How did writing system develop over human history? As many of you know, it begins with the simple graphical system and slowly developed into the writing system that we use in our everyday life. What about music notation? Similar to writing system, music notation has a rich history, evolving from simple memory aids to the complex system we use today. This blog explores the fascinating journey of music notation, starting with neumes in the 9th century, moving through various significant developments, and culminating in modern staff notation.
In the 9th century: Neumes, the Genesis of Notation
If you are familiar with the history of the 9th century Europe, you may have heard of the name: the rule of Charlemagne. Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, was a pivotal figure in European history, reigning from 768 to 814 AD. Charlemagne contributed to establish several efficient system of governance including legal system. In order to expand the Frankish Empire, he wanted to influence other cultures by spreading his system. Before the rule of Charlemagne, there was no need of music notation. Usually, music was transcended through oral history. However, as Charlemagne needed to establish system for his influence, music notation was established accordingly. At this time, they used different system: Neumes. They were graphic signs that indicated the rise and fall of the voice. These neumes were not having the specific indications of pitches.
Development of Heighted Neumes
Between the 10th and 12th centuries, significant advancements were made toward a notation system. Heighted neumes were spaced on the page in relation to each other, forming a continuous graph of pitch over the text. This innovation marked a critical step towards more precise musical notation.
Interestingly enough, until this point, the horizontal lines that we usually have nowadays were not invented yet. As soon as people need more accurate pitch, they started to scratch horizontal lines to give more detailed pitches. To give more accuracy, sometimes pitches were colored or marked with letters.
By the 13th century, a four-line staff ruled in black or red had become standard, using stylized forms of the letters F, C, and G as clefs. For polyphonic music, a five-line staff became the norm by the 14th century.
Transition to Modern Staff Notation
Finally in the 16th century, music manuscripts and printed scores started using diamond-shaped notes, which later changed to rounded notes. The use of bar lines to measure meter appeared first in the 15th century in tablatures and was added to staff notation in the 17th century. By the 18th century, it became common to use evenly spaced bar lines. Tempo markings, which began to be written as words in the 17th century, became more varied and detailed during the 18th and 19th centuries.
20th-Century Notation and Beyond
While we use the traditional notation that was established around the 16th century, there are many interesting attempts in the 20th and 21th century. Often described as post-modern period, the 20th century saw developments in musical style that strained traditional staff notation.
For example, Arnold Schoenberg tried to break the traditional norm by subverting all of the pitch ideas. While the idea of pitch lies into the belief that the relationship between pitches greatly influence and work in the heart of the piece, Schoenberg wanted to break up this relationship. While the previous system has the central pitch, he decided to use each pitch equally. Accordingly, he needed something else to elaborate his idea. Serialism, which was invented by him, has led to the new horizon of music. Even though he was using 'somewhat' traditional score, the sound is completely new.
Inspired by Schoenberg, post-modern composers made their own way to be innovative. Take a look at another example. György Ligeti, an experimental composer in the 20th century showed interesting score. In some of his later works, Ligeti experimented with graphic notation, where the score includes symbols, shapes, and lines instead of traditional notes. This allowed for greater freedom in the interpretation of texture, dynamics, and timing, giving performers a visual guide to the desired sound.
Another example of graphic scores is a piece composed by John Cage. In "Variations" Series (1958-1978), he used graphic scores that use abstract symbols, shapes, and instructions. By using this untraditional score, performers interpret the graphics and symbols, allowing for a high degree of freedom and indeterminacy in performance.
What about the 21st century? Many composers started to use multi-media into their work. For example, Jennifer Walshe’s " Everything you own has been taken to a depot somewhere" The piece integrates various media, including live performance, pre-recorded audio, video, and interactive elements. It creates a rich, multimedia experience for both performers and the audience. The work explores themes of consumerism, personal identity, and the accumulation of material possessions. It reflects on how modern life is influenced by the objects we own and the impact of losing them. The score features a mix of traditional music notation, graphic notation, and text instructions. This combination allows for a wide range of expressive possibilities and creative interpretation. Performers are given specific visual and textual cues that guide their actions, movements, and interactions with multimedia elements. These instructions are integral to the performance and help create a cohesive narrative.
Likewise, music notation in the history of music plays a vital role in transcending knowledge to the future. Interestingly, even though the traditional notation system has been established around the 16th century as we discussed, recent composers started to develop their own system of notation. This allows the realm of music become more diverse and engaging, letting us to explore different composers’ philosophies and knowledge. What would be the next stage of notation system? It would be an ongoing interest as the music itself is consistently changing.
This blog has referenced a partial part of Britannica.
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