Music of the Renaissance and Music of Today?

Answer 1

If you're asking about the similarities and differences between these two eras, then here are some things to consider:

Across Europe, the most popular music well up until the Baroque period was Folk Music. Folk music varied from one culture to another, and while the ancient Greeks had formulas for scales (modes) that would convey certain moods, most folk music was based off of the aesthetic of the area.

One major factor that was introduced during the Renaissance after the Middle Ages was the new acceptance as the 3rd as a consonant interval. In composed music of the previous period (mostly sacred music of the church), only the 4th and 5th were considered consonant intervals-- thus a melismatic line would usually be accompanied by parallel 4ths or 5th. Once the major and minor 3rd arrived, this opened up previously inconceivable possibilities and gave birth to our sense of tonality.

Important composers such as Josquin De Prez are recognized for composing formulaic music and developing counterpoint, which is still one of the most utilized studies of composition, even in some modern Pop Music.

The same way Renaissance music relied on formulaic modes and composition techniques, so do the Blues. The Blues was born from a mix of Negro spirituals and Appalachian folk music, and most blues music can only be deemed so because of three things: 1. The I-IV-V based chord progression, 2. use of the "Blues Scale", and 3. the lyrics.

I assume you meant Blues Music because of the tag, but if by "Music of Today", you mean American Top 40 pop, there are still similarities. Western music is always made of up the same 12 notes, and there is always a formula in mind for composition that depends upon what has been composed before that. The one thing all of these musical styles have in common though, is that when these new styles first arose, the major churches thought they were devil-music.