After the fall of Rome, the Christian Church became the sole unifying cultural influence in the West. The Church adapted what it could use of ancient practices, including the chanting of liturgy, known as Gregorian chant, since the sixth century c.e. Modal Gregorian melodies inspired a great deal of art music in later centuries.

In the thirteenth century, musicians created the motet by providing texts for melody lines added above a plainchant. Musical instruments were varied and plentiful, but little music was composed specifically for instrumental performance.

Ars nova is the term applied to the style of music in fourteenth-century Europe. The art of this period reflects the increasing urbanization and secularization of society. Many modern composers have found characteristics of the Medieval styles refreshing inspiration for the composition of music in the twentieth century.