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Alyssa Hamilton Mus 351 December 1st, 2018 The Impact of Notation Music has been an integral part of society and culture since the beginning, as shown through the Old Testament Psalms. However, documentation of music throughout the years is difficult to find due to the lack of notation in the early civilizations. Folk songs, lullabies, and religious music generally relied on word of mouth and tradition to be remembered. However, this method led to many discrepancies between all the different versions, as the music would change over time as it was passed down. As a result, none of the original versions are recorded, and there are almost no records of nearly all early music. Even when music used in the church started being written down, there is really no record of secular or folk music in the early days other than by word of mouth. Even the Frankish King Charlemagne was frustrated with the varying versions of chant, and made sure everyone was using the same liturgy. Thanks to influential figures in history, such as Guido of Arezzo, and a desire for a clearer and more sophisticated approach to music, the implementation of early music notation began the long journey to the styles of notation used today. One of the main issues that arose in early church music was the different versions of the liturgy used in different places. Since everyone had to learn and memorize the music by simply listening to it, accidentally interpreting the music in a slightly different way was very easy to do. Musical notation began in the church in order to solve this problem and standardize the chants

and liturgy used. Although sacred and liturgical music began to be documented before music outside of the church, records show that both kinds of music existed long before notation came about. The push for liturgical music to be notated came from officials in the church who wanted all of the liturgies sung to be the same. Tarusken points out that this in no way dictates which music was better or more prevalent, only who had the most power to begin and normalize the process of notation. Before notation, there was a sense of urgency to memorize as much music as possible so that it would not be forgotten forever. The monks originally used a practice called neumes, which were essentially small marks placed above the notes indicating whether the melody moved up or down. It was more like a reminder to the monks of how the melody went, rather than a way to teach the music. Until the modern musical notation began, the concept of one being able to sightread music without hearing it before was non-existent. [1] 1 Early civilizations, such as Ancient Greece, used their own form of notation based on the Greek alphabet to indicate the pitches and rhythms. For example, in the score for “Epitaph of Seikilos”, there are letters and symbols above the notes. [2] With both that system and the implementation of neumes years later, these notations acted more as a reference point to aid memory than how sheet music is used today. As a result, knowing the exact musicality and sound of early music is nearly impossible. Interpretation and tradition of music has changed greatly over the years, making it difficult to fully grasp the early musicians meaning. With both of these methods, there is a lot of room for ! 1 Strayer, Hope. "From Neumes to Notes: The Evolution of Music Notation." Musical Offerings 4, no. 1 (June 6, 2013): 1-14. doi:10.15385/jmo.2013.4.1.1. 2 Mathiesen, Thomas J. "Epitaph of Seikilos." In Apollo's Lyre: Greek Music and Music Theory in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, 1-3. University of Nebraska Press, 1999.

different interpretations and versions because the precise way to sing them were not accurately recorded. Especially when it came to different cultures and languages trying to learn the chants in Latin, they would inadvertently add their own dialects into the language. Guido of Arezzo was undoubtedly one of the most influential people who moved the people towards a more sophisticated approach to notation. He was an Italian music theorist during the medieval era who is credited as the creator of modern music notation. Guido was also a musical monk of the Order of St. Benedict at the St. Maur des Fosses monastery in Paris, France. Guido was greatly bothered by all of the inconsistencies in the chants due to improper notation. He was not satisfied with the unclear methods used, such as neumes. He was then moved to the monastery of Pomposa, Italy, and while there he began to teach develop his own method. Many of the other monks greatly disliked Guido because of his attempt to advance the notational system, therefore changing tradition. Guido was then expelled from that monastery as well, possibly due to his notational advances, and he moved to Arezzo to begin training the cathedral singers there. [3]2 Guido developed a method for music notation using a staff, letters for notes, and clefs. With this new system, he combined the old system by placing the neumes in between the lines to indicate the pitches and their relationships to each other. As a result, the correct pitches to sing were much clearer because they knew how the pitches lined up in thirds. Placing the neumes 3 Reisenweaver, Anna. "Guido of Arezzo and His Influence on Music Learning." Musical Offerings 3, no. 1 (2012): 37-59. doi:10.15385/jmo.2012.3.1.4. 4 "Musical Notation and It's Consequences." In Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2008. Mengozzi, S. The Renaissance Reform of Medieval Music Theory Guido of Arezzo between Myth and History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

