The Renaissance Period was a time of rebirth. This period was drastically different from the medieval period, in which not much progress in science was made. This renaissance period renewed interest in Roman and Greek music. In addition, as the Church was one of the biggest organizations in Europe during the time, much of the music that has been preserved is Church music. Most of the music preserved is also just vocal, as people of the time didn’t write down instrumental parts as they believed that it should just be improvised. One important event that happened during this period was the Protestant Reformation, a protest of the Church in which Martin Luther and others were fighting against the sale of indulgences, which allowed rich people to basically buy away their sins.
One of the most famous composers of this period was William Dufay. He composed a melody known as the cantus firmus. This was when he placed another melody in a tenor line. He used both secular and sacred melodies, but the church eventually banned the use of secular melodies, due to Protestant reformation.