{"id":144,"date":"2021-12-08T02:16:53","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/meetec540\/?p=144"},"modified":"2021-12-08T02:20:56","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:20:56","slug":"etec-540-final-assignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/meetec540\/2021\/12\/08\/etec-540-final-assignment\/","title":{"rendered":"ETEC 540 Final Assignment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past 3 \u00bd months, this course has explored the changing needs and subsequent products of communication through writing and text. One of our first tasks was to produce our personal definitions of \u2018text\u2019 and \u2018technology\u2019.\u00a0 My definition of \u2018text\u2019 was very similar to what the Oxford English Dictionary (n.d.) states as \u201cThe wording of anything written or printed; the structure formed by the words in their order; the very words, phrases, and sentences as written.\u201d, essentially, taking oral and spoken ideas and converting them to a concrete and static form that can be referenced at a later date. When I think of \u2018technology\u2019 however, my definition differs somewhat from the Oxford Dictionary.\u00a0 Previous to this course, I thought of technology in terms of applying current ideas and knowledge to produce the means to further expand those ideas and knowledge, but for the purposes of this article, I will also incorporate the Oxford Dictionary\u2019s definition of \u201cThe systematic treatment of grammar. (Obsolete<\/em>.\u00a0rare<\/em>.)\u201d.\u00a0 My intent with this article is to apply these ideas to western musical notation as text and discuss the history of written music and connect it to the original theme of the course, the reciprocal connections between communication needs, practice and invention with some speculation as to the future directions of musical communications.<\/p>\n

What is music?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Music as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is \u201cThe art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds to produce beauty of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, expressive content, etc.\u201d.\u00a0 Music is a form of communication and language just as speech is. \u00a0Various emotions and stories can be expressed with a combination of different tempos, volumes, tone combinations (chords) and note lengths. \u201cLike speech, music has an acoustic code for expressing emotion, and even if a piece of music is unfamiliar, we can \u201cdecode\u201d its message.\u201d (Interlude, 2021).\u00a0 We associate and attribute certain vocalizations in speech to certain meanings and do the same with musical intonations.\u00a0 Cross and Woodruff (2009) expand the communicative aspects of music beyond emotional functions and discuss the cultural significance of music in managing social relationships. \u201c\u2026although many of the uses of music will indeed impinge on the\u00a0affective states of those engaged with it, music fulfils a wide range of functions in\u00a0different societies, in entertainment, ritual, healing and in the maintenance of social\u00a0and natural order\u201d (Cross and Woodruff, 2009).\u00a0 Kofi Agawu discusses the functional elements of traditional African music and its connection to language, \u201cWhile transcending language, however, music nevertheless remains dependent on it; it remains a supplement to language just as language remains a supplement to music.\u201d (Agawu, 2001).\u00a0 Music is used as a means to help memorize and communicate information adding a multimodal element to oral transmission.\u00a0 With music having such a strong functional purpose, the necessity for a reliable, concrete recording system to preserve the format and integrity of certain musical messages becomes evident.<\/p>\n

As with many spoken languages, musical intonations can be transcribed to a textual form which we know as musical notation, and just as there are different languages, there are different forms of musical notation depending upon the genre of music, instrumentation, or purpose.\u00a0 In order to transcribe music to a written form that can be interpreted by others, there are certain elements that need to be translated to a textual form including pitch\/melody, rhythm, and dynamics. The standard notation on 5 line musical staves is the most common for western classical music.\u00a0 While the purpose of this assignment is not to teach music theory, for the sake of providing context I will attempt to briefly summarize the basics of current western music notation.<\/p>\n

In western music, there are 12 musical notes or \u2018pitches\u2019 that are represented by the letters A \u2013 G.\u00a0 The basic 8 note scale was described with the song \u2018Do-Re-Mi\u2019 in the 1964 movie \u2018Mary Poppins\u2019.<\/p>\n

“Do-Re-Mi” – THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) – YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

Additional pitches are indicated by adding symbols to the letters that either raise the pitch or lower it.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 1 Accidentals (taken from What are accidentals in music? – Quora<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

