. Meetings
15. Thomas Morley is a well-known Renaissance composer of _____.
A. Cantata C. Madrigal
B. Gregorian chant D. Mass

Reference
● Department of Education. Grade 9 Learner’s Module
for Music and Arts
Credits
● www.wikipedia.com

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