between lines eliminated the discrepancies of where exactly each pitch should lie. He also implemented a new system called solmization, which is somewhat similar to the solfege system used today. He created a hexachord using the syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, and la so that every musical interval could be associated with any two syllables. This further served to provide singers a system that would help them find the pitches easier and faster, without needing to guess. Guido wanted to create a list of rules and foundational principles for music to teach his students quicker. In the article, “Music Notation and It’s Consequences”, there is a section written by Dom Odo, another important person who taught notation. [4] It reads, “Other students, after all, have prayed to God for their teachers, though they have gained from them in ten years of study only an imperfect knowledge of singing.” Both Dom Odo and Guido of Arezzo claimed that they could teach just as much, if not more, to students in the span of a few months that the old music methods would take at least 10 years to teach. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the teaching styles of Dom Odo and Guido, because it went against tradition and the popular method of teaching. Guido argued that having the music written down would aid in memorization and more accurately remembering the chants. His method did not catch on for some time, as many held onto the original system. [5] 3 Guido of Arezzo also wrote the Micrologus, a musical treatise, in 1026. His treatise discussed teaching and singing styles in Gregorian chant, polyphony, parallel organum, and

5 Mengozzi, S. The Renaissance Reform of Medieval Music Theory Guido of Arezzo between Myth and History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 6 Reisenweaver, Anna. "Guido of Arezzo and His Influence on Music Learning." Musical Offerings 3, no. 1 (2012): 37-59. doi:10.15385/jmo.2012.3.1.4.

florid organum. [6] He also wrote about some theory aspects, such as which pitches should not be used together. He also began a system called the Guidonian Hand, which connected notes to parts of the hand. This helped with the memorization of music and teaching solmization, because each syllable was assigned a part of the hand they could associate it with. This allowed musicians to more easily sight read music and memorize it faster, reducing the time used to teach the music. These new systems to record and memorize music were still mainly used in the church, outside music was still being passed down orally. Richard Tarusken, author of “The Oxford History of Western Music Volume 1”, puts into words the significant changes musical notation brought saying, “All at once we are witnesses of a sort, able to trace the evolution of music with our own eyes and ears.” 4 Secular music that was written down during that time was done by monks. Monks were really the only people notating music at that time, because they were educated and their entire lives were devoted to prayer and the chants. 5Once

the method for writing music down was more finalized, they were able to begin

printing the music so that everyone would have the exact same version to read. The printing press also helped to standardize the types of notation used, because they all had to be the same. Composers were then able to start distributing and making an income on their pieces as well. They would create many handwritten drafts before passing the final copy off for printing and distribution. Having printed music that was starting to be used outside of the church allowed the folk songs of that time to finally start being documented as well. This also allowed for more

4 Tarusken,

Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music Volume 1. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 1. 5 Hughes,

Dom Anselm. Early Medieval Music Up to 1300. (London: Oxford University Press,1978).

difficult and complex music to be written, because there was a way to accurately document it. [7]6 Guido of Arezzo was not the only one to change the world’s outlook on music and notation, Franco of Cologne did as well. While Guido introduced an important system to help notate pithes and melodies, Franco of Cologne wrote a treatise for rhythms in the late thirteenth century, entitled “Ars Cantus Mensurabilis”. The title translated from Latin means “The Art of Measured Song”. He was one of the first people to recognize the need for a symbol to indicate how long or short a note should be held. Franco also advocated for a symbol to indicate the absence of sound, something unheard of during the time. The Roman numeral system used then did not include a zero, so the idea of marking down the absence of sound sparked some controversy and confusion. [8] Franco introduced rhythmic patterns and systems, making sure that all meter was triple to align with the Trinity. This was also the first time consonance and dissonance were classified and discussed, as he began classifying and identifying certain intervals. Franco’s treatise followed another treatise written by Johannes de Garlandia, “De Mensurabili Musica”, or “Concerning Measured Music”. Written in the early thirteenth century, Garlandia explained the rhythmic modes and how exactly to use them. He explained them in relation to the ligatures, basing time of of long notes and breves. Ligature notes were box shaped