The pitch is indicated by its place on a \u2018stave\u2019 of 5 lines.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 2 The stave and pitches (taken from The Stave or Staff | Hello Music Theory<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Pitch length is represented by a filled in or hollow oval with the addition of lines and \u2018flags\u2019.\u00a0 A \u2018whole\u2019 note is the longest value and the note lengths are divided fractionally from there.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 3 \u2013 Note lengths (taken from Types of musical notes stock illustration. Illustration of harmony – 73676989 (dreamstime.com)<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Musical compositions are also segmented into \u2018bars\u2019 or \u2018measures\u2019 which have a certain value of \u2018beats\u2019 which defines the \u2018rhythm\u2019.\u00a0 The \u2018time\u2019 signature determines how many beats per measure.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 4 \u2013 Time Signature (taken from https:\/\/www.blendspace.com\/lessons\/KaLkWJR8HpBZgg\/meter-signatures-are-also-known-as-time-signatures<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Lastly, dynamics, tempo and articulations are indicated by a variety of symbols that attempt to convey the composer\u2019s intended effects to the musician.<\/p>\n

\"Dynamics

Figure 5 \u2013 Dynamics (taken from Dynamics in Music (thinglink.com)<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Tempo

Figure 6 \u2013 Music Tempos (taken from Tempo – Music Theory Academy<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"How

Figure 7 \u2013 Musical Articulations (taken from https:\/\/www.dummies.com\/article\/academics-the-arts\/music\/instruments\/piano\/how-to-articulate-your-piano-playing-191585<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Even with this wide array of characters and notation options available, each musician will interpret the score differently, and the product may differ from the composer\u2019s vision. \u201cPeople believe that music is not a stationary object but a fluid performing art which does not produce two exactly identical performances (except for replicated electronic sounds).\u201d (Park, 2017).\u00a0 This to my mind, is no different than written stories that are read with personal interpretations and inflections each time they are shared, influenced by the amount of specific detail written, and the background and cultural biases of the reader.\u00a0 \u201cIt is generally accepted that the human performer will add considerably to the music, or \u2018fill it with life\u2019 through the process of interpretation, as if impregnating the music with the life that got extinguished when it was written down in notational form.\u201d (Magnusson, 2014).<\/p>\n

The History of Musical Notation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The very earliest example of basic musical notation was found on a cuneiform tablet in modern day Syria dating around 3400 years old and consists of musical instructions, interval names and number signs. (Davis, 2021 Wikimedia Foundation, 2020)\u00a0 \u201cThe notation was verbal in form and not a graphical representation. The seven pitches described in the text used the same intervals that make up our modern major scale (the diatonic scale) and could be played on a seven-string lyre.\u201d (Gaare, 1997)<\/p>\n

\"Clay

Figure 8 \u2013 Hurrian Hymn (taken from Listen to the enchanting sound of the world\u2019s oldest song, the Hurrian Hymn (classicfm.com)<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Legend credits the birth of musical theory in 600 BC to Pythagorus (Stewart 2017, Sanders 2016, Williams, n.d.) who allegedly walked by a blacksmith\u2019s shop, noticed the different tones that came from the different sized hammers, and was inspired to determine the mathematical ratios and relationships between tones produced from plucked strings and their lengths.\u00a0 He observed and calculated the sound wave frequency ratios and the corresponding intervals between them, the most notable being the 2:1 ratio which we know as the \u2018octave\u2019 which is when one tone frequency is doubled. \u201c\u00a0This 2:1 ratio is so elemental to what humans consider to be music, that the octave is the basis of all musical systems that have been documented \u2013 despite the diversity of musical cultures around the world.\u201d (Sanders, 2016) This is the basis for our 8 note scale today.<\/p>\n

The oldest known complete surviving musical composition with lyrics and notes is the \u2018Seikilos Epitaph\u2019 found on a tombstone in Turkey in 1883. (Williams, n.d. Hall & Hall, 2021).\u00a0 Dating back to around 100 \u2013 200 BC, the Ancient Greeks took the 8 notes of Pythagorus\u2019 scale and labelled them with letters from the Greek alphabet.<\/p>\n

