Queen Elizabeth 1 Research Paper

Derived from its origin in poetry, music made an enormous leap in popularity during the Elizabethan era. As their love for artistic entertainment grew, the people of the Elizabethan period began to incorporate music into plays, courts, and everyday life. It was typical for the people of the Elizabethan era to play an instrument, where even Queen Elizabeth I herself was skilled in an assortment of musical instruments and dance techniques. While most of the customs and musical culture existed prior to Queen Elizabeth’s rule, she brought these customs to the forefront of the time’s society and forged a path of artistic creation. The importance of music was not only pertinent to the people of high status, but to all people of the era, creating an important evolution of musical instruments and incorporation during the age of the Tudor’s reign.

Elizabeth was known to dance day and night well into her sixties, as she considered it an enjoyable form of exercise and greatly cherished all forms of music (“Elizabethan Music: A Rhythmic Walk Through the Golden Era of Music”). Elizabeth usually kept a large company of 60 members at court to play music in a court music style (Wagner 204). The dominating instruments of court music were keyboards and string instruments to bring a soft, graceful sound in court. Queen Elizabeth constantly had musicians playing in court, as it was considered rude to have people present in court and have no music to contribute to (“Elizabethan Music: A Rhythmic Walk Through the Golden Era of Music”). Court music was considered to be the most expressive as it could range from fast, complicated music to slow and traditional (“Elizabethan Era