The Renaissance, or Re-birth, was a period of less restrictive thinking, attempting to look beyond the medieval worldview. Generally referring to the 15th &16th centuries, this new philosophy allowed a freedom of expression throughout all the humanities, including music. Early Italian composers began to get excited about the Renaissance as they set out to recapture the 'golden age' of ancient Rome. Music became an important part of daily life. Both Sacred and Secular music developed during this period.

INSTRUMENTS
Until the beginning of the 16th century, instruments were considered to be far less important than voices. They were used for dances and to accompany vocalists, by simply playing the same melodic lines as the vocalists. Often the musician would improvise. As the Renaissance developed, composers took greater interest in writing music specially intended for instruments.
During the Medieval period and the Renaissance, instruments divided into two groups: bas (low, or soft) instruments for music in the home; and haut (high, or loud) instruments for music in churches, or in the open air. Some instruments could belong to both these groups depending on the kind of sound they made.
Some instruments, such as recorders, shawms and cornetts
remained popular from Medieval times. Others, like the lute, were
altered and improved, and many new ones were invented.
Dfh
Clavichord
Like a small rectangular piano. The strings are struck from below by small pieces of metal called Tangents. It produced a soft tone.
Viol
Six members make up the viol family. These are: Treble, Alto, Small tenor, Tenor, Bass, Contrabass. Viols had sloping shoulders and flat backs, six strings tuned in fourths, with a third in the middle (a d g b e a) and a fretted fingerboard. Viols were held upright in front of the player rather than tucked under the chin like today’s violin. They were used in various ensembles called consorts.
Crumhorn
A wooden cap enclosed the double reed, giving a rather soft but very reedy tone
Sackbut
A name given by the English to the early kind of trombone; the bell
was less flared, giving a rounder, more mellow tone
Trumpet
The tube was now folded to make it more manageable; until the valve
system was invented in the 19th century, the limited notes available
could only be obtained by varying lip-pressure
Rackett
A low-pitched double-reed instrument; its great length of tube was coil
inside a cylinder which was only a foot high
Lute
The neck of the Renaissance lute was bent back; the strings were tuned in fourths, with a third in the middle (g c f a d g) and the fingerboard had frets (like a guitar) indicating where to press down the strings
Percussion instruments
Included tambourine, tabor, kettle drums (or timpani), side drum, wood xylophone, triangle and cymbals
Recorder
This was the most important wind instrument. It was a hollow, end-blown wooden flute. It was also very versatile and was used in many different types of ensemble.