Medieval and Renaissance Worlds
Neumes
- When
- 9th century onward
- Where
- Europe
Early European chant signs recorded melodic movement before fully precise staff notation.
Staff notation
- When
- 11th century
- Where
- Europe
Guido of Arezzo is closely associated with systematic teaching of staff-based pitch reading.
Notre-Dame polyphony
- When
- 12th–13th centuries
- Where
- Europe
Parisian musicians developed influential techniques for coordinating multiple vocal lines.
Troubadour and trouvère song
- When
- 12th–13th centuries
- Where
- Europe
Courtly song flourished in Occitan with the troubadours and in Old French with the trouvères.
Ars nova
- When
- 14th century
- Where
- Europe
French notation and compositional practices expanded rhythmic possibilities.
Machaut
- When
- c. 1300–1377
- Where
- Europe
Guillaume de Machaut joined intricate polyphony with courtly song and poetry.
Printing of polyphonic music
- When
- 1501 onward
- Where
- Europe
Ottaviano Petrucci's Venice editions, starting with the Odhecton, spread notated polyphony in print.
Josquin des Prez
- When
- c. 1450–1521
- Where
- Europe
His vocal polyphony exemplifies flexible imitation and text-sensitive design.
Palestrina
- When
- c. 1525–1594
- Where
- Europe
His sacred polyphony became influential in later counterpoint teaching.
Madrigal
- When
- 16th–early 17th centuries
- Where
- Europe
Secular vocal music explored expressive text setting and increasingly vivid harmonic contrasts.
Other chapters: Early Musical Cultures · Baroque and Classical · The Nineteenth Century · Traditions Around the World · The Twentieth Century · Recording and Technology
Dates mark documented developments or approximate periods, not the beginnings of traditions. Many histories run side by side. Dates are given as the timeline records them. Where a date is approximate, the entry says so.
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