Craftsmen's guilds in many German towns and…

Craftsmen's guilds in many German towns and cities cultivate solo song from about 1450.

Members develop elaborate rules for their art, hold contests, and award prizes.

Their melodies, while similar to those of the courtly minnesingers of the twelfth through the fourteenth century, often end in florid cadences foreign to those of their predecessors; their texts are largely religious or didactic.