The Original Bardcore: How Accurate is Bardcore Music to Real Medieval Music? 

bardcore is like a time traveler performing songs they know like in back to the future

I'm glad somebody finally spoke on this trend. I love bardcore; it's creative, fun to listen to and the best thing is the comment section of bardcore videos.

I wondered and searched about this subject for a long time, with also wondered why music experts don't talk about this so important theme. Thank you so much for your gorgeous explanation!

I write originals rather than bardcore covers, but I really enjoy taking some artistic liberties while still trying to maintain an overall medieval sound. For example, I like to include major seventh and minor seventh chords in my medieval compositions, even though I don't think those chords were ever used at the time. Same with using chords at all 😅 Good video! Very informative.

I've been waiting for someone to explore this. Thank you. :)

I spent the past two years in a serious deep dive of high medieval era music while trying to reproduce it (began posting a few on my channel), discovering the treasure trove left behind by the troubadours and the minnesängers felt like Christmas, and the monophony does make life easy for playing and singing; and I use an Irish bouzouki to mimic the cittern What I can say is playing and singing this music of troubadours while in my lillipipe hood has a way of taking me back to that era hehe Thanks for this vid! It really needs more exposure to get the word out!

Very helpful and well explained, thanks for taking your time making the video ^^

This was a brilliant and enjoyable video to watch thank you!

Totally random, but you have the most elegant hand gestures! Super expressive. On topic: the medieval music lesson was interesting. I learned piano and the oldest music I played was from the baroque period. I feel like hearing a modern song without any harmony would sound incomplete.

Thank you for explaining this in a fun way that makes sense.

Incredible information my fair maiden

Helpful video. Thank you

As musicologists agree, we know little of medieval music. We have some indications like manuscipts with melodies, some written rules for second voices (also for instruments), physical instruments, but we do not know how it all was used. We must take modern interpretations of medieval music not too literally. Often, music that is supposed to sound like that era is actually sounding more like Rennaissance music or even early Baroque and mixed up with some medieval stereotypes. In typical medieval films we see this a lot, as well with the so called 'bardcore'. I like the music though. But we must realize that it isn't really medieval sounding. Why? Because we just do not know how it sounded. It is only guessing and interpretation (sometimes on a high level, but still). From the Rennaissance we know much more about instrumentation, performance, composition, etc. The closest you can come to actual medieval music is to take a medieval melody (Gregorian chant) and accompany it with either the exact line, or a fifth or quarter interval below, or the tonic (one tone) repeating continuously. Little variation can be made with the accompaniment with strict rules of intervals like a 5th, 4th and an octave. About the instruments we have so little information that we better can leave rhythmic and harmonic choices out. Or even leave the instruments out per definition, because we don't know how they were used. Only use vocals is a good option. I am still talking about getting the closest to actual medieval music, with the best guess we can do. We better accept that much is unknown and live with that notion. All the later and contemporary interpretations are fine and nice to listen to, but to be defined as interpretations only. To everyone: in general feel free to experiment with instruments harmony, melody, etc. when writing medieval inspired music; things that you just like.

Sounds a bit like it was similar to how modern Irish folk for example works. Not an expert in it, but I heard musicians say that it's mostly based on 1-2 people playing instruments (melodies or percussion) and singing to it and when you have like an irish folk event at a pub or something, you basically just have a those solo/duo people playing together how they are used to do it: playing melody and singing. There are specific Irish folk bands and more organized pub rounds where you then have people playing for example more chord-based guitar or standing bass as accompaniment, but then you already have people being like "That's not what traditional Irish folk is supposed to sound like!"

If you really want to get your ears blown, look up medieval music played on the Hurdy Gurdy, here on RU-vid. It's absolutely haunting and beautiful to hear. Along with the Uilleann pipes, the Hurdy Gurdy has to be the most evocative medieval instrument there is imo

I appreciate this video

Cool video, I find it funny you look like Theresa from Kingdom Come Deliverance lol

Admitting that my experience of medieval music is entirely limited to a few videos on RU-vid, the aptest comment I can give is that medieval music sounds like it’s moving in the air since it doesn’t seem to have much theme development and rhythmic variation.

Very engaging and informative video!!! I love medieval music, but I don't know how to play it and I haven't figured out how to start. Is there a way or an approach you can suggest? :)

Very interessting

Bard, hard, blah blah. I just thought you're really pretty and the natural not over the top look is so honest; I just kind of knew this topic 'would be of interest. Besides, my channel sucks & I'm camera shy! So thanks as I'll no longer not know what barncorn is? Subscriber number five-hundred, fourty two, too!

I really want to hear the most closely accurate medieval music. 🥺😔

Is there some who does the medieval music 10/10? Like it really sounded like?

Interesting topic. Bardcore is mostly what people thinks medieval music sounded like but didn't at all. Kind of like what happened with many castle restorations in France during the 19th century that were done with a romantic idealised idea rather than with a realistic historicist perspective. Compare the idea of medieval music most people have to what really might have sounded in a medieval court: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y5Xjp6u7wcw.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-10pMEicmVZY.html

Hello, I got this video recommended after watching some Medieval Party mixes, but... I'm 99% sure we went to elementary school together?

I thought it was called bardcore because ot rhymes with hardcore. Bardcore with bagpipes would just be Medieval rock music like Corvus Corax

The problem with bard, is that its not really a medieval thing but an iron age/early medieval celtic eqvialent to scandinavian skalds... specializing in warrior praise poetry and rememberance at centres of power. Bardcore should really be labelled minstrelcore or something. Anyways, here is a fantastic piece of music done on a reconstruction of the trossingen lyre ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q-KujxSxCl4.html

I'm pretty angry. It looks like you put a bagpipe, a mandolin, a violin and a flute together and wallah, you have medieval music it doesn't matter what the hell is going on apart of timbric relations. People even call medieval to Irish Folk Music (whose repertoire was mostly composed in SXIX and XX), i think that is because of hollywood and the media who popularised folk music into their 'medieval ambiented' productions. The worst is that nobody cares to handle this discussion.

Bardcore is/was more like a sort of a "cosmetic" thing, sort of wrapping modern songs into a more "medievalish" sound. There's no attempt at going to a deep, structural level: it might be likeable to the ears, but it's not historically accurate, still neither has ever wanted to be. To me anyway the OG bardcore is Alan A'Dale the Rooster 😄😄.