Song of Seikilos – 1st century Greek song – YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

Around 600 AD, a Monk’s training included memorizing copious religious songs known as ‘Plainchant\u2019.\u00a0 The volume of songs to memorize was becoming unmanageable, so a sorting and categorizing system called ‘neumes’ was developed. (Williams, n.d.).\u00a0\u00a0 This was a system of symbols written over text that indicated where the pitch would rise and fall, and were designed to be more of a \u2018cheat sheet\u2019 per se, reminding the singer of a tune that they were already familiar with. (The Optical Neume Recognition Project).<\/p>\n

\"Example

Figure 9 \u2013 Gregorian Chant Neumes (taken from How Was Musical Notation Invented? A Brief History | How To Classical | WQXR<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Although an improvement, this system still proved insufficient for young monks struggling to learn all the chants, so around 1025 AD, a Benedictine monk by the name of Guido d\u2019Arezzo is credited with developing (among other things) a 4 line system (staff) with letters that allowed the neumes to be placed on the lines and spaces, thus providing a frame of reference for the chanters to determine pitches.\u00a0 \u201cPrior to Guido\u2019s invention, music notation was sparse and unclear. Serving only as a reminder of a previously learned melody, the musical notation of the early medieval period provided little help to a singer who was studying a chant for the first time…In addition to placing the lines of the staff a third apart, Guido added colors and clef signs to indicate the specific pitch of the lines and \u201cto show where the following neume is to be placed.\u201d\u201d (Reisenweaver, 2012).<\/p>\n

\"Neumes

Figure 10 \u2013 First staff (taken from How Was Musical Notation Invented? A Brief History | How To Classical | WQXR<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Guido’s system was refined and modified in the following years adding extra lines and colors and ultimately the neumes were replaced with square shaped note symbols. (Williams, n.d.)\u00a0 There was one missing element however, there was no way to determine the length of time a note should be held.<\/p>\n

Mensural notation (or \u2018measured music\u2019), being able to represent both pitch and rhythm, was developed around 1300 AD.\u00a0 In this system (which is very similar to current day notation), different shapes were given to the notes to indicate their relative length to each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 11 \u2013 Mensural Notation compared to current notation (taken from Mensural notation – Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

From this point on, compositions became increasingly complex, adding notations for changes in dynamics, articulations, and more complex time signatures and key signatures allowing composers to express themselves with a more explicit and detailed musical score resulting in the notation we use today.<\/p>\n

What is the future of musical composition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with any technological advancements, innovations and advances are driven by need.\u00a0 Just as the need to record and preserve musical compositions let to the developments of increasingly complex and detailed musical notations, there will be more developments that will allow for composers to communicate their musical intentions more creatively and completely.\u00a0 That being said, musicians will also need room for personal interpretations, allowing for the \u2018human\/variable\u2019 element in musical performances.<\/p>\n

Advances in digital music production and artificial intelligence have pushed the boundaries and capabilities of musical composition and notation.\u00a0 One can download musical applications for their personal digital devices and compose music without having much theoretical knowledge as the trend is for music to be directly recorded rather than written down and notated.\u00a0 Hope (2019) describes music that is no longer notated, but rather graphic \u2018animated notation\u2019 that uses \u201c\u2026imagery not related to traditional music notation\u2026 It can shift the emphasis of music composition towards texture and dynamics over harmony and melody and provide a wider range of choices for performers\u2026\u201d (Hope, 2019).\u00a0 Thus, it seems that musical notation has come full circle, from being translated onto paper, the development of a system to communicate a creative expression for others to emulate, to personal expression\/composition digitally without the need for concrete, textual transcription.\u00a0 Music is constantly undergoing its own evolution\/transition just as any other language.<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Agawu, V. Kofi (Victor Kofi). (2001). African music as text. Research in African Literatures, 32(2), 8-16. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1353\/ral.2001.0037<\/a><\/p>\n

