Musical Notation in the West (Cambridge Introductions to Music)

288 Pages·2021·12.477 MB·English

by  James Grier

Cambridge Introductions to Music
James Grier
Musical Notation
in the West

Musical Notation in the West
Musical notation is a powerful system of communication between
musicians,usingsophisticatedsymbolic,primarilynon-verbalmeans
toexpressmusicaleventsinvisualsymbols.Manymusicianstakethe
system for granted, having internalized it and their strategies for
readingitandtranslatingitintosoundoverlongyearsofstudyand
practice. This book traces the development of that system by
combining chronological and thematic approaches to show the
historical and musical context in which these developments took
place. Simultaneously, the book considers the way in which this
symbolic language communicates to those literate in it, discussing
howitsfeaturesfacilitateorhinderfluentcomprehensioninthereal-
timeenvironmentofperformance.Moreover,thetopicofmusicalas
opposed to notational innovation forms another thread of the
treatment, as the author investigates instances where musical
developments stimulated notational attributes, or notational
innovationsmadepracticableadvancesinmusicalstyle.
james grier
is Professor of Music History at the University of
WesternOntarioandFellowoftheRoyalSocietyofCanada.Hehas
written The Critical Editing of Music (Cambridge University Press,
1996; Spanish translation 2008), and three books on the music of
AdémardeChabannes,eleventh-centuryAquitanianmonk.
Acompletelistofbooksintheseriesisfeaturedatthebackofthisbook.

Musical Notation in the West
james grier
UniversityofWesternOntario
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
OneLibertyPlaza,20thFloor,NewYork,NY10006,USA
477WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,VIC3207,Australia
314–321,3rdFloor,Plot3,SplendorForum,JasolaDistrictCentre,
NewDelhi–110025,India
79AnsonRoad,#06–04/06,Singapore079906
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521898164
DOI:10.1017/9781139034821
©CambridgeUniversityPress2021
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2021
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyTJBooksLimited,PadstowCornwall
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
ISBN978-0-521-89816-4Hardback
ISBN978-0-521–72642-9Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
To Dr. Victoria L. Cooper

Contents
ListofFigures [pageix]
ListofTables [xii]
ListofMusicalExamples [xiii]
Preface [xv]
1 Introduction:MusicalNotationasaSymbolic
Language [1]
2 PlainsongandtheOriginsofMusicalNotation
intheWest [8]
TheEarliestNeumes [15]
TheEarliestNeumes:Directionality [17]
TheEarliestNeumes:GroupingandLigation [22]
TheEarliestNeumes:MelodicNuances [28]
TheEarliestNeumes:ACommonAncestorandItsDissemination [35]
Pitch [37]
LaterChantNotation [40]
Interlude1:TheProblemwithPitch [53]
3 PolyphonyandRhythmicNotation [61]
TheRhythmicModes [63]
TheRhythmicModes:Proprietasetperfectio [71]
TheRhythmicModes:OppositeProprietyandthePlica,Fractioetcollectio,
IndividualNotesandRests [78]
SixModesorTwo? [81]
MensuralNotation:LambertusandFranco [85]
Thearsnoua [96]
ColorationandProportion [111]
DevelopmentsoftheFifteenthandSixteenthCenturies [121]
TheTransitiontoModernRhythmicNotationinthe
SixteenthandSeventeenthCenturies [128]
RestsandNoteNames [132]
Interlude2:RhythmandMetre [135]
vii
viii Contents
4 TheTransitiontotheModernEra:InstrumentalMusicand
PerformingIndications [142]
KeyboardTablatures [143]
LuteTablatures [151]
TheAdoptionofVocalNotationbyInstrumentalists [160]
FiguredBassNotation [162]
IdiosyncraticNotationforInstruments [163]
BibliographyofNotationalTechniques [164]
Accidentals,Mode,KeyandSignatures [166]
Dynamics,TempoandExpression [176]
Interlude3:TheScore [181]
5 NotationalNuanceintheTwentiethCentury
andtheMotivesforNotationalInnovation [190]
PerformingTechniques [193]
Rhythm [194]
Pitch [196]
AleatoricNotation [197]
TheTensionbetweenCompositionandPerformance,
andNotationalInnovation [200]
Coda:TheMeaningofMusicalLiteracy [206]
Bibliography [224]
Index [265]