The best sixteenth-century composers concentrated almost entirely on vocal genres, on music with words. Except for the English master William Byrd, none of them devoted much attention to music for instruments alone. This is in keeping with the Renaissance preoccupation with expression in music, achieved through the association of music with words.

Nevertheless, instruments and music for instruments developed significantly during this period. The first violins and harpsichords date from the sixteenth century; many other instruments such as the lute (see page 21) were perfected during this time. Originally from the Near East, the lute was as popular then as the guitar is today. Instrumental music was to become one of the great glories ofthe Baroque era, and the basis for this was laid in the Renaissance.

Around 1500, hardly any music was written specifically for instruments. Instrumentalists would either play along with singers in vocal music or else play motets, chansons, and other vocal genres by themselves, without words. The principal vocal genre after 1550, however — the madrigal — would not have made much sense performed without its words. By this time new genres were emerging specifically for instrumental performance.