This document introduces the first three periods of Western music history: the Medieval era, Renaissance period, and Baroque period. It provides details about the Medieval era, noting that it started with the fall of the Roman Empire, was influenced by the Christian church, and featured monophonic plainchant music approved by Pope Gregory I. Examples of plainchant were transmitted orally but later put into notation. Secular music also emerged performed by troubadours telling of courtly love in French.