9th-century examples of neumes

Significative letters

Notation I. General 2. Chronology. II. Notational systems 7. Graphic signs.: Fig.11

Notation I. General 2. Chronology.: Fig.1. A small portion of the Kudumiyamalai Inscription (7th–8th century)

Notation II. Notational systems 3. Syllables.: Fig.2

Notation II. Notational systems 3. Syllables.: Fig.3

Notation II. Notational systems 3. Syllables.: Fig.5

Notation II. Notational systems 5. Words.: Fig.7

Notation II. Notational systems 6. Numbers.: Fig.8

Notation II. Notational systems 6. Numbers.: Fig.9

Notation II. Notational systems 7. Graphic signs.: Fig.10

Notation II. Notational systems 7. Graphic signs.: Fig.12

Notation II. Notational systems 8. Hybrid systems.: Fig.13

Notation II. Notational systems 8. Hybrid systems.: Fig.14

Western staff notation (Liszt, Prelude from ‘Etudes d’exécution transcendante’, i; Budapest: Editio Musica, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1970)

German neumes: cantatorium, c900, from St Gallen (CH-SGs 359, f.27r)

Beneventan neumes: missal, 10th–11th century, from Benevento (I-BV 33, f.22v)

Rhenish staff notation: gradual, 13th century, from Aachen (D-AAm 13, f.120v)

South German staff notation: gradual, 12th–13th century, from Prüfening (D-Mbs lat.10086)

Mixed German-Messine staff notation: gradual, 12th–13th century, from Quedlinburg (D-Bsb 40078, f.245v)

Messine-German Gothic notation: gradual, dated 1360, from Moosburg (D-Mu 2° 156, f.114r)

West German Gothic notation: gradual, 15th century, from the collegiate chapter of St Martin, Bonn (H-Bn Clmae 259, f.1v)

Later Esztergom notation: gradual fragment, 15th century, of the Paulite Order (H-Ba K 484, f.1r)

Later Prague notation: gradual, c1470, from Hradec Králové (CZ-HK 40 (II A 2), f.8v)

Notation III. History of Western notation. 3. Polyphonic mensural notation, c1260–1500. (iv) Italian 14th-century notation.: Fig.43

Part of the tenor of a Gloria by Dunstaple (I-Bu 2216, p.24), with transcription (below)

Notation III. History of Western notation. 3. Polyphonic mensural notation, c1260–1500. (vii) 15th-century notation.: Fig.49

Notation for the Geneva melodies in a Malay metrical psalter, including traditional clefs, time signatures, lozenge-shaped notes and the custos at line ends (‘Sûrat Segala Mazmûr’; Haarlem: Enschedé, 1822) [tops of two columns]

(a) Coloration used throughout a section in triple time, the notes with stems (‘crotchets’) being equivalent in value to minim rests (see line 2, bar 3) (Frescobaldi, ‘Il primo libro di capricci’; Venice: Alessandro Vincenti, 1626) (b) Coloration used throughout a section in triple time, the notes with stems (‘crotchets’) being equivalent in value to semiminim rests (see system 2, bar 1) (G.B. Fontana, ‘Sonate a 1.2.3.’; Venice: Bartolomeo Magni, 1641)

Small note values in a slow tempo with quaver beats, including in the penultimate bar semihemidemisemiquavers and a semihemidemisemiquaver rest (Beethoven, Fantasia op.77; Vienna: Artaria, c1810)

Void notation for a triple-time section in an 18th-century work (F. Couperin, ‘Second livre de pieces de clavecin’; Paris, 1745)

Modern oval notes, with modern bar-lines, beams and slurs (J. Carr, ‘Vinculum societatis’; London, 1687)

Small notes, to be played in measured time, distinguishing ornamental figuration (Chopin, Prelude op.28 no.8; Paris: Catelin, 1839)

Small notes distinguishing subsidiary material from a song melody (R.A. Smith, ‘The Scottish Minstrel’, i; Edinburgh: Purdie, 1821)

Reversed notes distinguishing a subsidiary strand of the texture (J.S. Bach, arr. M. Hess, ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’; London: Oxford University Press, 1926); the small note in bar 1 of system 2 also has this meaning, and the note in parentheses may be omitted

Proposed novel note shapes (right) compared with the established shapes (left) (J. van der Elst, ‘Notae augustinianae’, Ghent, 1657)

A mixture of triple and duple subdivisions of semiquavers and, in the 12/32 section, demisemiquavers (Beethoven, Piano Sonata op.111; London: Clementi, 1823); in the second 12/32 bar, for example, demisemiquavers equal three hemidemisemiquavers except when followed and ‘imperfected’ by a single hemidemisemiquaver

