In medieval times, secular music was as popular as pop music of the modern times. Medieval secular music was composed and performed mainly for entertainment purposes such as dancing or to express love. Modern music such as rock, folk or country is also composed and performed for similar reasons. Just like medieval music was composed and performed by bands of musicians who traveled across the globe, modern musicians go on tours to play live. Also, the subject matter of the majority of songs in medieval music was love, happiness and suffering --- much like the themes in today's popular music.
Composition of sacred medieval music was inspired by religion just as in modern sacred music, where composers aim at evoking the same spiritual mood that could be evoked by reading the Bible. Aside from that, medieval sacred songs were sung to pay homage to God both at home and in church during religious functions and funerals. The same occurs with modern music when songs are performed during church services.
Monophony refers to music that features the entire melody sung by a single voice or by several voices, usually in unison (choir). The singers are frequently unaccompanied by harmonic musical instruments. Composers in early Christian churches wrote music from existing Jewish chants that comprised a single melody without support of accompaniment. The same can be said of modern music such as the Gregorian chants, in which the song is performed without harmonic musical instruments. Also, most modern choirs sing in unison without any accompaniments.
Polyphony refers to music performed by two or more melodies or voices, and accompanied by one or more harmonic instrument. These songs are usually also accompanied by dances, dramas or harmonic instrumentals. In medieval times, a musical performance was frequently accompanied by acting. Since medieval music focused on entertainment, music was sometimes composed solely for the purpose of acting. The songs also involved instruments such as flutes, trumpets, recorders, horns, drums or whistles. Even though modern music has largely evolved, most of these instruments are still used today. Likewise, many modern musicians use video or dance to accompany live shows.