Gabriella F. Scelta - The History and Evolution of The Musical Symbol
Gabriella F. Scelta - The History and Evolution of The Musical Symbol
Gabriella F. Scelta - The History and Evolution of The Musical Symbol
Music is a form of human communication as ancient as language itself. Like written lan guage, the need for a more reliable system of music communication was felt very early in history. Until very recently, the vast majority of music belongs to some form of oral tradition. It was passed from one performer to another by rep etition and memory. Having no manner of visual notation, pieces of music changed their character through the ages. Systems of signs and symbols for writing music developed alongside written language as the need to pass along consistent information presented itself. Very little is known about the ancient music world, and notation systems are virtually unknown to us. It is likely that the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians devised symbols to accompany the system of hand signs they used to indicate the pitch, tone, and shape of the melody. The Chinese had a quite sophisticated system of notation as early as the 3rd century BC. These early systems consisted of either symbols to represent separate vocal syllables - a form of solmization; or signs and instructions for playing specific instruments - a form of tablature. The use of letters of the alphabet to name notes of the scale dates back to ancient Greece and possibly earlier. This system was well established by 500 BC. Soon after, letter names were given to whole tones of the diatonic scale, and inflections of a semitone or even a quartertone could be expressed by rotation of the letter symbols. Two different systems of letters were used to write down the instrumental and the vocal music of ancient Greece. In his five textbooks on music theory, Boethius applied the first 15 letters of the alphabet to the notes in use at the end of the Roman period. Also, their system was capable of indicating rhythmic value, a complexity that did not reappear until well into the middle ages. We have no written music after classical antiquity until the ninth
Gabriella F. Scelta
Greek musical notation on a funeral column. The notation begins above the sixth line of the inscription.
Manuscript from St. Gall 359, ninth century. This is an example of early neumes, the major form of notation for medieval europe.
Gabriella F. Scelta
Pitch The position of a tone in the musical scale, today designated by a let ter name and determined by the fre quency of vibration of the source of the tone. An international conference held in 1939 set a standard for A above middle C of 440 cycles per second. Tone A tone is distinguished from noise by its definite pitch, caused by the regularity of the vibrations that pro duce it. Any tone possesses the attributes of pitch, intensity, and quality. Pitch is determined by the frequency of the vibration, measured by cycles per second. Intensity, or loudness, is determined by the amplitude, measured in decibels. Quality is determined by the overtones (subsidiary tones), the distinctive timbre of any instru ment being the result of the number and relative prominence of the over tones it produces. Solmization, Solfege Systems of vocal exercises employ ing a series of syllables originally devised by the Benedictine monk Guido d'Arezzo (c.990-1080) for the purpose of vocalization and for practice in sightsinging. These solmization syllables are now com monly known in the form do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si (or ti), do. Tablature Non-note based systems of musical notation using letters, numbers, or symbols to indicate pitch and dura tion of tone. Tablatures are used today to notate music for guitar and ukulele. These have vertical lines representing strings of the instrument, horizontal lines for the frets, and dots to show the position of the fingers. Scale Any series of tones arranged in a step-by-step rising or falling of
Gabriella F. Scelta
pitch. The scale most used in Western musical composition until the end of the 19th cent. was the diatonic scale, a series of seven tones. (The addition of a final top note, with a frequency twice that of the lowest note, defines this sequence as an octave.) The intervals of the diatonic scale were defined by Pythagoras in the 6th cent. B.C. as five whole tones and two semitone. By the time of J.S. Bach, the chromatic scale of 12 equal semitones (as in the white and black keys of a keyboard scale) had become established, and the scales beginning on these notes, the basis of Western tonality. The pentatonic scale of five whole tones is prevalent in Asian music. Whole Tone The interval of a major second, as in moving from one white key to the adjoining white key on the piano. Semitone The interval of a minor second, as in moving from a white key to the adjoining black key on the piano. Quarter Tone An interval less than a minor sec ond. Generally not found in west ern music. Boethius (Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius), c.475-525, Roman philosopher and statesman. A consul (510) in Rome, he became min ister under Emperor Theodoric, but was falsely accused of treason, imprisoned, and sentenced to death. His treatise on ancient music was for many centuries the unquestioned authority on Western music. Plainsong All early unharmonized melody in free rhythm, but usually synony mous with Gregorian chant, the
The very beginning of pitch delineation is evident in this manuscript from Paris, latin 10508, twelfth century.
Gabriella F. Scelta
This missal for Rome use c.1476, is one of the earliest examples of music printing. It characterizes roman notation with square notes, sparse ligature, and a five line staff. The square C clef is used throughout. Any color used in the book (red, blue, and yellow) was added by hand.
This manuscript from Passau, ca 1489 with diamond shaped notation, rich in ligature, with a four line staff, characterizes gothic notation. The C clef is seen throughout.
