During the Renaissance period, music experienced a rebirth, just like all other areas of the arts. In addition to the other changes that were going on in the arts, the development of printing allowed music to become much more widespread.

Sacred Music

Renaissance composers experimented with new things in music. They began adding different, “foreign” notes (accidentals: sharps and flats) and extra voices such as the bass. Whereas Medieval music often utilized separated voices moving against each other to create separate strands of music, Renaissance music focused on blending the voices together into one coherent melody.

One technique used in Renaissance music was called imitation and involved the copying of certain melodies through the different voices at different times in the piece. Harmony also became prevalent in Renaissance music. Composers noticed how the vertical framework of music (notes played at the same time) could affect its horizontal movement (tune or melody).

Secular Music – The Madrigal

While sacred music was still developing, secular composers began to emerge out of the rich merchants and nobles in Renaissance Italy. One type of secular music was called the Madrigal. In this style, lines of text were often repeated, but each line was sung differently. This form of music often contained a lot of imitation. It resulted in a very light and springy form of music. Many times, the words that were used matched the music closely, forming a sort of “word painting.”

The Ballet

Ballet was the dance music of the Renaissance period. Its style was even lighter than that of the Madrigal and was danced as well as sung. While the Madrigal was composed so that no two lines of text had the same music, the Ballet had a lot of repetition and was strophic in style: like a hymn, two or three verses would be set to the same music. The most obvious feature of the Ballet was the refrain at every section ending: the “fa-la-la” refrain, which symbolizes the very lighthearted nature of the style.

 

(Edited from source)