Question

Baroque music differed from Renaissance in _____.

use of instruments
tonality
recognizable harmonies
all of the above

Answer 1

Renaissance music for a group of instruments and/or voices will typically consist of a 4-5 line staff, with the main melody frequently appearing on the top line, or shared and echoed throughout a piece by other lines. There were a wide range of styles and genres. Unlike later time periods, composers did not specify which instruments should cover which lines. They were merely arranged according to range i.e. soprano, alto, tenor, with bass on the bottom etc. It was common for a 'consort' of instruments to be used - so you'd have different sizes of all the same type of instrument such as recorder or crumhorn etc. It was also common in later periods to have a small mixed consort of all different types of instruments. Queen Elizabeth I was fond of what is now considered a mixed/broken consort with lute, bandora, flutes/recorders, and viol da gambas. The Lute (between 6 and later 8-9 course varieties) was extremely popular, and played highly technical improvised melodic lines within mixed consorts, as well as solos and vocal accompaniments. Some historians will obsess over the 'rules' used for church music during the renaissance, but any perusal of the actual music itself will reveal that rules were made to be broken. Church music was frequently very rigid in its use of dissonances and accents, but secular music was alive and well everywhere else with rude songs, lively dances, and plenty of freedom of expression, just as it is now. People haven't changed - only the styles.

Answer 2

the answer is all of the above