Gabriella F. Scelta
liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church. Texts are taken from the mass, the bible, and hymns. Rhythm Basic element of music concerned with the duration of tones and the stresses or accents placed upon them. The formulation in the 12th century of basic rhythmic patterns (modes) led to the development of meter, the division of a composition into units of equal time value. Charlemagne (742-814) The first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire, Emperor of the West (800-814), and Carolingian King of the Franks (768-814). Chant General name for one-voiced, unaccompanied liturgical music, usually referring to melodies of the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican branches of Christianity. Its melodies, unlike the Roman Catholic plainsong, are harmonized. Clef A symbol prefixed to a five-line stave indicating the pitch range to which the written notes apply. The C clef is now comparatively rare, except for viola, cello, and bas soon; for most other instruments the G and F clefs are standard. Polyphony Music which contains more than one composed part at a time. Early chant, though sometimes sung by many voices, contained only one part.
Printed manuscript from Venice, 1552. When compared to the first printed Italian missal, the evolution and standardization of the printed symbols is evident.
These alchemy symbols for gold and silver are the same as those for Perfect Tempus and Imperfect Tempus, respectively. The correlations between the disciplines are not surprising. The Music of the Spheres was the term given to the harmonies or dissonances of the planets in motion. All of the universe was theorized to operate on musical terms.
Gabriella F. Scelta
This piece from Mikrokosmos by Bela Bartok shows basic modern notation as we know it today. As the printing process got more refined, so did the symbols used in notation.
Gabriella F. Scelta
Dynamics Symbols indicating relative loudness, changes in loudness such as crescendo and diminuendo, or loudness in accentuation such as rinforzando. Accidentals Symbols used to raise or lower a tone by a half step or more. Sharps, flats, double sharps, double flats, and naturals are accidentals.
This piece from The Banshee by Henry Cowell shows more avante garde forms of modern notation. As new ways of playing instruments are experimented with, new ways of notating must be found. The letters correspond to written directionals. The lines tell the musician to pull their fingers across the strings of the open piano instead of striking the keys.
Gabriella F. Scelta
Electronic Music Term applied to compositions whose sounds are either produced or modified electronically. The early examples of electronic compositions, called concrete music, were taped montages of electroni cally altered sound obtained by microphone from nonelectronic sources, such as voices and street noise. In software synthesis a computer mathematically represents sounds, which are manipulated by various techniques, including filtering (which affects loudness), time delay (which affects reverberation), and frequency shifting (which affects pitch).
A computer generated visual interpretation of an audio file shows purely sound quality as it relates to frequency. This entirely new and different way of visualizing music may be the precursor to a new era in musical notation.
Gabriella F. Scelta
Electronic Music Term applied to compositions whose sounds are either produced or modified electronically. The early examples of electronic compositions, called concrete music, were taped montages of electroni cally altered sound obtained by microphone from nonelectronic sources, such as voices and street noise. In software synthesis a computer mathematically represents sounds, which are manipulated by various techniques, including filtering (which affects loudness), time delay (which affects reverberation), and frequency shifting (which affects pitch).
A computer generated visual interpretation of an audio file shows purely sound quality as it relates to frequency. This entirely new and different way of visualizing music may be the precursor to a new era in musical notation.
Gabriella F. Scelta
Sources Apel, W. The Notation of Polyphonic Music, 900-1600. Cambridge: Medieval Academy of America, 1953. Atlas, Allen. Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400 - 1600. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. Burkhart, Charles. Anthology of Musical Analysis. 5th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1992.
Karkoshka, Erdhard. Notation in New Music: a critical guide to interpretation and realisation. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972. Read, Gardner. Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice. 3rd ed. New York: Taplinger Publishing, 1972. Ross, Ted. The Art of Music Engraving and Processing. Miami Beach: Hansen Books, 1970.
The Toledo Museum of Art. The Printed Note: 500 Years of Music Printing and Engraving. Toledo: The Toledo Museum of Art, 1957. Williams, C.F. Abdy. The Story of Notation. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903. Yudkin, Jeremy. Music in Medieval Europe. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1989.
Gabriella F. Scelta
Sources Apel, W. The Notation of Polyphonic Music, 900-1600. Cambridge: Medieval Academy of America, 1953. Atlas, Allen. Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400 - 1600. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. Burkhart, Charles. Anthology of Musical Analysis. 5th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1992.
Karkoshka, Erdhard. Notation in New Music: a critical guide to interpretation and realisation. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972. Read, Gardner. Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice. 3rd ed. New York: Taplinger Publishing, 1972. Ross, Ted. The Art of Music Engraving and Processing. Miami Beach: Hansen Books, 1970.
The Toledo Museum of Art. The Printed Note: 500 Years of Music Printing and Engraving. Toledo: The Toledo Museum of Art, 1957. Williams, C.F. Abdy. The Story of Notation. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903. Yudkin, Jeremy. Music in Medieval Europe. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1989.