Each instrument was crafted from natural materials like wood, bone, and animal gut, giving them a distinct, "earthy" timbre: Instrument String (Bowed) The versatile "workhorse" for dance and song. Shawm Loud and piercing, perfect for outdoor festivals. Lute String (Plucked) The elegant favorite of the high-born and scholars. Pipe & Tabor Woodwind/Percussion
While much of the era's surviving written music is sacred chant, instrumental music was the lifeblood of secular life. It was often improvised or played by ear, meaning very few "scores" exist today. Medieval Instrumental Music - Medieval Life
In the heart of a bustling 14th-century marketplace, the air is thick with the scent of roasted meats and the rhythmic clang of a blacksmith’s forge. But rising above the din is a sound that defines the era: the sharp, buzzy trill of a (a predecessor to the oboe) and the steady, driving thrum of a tabor drum. Each instrument was crafted from natural materials like
High-volume instruments like bagpipes and trumpets were reserved for outdoor events, signaling the start of a tournament or leading soldiers into the fray. Instruments of the Era Pipe & Tabor Woodwind/Percussion While much of the
Kings and queens dined to the delicate plucking of the psaltery or the harp . Instruments like the lute became symbols of courtly love, often used to accompany poets like Guillaume de Machaut , who blended music and verse into complex masterpieces.