A=440. All instruments/voices (incl. texted music) and levels of experience welcome, however prior knowledge of solmization and the hexachord system is a plus.
More musica practica: Seeing Renaissance Music through the Eyes of Renaissance Musicians
This three-week course will take participants through the main aspects of late Medieval and Renaissance “practical music” to help develop a better understanding of the way that fourteenth-, fifteenth-, and sixteenth-century musicians approached the music they performed. Topics will include musica recta and musica ficta, cadences, the musical modes (tones), and mensuration signs.
Class 1 (5/9): Musica recta, Musica ficta, and Tuning
This first class will briefly review the musical system used by Renaissance musicians, quickly delving into questions of performance practice with the use of musica ficta to “sweeten” cadences and “correct” dissonances. We’ll also discuss and experiment with the differences between mis and fas in Pythagorean tuning vs. meantone temperament.
Join the San Francisco Early Music Society for three months of virtual class offerings from our Baroque, Classical, Medieval/Renaissance, and Recorder Workshops! Whether you are a casual listener or a dedicated community player, we have over 100 lectures, demonstrations, and play-along sessions just for you.
Visit the calendar of classes at sfems.org.