/> bass staff), the neumae (the predecessors of our modern notes)

standing either for this pitch f, or for a higher or lower pitch,

according to their position on the line, or above or below it.

Another line, continues this writer, this time of yellow color, was

soon added above the red one, and this line was to represent c' (middle

C). Soon the colors of these lines were omitted and the letters F and

C were placed at the beginning of each of them. From this arose our F

and C clefs, which preceded the G clef by some centuries.[37]



[Footnote 37: Elson--Music Dictionary, article, Notation.]



Another writer[38] gives a somewhat different explanation, stating that

the staff system with the use of clefs came about through writing a

letter (C or F) in the margin of the manuscript and drawing a line from

this letter to the neume which was to represent the tone for which this

particular letter stood.



[Footnote 38: Goddard--The Rise of Music, p. 177.]



A third writer[39] asserts that because the alphabetical notation was

not suitable for recording melodies because of its inconvenience in

sight-singing points were placed at definite distances above the words

and above and below one another. In this system ... everything

depended on the accuracy with which the points were interspersed, and

the scribes, as a guide to the eye, began to scratch a straight line

across the page to indicate the position of one particular scale degree

from which all the others could be shown by the relative distances of

their points. But this was not found sufficiently definite and the

scratched line was therefore colored red and a second line was added,

colored yellow, indicating the interval of a fifth above the first.



[Footnote 39: Williams in Grove's Dictionary, article, Notation.]



It will be noted that all three writers agree that a certain thing

happened, but as in the case of the four Gospels in the New Testament,

not all the writers agree on details and it is difficult to determine

which account is most nearly accurate in detail as well as in general

statement. Communication was much slower a thousand years ago than now

and ideas about new methods of doing things did not spread rapidly,

consequently it is entirely possible that various men or groups of men

in various places worked out a system of notation differing somewhat in

details of origin and development but alike in final result. The point

is that the development of musical knowledge (rise of part-writing,

increased interest in instrumental music, etc.), demanded a more exact

system of notation than had previously existed, just as the development

of science in the nineteenth century necessitated a more accurate

scientific nomenclature, and in both cases the need gave rise to the

result as we have it to-day.



Out of the chaos of conflicting statements regarding the development of

music notation, the student may glean an outline-knowledge of three

fairly distinct periods or stages, each of these stages being intimately

bound up with the development of music itself in that period. These

three stages are:



(1) The Greek system, which used the letters of the alphabet

for representing fixed pitches.



(2) The period of the neumae.



(3) The period of staff notation.



Of the Greek system little is known beyond the fact that the letters of

the alphabet were used to represent pitches. This method was probably

accurate enough, but it was cumbersome, and did not afford any means of

writing measured music nor did it give the eye any opportunity of

grasping the general outline of the melody in its progression upward and

downward, as staff notation does. The Greek system seems to have been

abandoned at some time preceding the fifth century. At any rate it was

about this time that certain accent marks began to be written above

the text of the Latin hymns of the church, these marks serving to

indicate in a general way the progress of the melody. E.g., an upward

stroke of the pen indicated a rise of the melody, a downward stroke a

fall, etc. In the course of two or three centuries these marks were

added to and modified quite considerably, and the system of notation

which thus grew up was called neume notation, the word neume

(sometimes spelled neuma, or pneuma) being of Greek origin and

meaning a nod or sign.



This system of neumes was in some ways a retrogression from the Greek

letter system, for the neumes indicated neither definite pitches nor

definite tone-lengths. But it had this advantage over the Greek system,

that the position of the signs on the page indicated graphically to the

eye the general direction of the melody, as well as giving at least a

hint concerning the relative highness or lowness of each individual tone

(the so-called diastematic system), and this was a great aid to the

eye in singing, just as the relative highness and lowness of notes on

the modern staff is of great value in reading music at the present time.

Thus although the neumae did not enable one to sing a new melody at

sight as our modern staff notation does, yet they served very well to

recall to the eye the general outline of a melody previously learned by

ear and therefore enabled the singer (the system was used for vocal

music only) to differentiate between that particular melody and the

dozens of others which he probably knew. Neume notation was used mostly

in connection with the plain-song melodies of the Church, and since

the words of these chants were sung as they would be pronounced in

reading, the deficiency of the neume system in not expressing definite

duration values was not felt. But later on with the rise of so-called

measured music (cf. invention of opera, development of independent

instrumental music, etc.), this lack was seen to be one of the chief

disadvantages of the system.



The elements of neume-writing as given by Riemann in his Dictionary of

Music are:



(1) The signs for a single note: Virga (Virgula) and Punctus (Punctum).

