Music and Worship Student Presentations
Document Type
Conference Presentation
Event Date
4-11-2013
Conference/Event
National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Location
La Crosse, WI
Abstract
New things are often viewed as being better and more advanced than older counterparts. However, new does not denote superior. Music notation serves as one example of old methods that were as adequate as the new. Early forms of music notation may appear vague and ambiguous, but when combined with oral tradition the notation contained all the information required for a successful performance. Though these early notational forms seem insufficient when compared with contemporary forms, notation cannot be removed from the context in which it served. From the origin of neumes in the ninth century to the rhythmic developments of the Ars Nova period in the fourteenth century, each musical period collaborated with the foundation of oral tradition to create and adapt notational forms. The evolution of music notation progressed as series of innovations that worked alongside oral tradition to meet the musical demands of each period.
Keywords
Neumes, musical notation, music notation
Recommended Citation
Strayer, Hope R., "From Neumes to Notes: The Evolution of Music Notation" (2013). Music and Worship Student Presentations. 14.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/music_and_worship_student_presentations/14
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
