The earliest era of French music was chiefly based on songs of courtly love and chivalry and was sung with a distinct organum style. With the turn of 10^th century and till 14^th century, France had already experimented with various style of music. The post Renaissance period gave rise to the famous song and drama culture the ‘Opera’. Heart soothing ballets perfectly performed by artists on stage grew highly successful in the 17^th century and ruled through the entire 19^th century. Famous French composers in this period included Jean Baptiste Lully and Jean Philippe Rameau who ruled through the years with their uniquely composed French opera ballet. A few works of these stalwarts are accessible at the free French music downloads portals. The post ballet era marked the dawn of several famous composers who left their mark through the use of innovative music style and varied musical instruments. The Classical music era or else the Impressionist epoch displayed the use of classical music forms and instruments such as the violin and piano. Pioneers like Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy are some of the notable music personalities worth mentioning. ‘Claire de Lune’ by Claude Debussy is a highly popular composition.

Another form of French music is the hurdy gurdy that displays an extensive use of violin, piano accordion and bagpipe. The 20^th Century French music was tagged as the neo-classical era which brought in the ‘spectral music’ form. After the Second World War, right from the 1970s and 1980s French music experience a sea change as new age music was slowly entering its domain. Music stalwarts like Edith Piaf, Tino Rossi, Marie Dubas, Georges Guibourg, Lucienne Boyer, Frehel have made innumerable contributions. Some of their works can be downloaded from the free French music downloads portal that offer quality music. The 1980s and 1990s brought in rock, punk rock, progressive rock, heavy metal and even hip hop providing a new definition to French music. People interested in downloading the music of the new genre can log into free French music downloads portals or else to paid websites that provide subscriptions.