How Did Galileo Impact The Renaissance

One of the world’s most well known historical Astronomists was Galileo Galilei. His father however, despite his works, wasn’t as well known comparatively. Vincenzo Galileo has had major impacts on the culture of music during the Renaissance. This time period was defined as cultural rebirth, where the concept of humanism seemed to be more prevalent rather than divine knowledge. Galilei’s works included reviving the “working balance” across poetry and music and revolving around that human idea.

Vincenzo Galilei was born in a city near Santa Maria a Monte near Tuscany circulating late 1520. Galilei grew up to the supposed age 71 being buried in Florence on July 2nd, 1591 after arriving in Florence in 1572 and his family joining him two years

This talent for the instrument attracted not only his principal patron, Giovanni de Bardi, but also Gioseffo Zarlino, his teacher. Leading to facilitated theoretical studies in Venice 1563 between Galilei and Zarlino. A well known Venetian organist, theorist and composer, Zarlino (1517-90) had published several books of madrigals and instrumental music. Zarlino’s work however would contrast the works and findings Galilei would set out to theorize greatly later. Creating a so called, “sour” relationship between the two musicians. These new theories would concern tuning and modes, that are more detailed in Galilei’s book, in spite of quarrelling with Zarlino, named, Dialogo della musica antica et della moderna. An example of Galilei’s findings was that tuning in vocal music had to have pure fifths in the Pythagorean diatonic detonation compared to Zarlino, where “vocal music could not be the syntonic diatonic of Ptolemy”. (Ibid., 3). Between the two, tuning and modes was the most heated subjects against Galilei’s former teachers ideals. (Ibid., 1). Zarlino primarily focused on math, arithmetic theory, basing the harmonies on math and containing ratios of the constants. Although math seems like a solid subject to base on, some of the weaknesses are that there is a lack of a physical base, where the psychological explanation of the mind do not sense the ratios.(pp.13) Evidently bringing out the idea that the during the Renaissance, the curiosity of what human ears are drawn to are more humane to the idea of “rebirth” rather than hard solid