Editing Music (section)

==== Early music ====
{{listen
| type = music
| title = Breves dies hominis
| filename = Breves dies hominis.ogg
| description = by [[Léonin]] or [[Pérotin]]
}}
[[File:Head of Christ1.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|[[Musical notation]] from a Catholic [[Missal]], {{circa|1310}}–1320]]

The [[medieval music]] era (500 to 1400), which took place during the [[Middle Ages]], started with the introduction of [[monophony|monophonic]] (single melodic line) [[Gregorian chant|chanting]] into [[Catholic Church]] services. [[Musical notation]] was used since ancient times in [[Ancient Greece|Greek culture]], but in the Middle Ages, notation was first introduced by the Catholic Church, so chant melodies could be written down, to facilitate the use of the same melodies for religious music across the Catholic empire. The only European Medieval repertory that has been found, in written form, from before 800 is the monophonic [[Liturgy|liturgical]] [[plainsong]] chant of the Catholic Church, the central tradition of which was called [[Gregorian chant]].<!--+Add refs to others, e.g. Gallican, Mozarabic, &c.?--> Alongside these traditions of [[Religious music|sacred]] and [[church music]] there existed a vibrant tradition of [[Secular music|secular song]] (non-religious songs). Examples of composers from this period are [[Léonin]], [[Pérotin]], [[Guillaume de Machaut]], and [[Walther von der Vogelweide]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonin|title=Léonin &#124; Medieval Music, Notre Dame School, Polyphonic Masses |website=Britannica |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530212515/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonin |archive-date= May 30, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Perotin|title=Pérotin &#124; Medieval Music, Notre Dame School, Polyphony |website=Britannica |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115202830/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Perotin |archive-date= Nov 15, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guillaume-de-Machaut|title=Guillaume de Machaut &#124; 14th Century French Poet & Musician |website=Britannica |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906074530/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guillaume-de-Machaut |archive-date= Sep 6, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walther-von-der-Vogelweide|title=Walther von der Vogelweide &#124; German Minnesinger, Lyric Poet |website=Britannica |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606072813/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walther-von-der-Vogelweide |archive-date= Jun 6, 2023 }}</ref>

[[Renaissance music]] ({{circa|1400}} to 1600) was more focused on secular themes, such as [[courtly love]]. Around 1450, the [[printing press]] was invented, which made printed [[sheet music]] much less expensive and easier to mass-produce (prior to the invention of the press, all notated music was hand-copied). The increased availability of sheet music spread musical styles quicker and across a larger area. Musicians and singers often worked for the church, courts and towns. Church choirs grew in size, and the church remained an important patron of music. By the middle of the 15th century, composers wrote richly polyphonic sacred music, in which different melody lines were interwoven simultaneously. Prominent composers from this era include [[Guillaume Du Fay]], [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina]], [[Thomas Morley]], [[Orlando di Lasso]] and [[Josquin des Prez]]. As musical activity shifted from the church to aristocratic courts, kings, queens and princes competed for the finest composers. Many leading composers came from the Netherlands, Belgium, and France; they are called the Franco-Flemish composers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wwnorton.com/college/music/concise-history-western-music4/ch/06/outline.aspx |title=Chapter 6: Music of Franco-Flemish Composers, 1450-1520 |website=Concise History of Western Music, 4: W. W. Norton StudySpace |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229233327/https://wwnorton.com/college/music/concise-history-western-music4/ch/06/outline.aspx#:~:text=The+musical+Renaissance+was+a,1450%E2%80%931521 |archive-date= Dec 29, 2023 }}</ref> They held important positions throughout Europe, especially in Italy. Other countries with vibrant musical activity included Germany, England, and Spain.