ABSTRACT

The Explanation of the [Sixth] Curriculum for the Middle School Music Subject, a booklet prepared by the Department of Education, suggests the inclusion of music from the periods before the Baroque Era in the middle school music classes. The middle school music textbooks, however, do not reflect this suggestion such that approximately 14% of the materials for music appreciation are from the Baroque Era, and none from the preceding periods. This paper, therefore, was intended to provide selected materials from these early periods for the middle school music appreciation classes. The materials are from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Baroque periods. The inventions of the various musical devices such as staffs, notes, solfege are the main focus for the Medieval period. Special emphasis has been given to the section that deals with the origin and the development of polyphonic music, which differentiate the European music from all the other musical cultures of the World, including the Korean traditional music. As for the Renaissance music, the musical expression of the text is the central interest since it reflects the general humanistic tendency of the period. Only the early Baroque period is treated here, because the materials from the later Baroque period, especially those concerning Bach and Handel can be easily found in other sources. Brief suggestions on how to present these materials in the classroom are followed in lieu of a conclusion.