another surviving piece of early written music was a round called "sumer is icumen in". it was written down by a monk around the year 1250. much of the music in the middle ages (roughly 450-1420) was folk music played by working people who wanted to sing or dance. when people played instruments, they were usually playing for dancers. however, most of the music that was written down was for the catholic church. this music was written for monks to sing in church. it is called chant (or gregorian chant).