Cross, I., & Woodruff, G. (2009-04-23). Music as a communicative medium. In The Prehistory of Language. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 7 Dec. 2021, from https:\/\/oxford.universitypressscholarship.com\/view\/10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780199545872.001.0001\/acprof-9780199545872-chapter-5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Davis, L. (2021, April 3). Listen to the enchanting sound of the world’s oldest song, the Hurrian hymn<\/em>. Classic FM. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.classicfm.com\/music-news\/videos\/oldest-song-melody\/.<\/p>\n

Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Guido d’arezzo<\/em>. Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Guido-dArezzo-Italian-musician.<\/p>\n

Gaare, M. (1997). Alternatives to Traditional Notation.\u00a0Music Educators Journal<\/em>,\u00a083<\/em>(5), 17\u201323. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/3399003<\/p>\n

Haines, J. (2008). The origins of the musical staff. The Musical Quarterly, 91(3-4), 327-378. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/musqtl\/gdp002<\/a><\/p>\n

Hall, S., & Hall, S. A. (2021, November 4). Engraved on a tombstone almost 2000 years ago, this is Music’s oldest surviving composition<\/em>. Classic FM. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.classicfm.com\/discover-music\/seikilos-epitaph-oldest-surviving-composition\/.<\/p>\n

How was musical notation invented? A brief history: How to classical<\/em>. WQXR. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.wqxr.org\/story\/how-was-musical-notation-invented-brief-history\/.<\/p>\n

Hope, C. (2019, July 19). Animated notation means music’s on the move \u2013 literally. Monash Lens. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/lens.monash.edu\/@politics-society\/2019\/07\/19\/1375851\/the-future-of-music-notation-in-a-digital-world<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Interlude. (2021, April 13). How do musicians communicate while performing?<\/em> Interlude. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https:\/\/interlude.hk\/communication\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Magnusson, T. (2014). Scoring with code: Composing with algorithmic notation. Organised Sound : An International Journal of Music Technology, 19(3), 268-275. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S1355771814000259<\/p>\n

Stewart, J. (2017, August 2). Timeline 002: Pythagoras and the connection between music and math<\/em>. Vermont Public Radio. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.vpr.org\/vpr-classical\/2015-05-04\/timeline-002-pythagoras-and-the-connection-between-music-and-math<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Optical Neume Recognition Project a tool to investigate early staff-less music notation<\/em>. The Optical Neume Recognition Project. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.cs.bham.ac.uk\/~aps\/research\/projects\/neumes\/neumes.php.<\/p>\n

Magnusson, T. (2014). Scoring with code: Composing with algorithmic notation. Organised Sound : An International Journal of Music Technology, 19(3), 268-275. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S1355771814000259<\/p>\n

Music 101: What is musical notation? learn about the different types of musical notes and time signatures – 2021. MasterClass. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https:\/\/www.masterclass.com\/articles\/music-101-what-is-musical-notation-learn-about-the-different-types-of-musical-notes-and-time-signatures#what-is-musical-notation.<\/p>\n

Oxford English Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2021, from Home : Oxford English Dictionary (ubc.ca)<\/a><\/p>\n

Park, S.J. (2017). Sound and Notation: Comparative Study on Musical Ontology.\u00a0Dao, 16<\/em>, 417-430.<\/p>\n

Reisenweaver, A., & Cedarville University. (2012). Guido of arezzo and his influence on music learning. Musical Offerings, 3(1), 37-59. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.15385\/jmo.2012.3.1.4<\/p>\n

Sanders, E. (2016, July 4). Music and mathematics: A Pythagorean perspective<\/em>. University of New York in Prague. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.unyp.cz\/news\/music-and-mathematics-pythagorean-perspective.<\/p>\n

Wikimedia Foundation. (2020, December 3). Hurrian songs<\/em>. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hurrian_songs.<\/p>\n

Williams, V. (n.d.). Notation: The evolution of music notation<\/em>. mymusictheory.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https:\/\/www.mymusictheory.com\/reference\/345-the-evolution-of-music-notation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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