What was the music like in the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

Instruments played by Minstrels:Minstrels played a lot of instruments, and they varied according to what was in fashion at the time and place.

One of the instruments we see in movies and such is the lute, which was fairly common in the Middle Ages. It is rather like a guitar, but has a body shaped rather like half an egg. It usually had many strings in courses of two strings each. Some lutes had as many as ten or twelve courses.

There were no guitars, but there were instruments that were similar, called vihuela. One was the vihuela de mano, which was played very like a guitar with finger picking. Another was the vihuela de penola, which was played with a plectrum or pick.

They had a number of bowed instruments, and one of these was a third type of vihuela, which was called the vihuela de arco, and was an ancestor of the viola da gamba. Others were the Byzantine lira, which was ancestral to the violin. Yet another was the bowed lyre, which has pretty much passed out of existence except as a folk instrument in Wales and Scandinavia. There was a single string bowed instrument called a tromba marina, with a bridge designed to buzz to make the instrument sound like a trumpet; we see pictures of them in medieval art, but I suspect minstrels did not play them because I have only seen pictures of them being played by nuns or angels.

Reed instruments included hornpipes, oboe-like pipes, Bagpipes, krumhorns and others. A hornpipe is a little instrument with a narrow, short tube widened by a small horn stuck on the end; it was a rude little thing and it sounded like it. Bagpipes were of all sorts, not just the Highland pipes people see today, and they were used for dancing outdoors.

Flutes of various types were used, recorders, flageolets, and transverse flutes. Small whistles were played with drums by minstrels, the drum was called a tabor. There were large drums, including kettle drums, but I don't know whether minstrels played them.

Horns and trumpets were used, but I don't know that minstrels played them much either, except for the small ones with holes like a recorder. These were called cornetti (singular cornetto), and were actually played rather like a recorder.

There were portative organs, which were small enough to be carried. I suppose we could compare them with accordions, though they used pipes rather than reeds. I doubt many minstrels could afford them.

Minstrels definitely played harps, and they played plucked dulcimers. They played zithers in some places, and probably played hammer dulcimers as well.

Other instruments, not played by minstrels:There were horns and trumpets of different sizes and shapes. Cornetti were made of wood, and had holes like recorders. The largest instruments of the type of the cornetto was the serpent, and the body had serpentine back and forth windings.

The sackbut was like a Trombone and was introduced in the Late Middle Ages.

There were straight trumpets and horns used throughout the Middle ages.

Reed instruments not used by minstrels included the dulcian, which was rather like a bassoon, medieval oboes called shawms. The ancestors of the Clarinet were incorporated into bagpipes, and seem not to have been used separately.

Organs were used in churches and were, of course, very important for church music.

Kettledrums were used, especially for military purposes.

I wonder what I have missed.

There is a link below.

Answer 2

Medieval music was both secular and religious in nature. Polyphonic music began to develop. Plucked string instruments (such as the lyre) were often used.

Answer 3

ONE OF THE MIDEVIL TIMES INSTERMENT WAS THE SERPENT

Answer 4

Flutes, drums and horns were mainly played for music. There was also religious chants without music.