7 Paterson, Jim. "A Short History of Musical Notation." History of Music Notation - Evolution, Printing, Specialisation and Computers. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://www.mfiles.co.uk/music-notationhistory.htm. 8 Hughes, Andrew. "Franco of Cologne." Oxford Music Online, 2001. doi:10.1093/gmo/ 9781561592630.article.10138.

symbols indicating at least two notes were to be sung on one syllable. They were commonly used when notating chants due to the melismatic nature of the melodies. However, they started being used for rhythms as well when rhythmic modes started using standardized ligature patterns. As a result, people could read rhythms on the page without needing to have heard the melody beforehand. 7Up

until this point, notation was used to refresh memory. It was there as a guideline, but

did not dictate how long or short each note should be or what rhythms were used. The concept of being able to tell the duration of a note just by looking at it was fairly unheard of. People were still relying heavily on memorization, and Franco of Cologne wanted to change that. This change not only affected liturgical music, but also allowed composers to notate and publish their own compositions for others to read or play as well. His writings on consonance and dissonance influenced some of the greatest composers of that time period and soon became accepted as the standard writing style. Moving into the fourteenth century, another treatise was written on the further progress made in the notational systems. The Ars Nova treatise, or “New Art”, written by Phillipe de Vitry, focused on the new rhythmic innovations. Following Franco of Cologne’s writings on rhythmic modes, using that style became the standard. However, some composers still found that method of writing within certain modes to be too restrictive and not lenient enough. Phillipe de Vitry was a French composer, poet, and theorist. He composed quite a few motets still known

7 Gangwere,

2004).

Blance. “Music History During the Renaissance Period”. (Connecticut: Praeger Publishers,

today. Motets are classified as sacred, polyphonic pieces which generally do not include any accompaniment. Although his compositions demonstrated the advances being made, he is mainly well known due to the Ars Nova treaty. The treaty focused on the importance of shorter note values, instead of being tied to the limited options in note ligatures. It called for more variety in music and suggested that composers move away from the predictable and rigid forms for writing music. The opposite of the Ars Nova movement was the Ars Antiqua. Unlike the “New Art” period, the Ars Antique meant “Old Art”. The Ars Antiqua time included composers such as Léonin, Pérotin, Franco of Cologne, and Hildegard von Bingen. Much of the music from that time was written anonymously, but there are some compositions remaining with a known composer. It began in a cathedral in Paris and focused on counterpoint, mainly using chants. Although the Ars Nova sparked the popularity and wide acceptance of the motet, motets really began during the Ars Antiqua. Much of the music before and during this time was fairly rigid and followed all the rules strictly. Composers toward the end of the thirteenth century started to move away from that which led to the Ars Nova, which was almost a complete breakaway from the old traditions. Musical notation continued to make rapid progress throughout the fourteenth century, which led to the rise of mensural notation in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Although rhythms were starting to be notated as a result of Franco of Cologne and Phillipe de Vitry, there was still much room for improvement. Mensural notation allowed more variety in the melodies and rhythms than ever before. It created flexibility within the written notes as well. Time

signatures are used today to dictate the value for each note, and mensural notation introduced that idea. It also began the process of writing tablature’s for specific instruments to read. While the system did not originally use bar lines to indicate measures, it eventually evolved to include them. The mensural notation system laid the final foundation and is the closest to what is used today. Musical notation has made drastic advances since the original systems of Ancient Greece and neumes. The progression of notational forms to get to the clearest possible system has been long and slow, and is likely not over yet. Current advances include technology and how it can make notation even easier. The changes already made have been incredible, and will likely progress quickly from there. The purpose of notation itself is changing as well. For the monks and composers around that time period, notation was about creating a tool to remember the music so that it would not be forgotten. It then moved to accurately writing down the music so that other’s could read and play it as well. Since then, it has become more about the ease of writing for the composer. Notation is an incredible device, and the advances still to be made will continue to change the way musicians approach music.

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