English psalm book with a  time signature with an imperfectly deleted bar (Sternhold and Hopkins, ‘The Whole Booke of Psalmes’; London: Stationers’ Company, 1626)

Three different but perhaps synonymous rhythmic conventions in a single piece in 6/8 time: crotchet-quaver alone (bar 8), crotchet-quaver with a figure 3 signifying a triplet (penultimate bar), and dotted quaver-semiquaver (system 2, bar 1) (T.A. Arne, ‘VIII Sonatas or Lessons’; London: Walsh, 1756)

Notation of a fast scherzo in the traditional 3/4, although this tends to obscure the rhythmic structure (Chopin, Scherzo op.54, 1842; autograph, PL-Kj)

Notation with conflicting time signatures, 9/8 against 3/4 (F. Couperin, ‘La triomphante’, from ‘Second livre de piéces de clavecin’; Paris, 1733)

Score notation of early music with conflicting bar-lines (Monteverdi, ed. H. Leichtentritt, ‘12 fünfstimmige Madrigale’; Leipzig: Peters, 1909)

Staff notation for the vocal line (using bars and slurs) with tablature for the lute (G. Bataille, ‘Airs de différents autheurs’; Paris: Pierre Ballard, 1608)

16th-century Italian keyboard notation, including ties across bar-lines with the beginnings and ends of ties separated where necessary (J. Buus, ‘Intabolatura d’organo’; Venice: Antonio Gardane, 1549)

Beaming across bar-lines throughout to show cross-rhythms (Schumann, ‘Paganini’, from ‘Carnaval’ op.9; Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1837)

Unorthodox rhythmic notation for the sake of convenience: a minim used for a dotted crotchet tied to a quaver (Clementi, ‘Gradus ad Parnassum’; Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1817–26)

Beaming across bar-lines (Beethoven, Piano Sonata op.10 no.3; Vienna: Eder, 1798)

Special notation for various degrees of articulation: ‘sdr’ and slurs for sdrucciolato or glissando, ‘st’ and dashes for staccato, ‘st.mo’ and slurs over dotted notes for staccatissimo (a series of markedly detached notes all to be played with the same finger) (N. Pasquali, ‘The Art of Fingering the Harpsichord’; Edinburgh: Bremner, ?1760) [bars 1–6, 8–14]

17th-century English viol tablature, with slurs indicating that notes are to be bowed together and with other special signs to indicate various graces (GB-Mp 832 Vu51, Manchester Lyra Viol MS, p.127)

Phrasing notation designed by Riemann as systematic musical punctuation: slurs and small vertical dashes mark off the rhythmic units of his theory; bracketed numerals indicate the incidence, or distortion, of 8-bar phrases (W.F. Bach, Suite, g, ed. H. Riemann; Leipzig: Steingräber, 1893)

20th-century keyboard notation in which the C clef is still occasionally used (Brahms, ‘Sämtliche Werke’, xvi; Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1927)

Accidentals notated with dots under the notes (bar 1), or ordinary accidental signs next to the notes (bar 5), fairly close to them (end of bar 1, bass line) or above them (final bar) (‘Intabolatura nova di … balli’; Venice: Antonio Gardane, 1551)

A sharp used for a natural in an English manuscript of about 1841, written by an inexpert hand (private collection)

Example from Beethoven, Piano Sonata op.26, cited by Lussy as an example of notation incorrect both theoretically and for expressive purposes (M. Lussy, ‘Traité de l’expression musicale’; Eng. trans., London, 1885)

Characteristic lozenge-shaped sign combining crescendo and diminuendo in early 19th-century notation (below bottom staff) (Beethoven, Piano Sonata op.111; London: Clementi, 1823)

Thoroughbass notation with special signs through numerals, including strokes for sharps (bar 10), and simplified flat signs (bar 1; also used in the key signatures) (Corelli, Sonatas op.5; Amsterdam: Roger, c1708)

Notation of single-manual keyboard music on three staves (G.J. Vogler, ‘Variations sur l’air de Marlborough’: Speyer: Bossler, 1791); the two upper staves are to be played by the right hand

Notation for voice and guitar: letters signify major chords unless qualified (‘m’ and ‘+’ mean minor and augmented chords; numerals, extra notes) (P. Smith, ‘Faith, Folk and Clarity’; Great Yarmouth: Galliard, 1967)