(2) The sign for a rising interval: Pes (Podatus). (3) The sign for a

falling interval: Clinis (Flexa). (4) Some signs for special manners of

performance: Tremula (Bebung), Quilisma (shake), Plica (turn), etc. The

others were either synonyms of the above-named or combinations of

them....



Since music in the middle ages was always copied by hand, it will

readily be understood that these neumae were not uniform either in shape

or size, and that each writer made use of certain peculiarities of

writing, which, although perfectly intelligible to himself, could not

readily be interpreted by others (cf. writing shorthand). Here then we

observe the greatest weakness of the neume system--its lack of

uniformity and its consequent inability accurately to express musical

ideas for universal interpretation.



Examples of several neumes are given merely in order to give

the beginner a general idea of their appearance.



Virga [virga symbol] or [virga symbol]. Punctus [punctus

symbol] or [punctus symbol]. Pes [pes symbol] or [pes symbol].

Clinis [clinis symbol] or [clinis symbol].



As music grew more and more complex, and especially as writing in

several parts came into use (cf. rise of organum, descant, and

counterpoint), it became increasingly difficult to express musical ideas

on the basis of the old notation, and numerous attempts were made to

invent a more accurate and usable system. Among these one of the most

interesting was that in which the words of the text were written in the

spaces between long, parallel lines, placing the initial letters of the

words tone and semi-tone at the beginning of the line to indicate

the scale interval. An example will make this clear.







This indicated the precise melodic interval but did not give any idea of

the rhythm, and the natural accents of the text were the only guide the

singer had in this direction, as was the case in neume-notation and in

early staff-notation also. Various other attempts to invent a more

definite notation were made, but all were sporadic, and it was not until

the idea of using the lines (later lines and spaces) to represent

definite pitches, and writing notes of various shapes (derived from the

neumae) to indicate relative duration-values--it was only when this

combination of two elements was devised that any one system began to be

universally used.



Just how the transition from neume to staff notation was made no one

knows: it was not done in a day nor in a year but was the result of a

gradual process of evolution and improvement. Nor is it probable that

any one man deserves the entire credit for the invention of staff

notation, although this feat is commonly attributed to an Italian monk

named Guido d'Arezzo (approximate dates 995-1050). To this same monk we

are indebted, however, for the invention of the syllables (UT, RE, MI,

etc.) which (in a somewhat modified form) are so widely used for

sight-singing purposes. (For a more detailed account of the transition

to staff notation, see Grove, op. cit. article notation.) It will now

be readily seen that our modern notation is the result of a combination

of two preceding methods (the Greek letters, and the neumes) together

with a new element--the staff, emphasizing the idea that higher tones

are written higher on the staff than lower ones. The development of

the neumes into notes of various shapes indicating relative time values

and the division of the staff into measures with a definite measure

signature at the beginning are natural developments of the earlier

primitive idea. In the system of musica mensurabilis or measured

music which was inaugurated a little later, the virga (which had

meanwhile developed into a square-headed neume) was adopted as the

longa or long note, and the punctus in two of its forms as breve and

semi-breve (short and half-short). The longa is now extinct, but the

modern form of the breve is still used as the double-whole-note, and the

semi-breve is our modern whole-note.



Red-colored notes were sometimes used to indicate changes in value and

before long outline notes (called empty notes) came into use, these

being easier to make than the solid ones. The transition from square-

and diamond-shaped notes to round and oval ones also came about because

of the greater facility with which the latter could be written, and for

the same reason notes of small denomination were later tied together

or stroked. This latter usage began about 1700 A.D.



It is interesting to find that when measured music was finally

inaugurated there were at first but two measure-signatures, viz.--the

circle, standing for three-beat measure (the so-called perfect

measure) and the semi-circle (or broken circle) which indicated

two-beat measure. Occasionally three-beat measure was indicated by three

vertical strokes at the beginning of the melody, while two-beat measure

was shown by two such strokes. Upon the basis of these two varieties of

measure, primitive in conception though they may have been, has been

built nevertheless the whole system now employed, and in the last

analysis all forms of measure now in use will be found to be of either

the two-beat or the three-beat variety. The circle has disappeared

entirely as a measure-sign, but the broken circle still survives, and

from it are derived the familiar signs [common-time symbol] and

[cut-time symbol], which are sometimes erroneously referred to as being

the initial letter of our word common (as used in the expression

common time). The transition from the older style of measure-signature

to the present one seems to have occurred during the century following

the invention of opera, i.e., from about 1600 to about 1700 A.D.



The rest came into use very soon after measured music began to be

composed and we soon find rests corresponding with the various

denominations of notes in use, viz.:







The terms applied to these rests vary in different authorities, but it

will be noted that the pausa, semi-pausa, and suspirum correspond

respectively to the double-whole-rest, whole-rest, and half-rest in use

at present.



