Early music Eras of European art music Ancient music 1500 BCE - 476 CE Early music 476 - 1600 Common practice period 1600 - 1900 20th century classical music 1900 - 2000 Early music is European classical music before the Classical music era and after Ancient music . The common range given is from the end of Ancient music to the beginning of the Baroque era in about 1600 , and so roughly corresponds with the European Middle Ages period . Post-Antiquity For information on early music post-Antiquity , see the following articles : Medieval music ( roughly 1000-1450 ) Renaissance music ( roughly 1450-1600 ) Baroque music ( roughly 1600-1750 ) Authentic performance The term `` early music '' is closely associated with the concept of authentic performance . The authentic performance movement began with the performance of early music , and in general , the earlier the music , the more likely it is that its performers will show an interest in authentic performance as it becomes more difficult for the reason listed below and others . Notation and performance According to Margaret Bent ( 1998 ) , Early music notation , `` is under-prescriptive by our standards ; when translated into modern form it acquires a prescriptive weight that overspecifies and distorts its original openness. '' Before about 1600 , written music did not consistently state which instruments are used when . A century earlier , people who wrote down music did not always specify whether lines of polyphony were to be sung or played on an instrument . Similarly , the notation frequently does not indicate what key to play the music in , if any . Accidentals were not necessary . Notations for rhythm go back only to about 1200 . There is thus a speculative element to all modern performances of Medieval and Renaissance music . However , Renaissance musicians would have been highly trained in dyadic counterpoint and thus possessed this and other information necessary to read a score , `` what modern notation [ now ] requires [ accidentals ] would then have been perfectly apparent without notation to a singer versed in counterpoint '' ( ibid ) . See the article on Renaissance music and its section on notation and performance . See also List of early music ensembles Neo-medieval music Sources Judd , Cristle Collins . `` Introduction : Analyzing Early Music '' in Judd , Cristle Collins ( ed. ) ( 1998 ) . Tonal Structures of Early Music . New York : Garland Publishing . ISBN 0-8153-2388-3 . Bent , Margaret . `` The Grammar of Early Music : Preconditions for Analysis '' in Judd , Cristle Collins ( ed. ) ( 1998 ) . Tonal Structures of Early Music . New York : Garland Publishing . ISBN 0-8153-2388-3 . External links Early Music FAQ What is Early Music ? Categories : Early music In other languages : Deutsch | Français | עברית | Magyar | 日本語 | Srpskohrvatski / Српскохрватски | Svenska he 