Music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Music played an integral part in the lives of people during medieval times. It was especially popular during celebrations and festivities, and was played during meals because it was thought to aid digestion.

 By the time of the Renaissance, there was an incredible transformation and advancement in music notation and composition. The development of printing made distribution of music possible on a wide scale. Demand for music as entertainment and as an activity for educated amateurs increased with the emergence of a bourgeois class.

Paintings during both eras showed musicians.