Music theory achievements before the Renaissance: In the 15th and 16th centuries, a bourgeois and class anti-feudal and anti-church ideological and cultural movement formed. The humanistic thoughts of this movement were brilliant and violently impacted the feudal cultural restrictions centered on the theocracy of the church. The most representative one was humanist thought.

The Renaissance period in the history of Western music generally refers to the historical period from around 1430 to around 1600. During this period, secular music occupied an increasingly important position. The description of people's inner world and natural beauty has become very prominent in musical works, which has formed a new music style and produced many instrumental music genres and song forms. The composer's creations are full of new music tendencies and have important pioneering significance.

The musical art of this period was fully developed. Polyphonic music at that time had developed into the Golden Age in the 16th century. Music theory has also become mature during this period. The tonal system of Renmin minor has been basically established. The functional system of harmony is also in the process of budding and development. The notation method has changed from the alphabetic method and the symbol method to the two-line notation, From four-line notation to five-line notation, the application of counterpoint has also reached a very rich level. The independence of instrumental music is becoming stronger and stronger, and the development of music is gradually accelerating.

Nature of music theory

Tone has four main properties: pitch, strength, duration, and timbre. They are very important in musical performance, but the tonality and duration of the tone are the most important. I don’t know if you have this experience. For a song, no matter whether you sing it with a human voice or play an instrument, whether the voice is small or loud, and no matter what pitch you use when singing or playing, the strength and timbre of the sound are different. There have been changes, but the melody of the song remains the same. However, if the key or duration of the song changes, the experience of the music will be seriously affected.

The pitch of the sound is determined by frequency and wavelength. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the sound. The longer the wavelength, the lower the sound. For example, a tall person will generally sing a lower pitch than a short person. The strength of the sound is determined by the amplitude. The greater the amplitude, the stronger the sound. On the contrary, the smaller the amplitude, the weaker the sound. For example, a tall person will generally sing louder than a short person. The duration of the sound is determined by the duration of the sound, while the timbre is determined by many factors such as the nature, shape and number of overtones of the sound body.