Old German organ tablature: both the staff notation for the upper voice and the rhythm signs for the lower voices use beams (early 16th-century fragments, GB-A)

French 17th-century keyboard notation, with letters placed on staves but without precise indications of rhythm (GB-A, MS bound with a copy of Arcadelt’s ‘Primo libro di madregali’, 1561)

Italian lute tablature: double crosses signify that notes are to be prolonged (A. Rotta, ‘Intabolatura de lauto’; Venice: Antonio Gardane, 1546³²)

Spanish vihuela tablature, with the vocal line in red (here grey) (E. de Valderrábano, ‘Silva de sirenas’, ii; Valladolid: Fernandez de Cordova, 1547)

German lute tablature, with regular bar-lines and rhythm signs (H. Gerle, ‘Tablatur auff die Laudten’; Nuremberg: Formschneider, 1533)

Early 19th-century guitar notation, with detailed fingering (F. Sor, ‘Six Divertimentos’; London: Regent’s Harmonic Institution, c1820)

Spanish abbreviated notation for guitar chords: the numerals, letters etc. stand for chords (e.g. ‘5’ for D minor, ‘P’ A major, ‘6’ A minor) (L. Ruiz de Ribayaz, ‘Luz y norte musical’; Madrid: Alvarez, 1677); the vertical strokes show the direction of attack

Early 20th-century popular song notation, including ukelele tablature and supplementary Tonic Sol-fa notation for the vocal part (M. Wayne, ‘Ramona’; London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1927); tablature symbols are provided only at chord changes

Tablature notation (here for bass viol) with its equivalent in mensural notation (M. Agricola, ‘Musica instrumentalis deudsch’; Wittenberg, 1529)

17th-century flageolet tablature in which each line of the ‘staff’ represents a hole in the instrument (T. Greeting, ‘The Pleasant Companion’; London: J. Playford, 1682 edition)

Metrical psalm notation with a solmization letter by each note ‘whereby thou mayst knowe how to call every Note by his right name’ (Sternhold and Hopkins, ‘The Whole Book of Psalmes’; London: John Day, 1574)

Solmization notation with numerals, with mensural notation above, supplemented by solmization syllables (P. Davantes, ‘Pseaumes de David, … avec Nouvelle et facile methode’; Geneva, 1560)

Simplified sol-fa, outside white influence, in an English-speaking Aladura church hymnal (for non-Yoruba-speakers in West Africa); the words are holy names, governed by special pronunciation rules (‘Hymnbook of the Church of the Lord Aladura’; Ijebu Ode, Nigeria, c1958)

Notation for toy koto: the notes are represented by numerals, elsewhere equated with Japanese phonetic equivalents of sol-fa syllables (explanatory leaflet; Ina: Japanese Violin Research Institute, n.d.)

John Wilkins’s musical cipher (‘Mercury, or the Secret and Swift Messenger’; London, 1641)

Combinations of notes available in notation (or otherwise) to express concepts; the resemblances between different combinations are generally related to the resemblances between the ideas they represent (J.F. Sudre, ‘Langue universelle’; Paris, 1867)

Ex.1

Ex.2

Ex.3

Ex.4 Dasia signs in the ‘Enchiriadis’ group of treatises

Ex.6 Pitch-letters in the Dialogus de musica and Guido of Arezzo

Ex.5 Special signs in F-MOf H.159

Ex.7 Note shapes in Guidetti

Rhythmic modes and concomitant ligature patterns

Patterns of fractio modi after Anonymus 4 (ed. Reckow, i, pp.38–9)

Ex.9 Perotinus: Alleluia, Posui adiutorium (I-Fl Plut.29.1, f.36v)

Ex.10  Excerpt from Benedicamus Domino (I-Fl Plut.29.1, f.41r)

Anonymus 4, chap.vii: ‘De modis irregularibus’ (references are to page and line numbers in Reckow’s edn.)

Fig.33

Ex.8 Neume patterns in Aquitanian/Compostelan polyphony (after Stäblein, 1963; Karp, 1992) (a) Ad superni regis (contrafactum of Noster cetus; E-SC Codex Calixtinus, f.214v) (b) hypothetical rhythmic transcription of (a)

Ex.11 Hac in anni ianua (I-Fl Plut.29.1, f.229v)

Ex.12 Turmas arment christicolas (I-Fl Plut.29.1, f.431v)

Fig.34

Fig.38

Fig.39

Fig.40

Fig.44

Fig.45

Some examples of pelog grantangan

Neumes of the 11th and 12th centuries

Fig.37

Fig.42

Fig.48