early music
what it is
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music, usually of the Occident, from the earliest times up to the baroque. However, today this term has come to include any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises, instruments and other contemporary evidence.
✦ start here: albums
✦ who's making it, level by level
level 3 · one step out
cult favorites and indie darlings
level 4 · further
art pop, hyperpop, and the underground
level 5 · all the way
deep experimental
✦ make early music a playlist
turn these 25 artists into something you can press play on.
✦ nearby genres
questions
What is early music?
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music, usually of the Occident, from the earliest times up to the baroque. However, today this term has come to include any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises, instruments and other contemporary evidence.
What are good early music albums to start with?
Try PRAETORIUS: Dances from Terpsichore by Michael Praetorius, DUFAY: Chansons by Guillaume Dufay, Lux Feminæ 900-1600 by Montserrat Figueras, and Perotin and the Ars Antiqua by The Hilliard Ensemble.
Who are some women making early music?
musicisforgirls.com/genres/early-music/girls lists women, non-binary artists, and bands with women making early music, from mainstream to underground.
genre notes from last.fm listeners · artists and albums from last.fm, updated 2026-10-20