The bar and double bar may be developments of the maxima rest (as some

writers suggest) but are probably also derived from the practice of

drawing a line vertically through the various parts of a score to show

which notes belonged together, thus facilitating score reading. The bar

may occasionally be found as early as 1500, but was not employed

universally until 1650 or later.



The number of lines used in the staff has varied greatly since the time

of Guido, there having been all the way from four to fifteen at various

times and in various places, (four being the standard number for a

long time). These lines (when there were quite a number in the staff)

were often divided into groups of four by red lines, which were not

themselves used for notes. These red lines were gradually omitted and

the staff divided into sections by a space, as in modern usage. The

number of lines in each section was changed to five (in some cases six)

for the sake of having a larger available range in each section.



The clefs at the beginning of the staffs are of course simply altered

forms of the letters F, C, and G, which were written at first by Guido

and others to make the old neume notation more definite.



The staccato sign seems not to have appeared until about the time of

Bach, the legato sign being also invented at about the same time. The

fermata was first used in imitative part-writing to show where each part

was to stop, but with the development of harmonic writing the present

practice was inaugurated. Leger lines came into use in the seventeenth

century.



Sharps and flats were invented because composers found it necessary to

use other tones than those that could be represented by the staff

degrees in their natural condition. The history of their origin and

development is somewhat complicated and cannot be given here, but it

should be noted once more that it was the need of expressing more than

could be expressed by the older symbols that called forth the newer and

more comprehensive method. The use of sharps and flats in key signatures

grew up early in the seventeenth century. In the earlier signatures it

was customary to duplicate sharps or flats on staff degrees having the

same pitch-name, thus: [Illustration] [Illustration]. (The use of the G

clef as here shown did not of course exist at that time.)



The double-sharp and double-flat became necessary when equal

temperament (making possible the use of the complete cycle of keys) was

adopted. This was in the time of Bach (1685-1750).



Signs of expression (relating to tempo and dynamics) date back at least

as far as the year 1000 A.D., but the modern terms used for this purpose

did not appear until some years after the invention of opera, the date

given by C.F.A. Williams in Grove's Dictionary being 1638. These words

and signs of expression were at first used only in connection with

instrumental music, but were gradually applied to vocal music also.



Other systems of notation have been invented from time to time in the

course of the last two or three centuries, but in most cases they have

died with their inventors, and in no case has any such system been

accepted with anything even approaching unanimity. The tonic-sol-fa

system[40] is used quite extensively in England for vocal music, but

has gained little ground anywhere else and the chances are that the

present system of notation, with possibly slight additions and

modifications, will remain the standard notation for some time to come

in spite of the attacks that are periodically made upon it on the ground

of cumbersomeness, difficulty in teaching children, etc. The main

characteristics of staff notation may be summed up as follows:



[Footnote 40: The tonic-sol-fa system represents an attempt to invent

a simpler notation to be used by beginners, (especially in the lower

grades of the public schools) and by singers in choral societies who

have never learned to interpret staff notation and who therefore find

some simpler scheme of notation necessary if they are to read music at

all.



In this system the syllables do, re, mi, etc., (in phonetic

spelling) are used, the tone being arrived at in each case, first by

means of a firmly established sense of tonality, and second by

associating each diatonic tone with some universally felt emotional

feeling: thus do is referred to as the strong tone, mi as the

calm one, and la as the sad tone, great emphasis being placed upon

do as the center of the major tonality, and upon la as the center of

the minor. The system is thus seen to have one advantage over staff

notation, viz.: that in presenting it the teacher is compelled to begin

with a presentation of actual tones, while in many cases the teacher of

staff notation begins by presenting facts regarding the staff and other

symbols before the pupil knows anything about tone and rhythm as such.



The symbol for each diatonic tone is the initial letter of the syllable

(i.e., d for do, r for re, etc.), the key being indicated by a

letter at the beginning of the composition. The duration-value of tones

is indicated by a system of bars, dots, and spaces, the bar being used

to indicate the strongest pulse of each measure (as in staff notation)

the beats being shown by the mark: a dash indicating the continuation of

the same tone through another beat. If a beat has two tones this is

indicated by writing the two initial letters representing them with a .

between them. A modulation is indicated by giving the new key letter and

by printing the syllable-initials from the standpoint of both the old

and the new do-position. The figure ' above and to the right of the

letter indicates the tone in the octave above, while the same figure

below and to the right indicates the octave below. A blank space

indicates a rest. The tune of My Country, 'Tis of Thee, as printed in

tonic sol-fa notation below will make these points clear.



Key F



d :d :r t1 :-.d :r m :m :f m :-.r :d r :d :t1 d :-- :--

s :s :s s :-.f :m f :f :f f :-.m :r m :f.m :r.d m :-.f :s

l.f:m :r d :-- :--



The advantages of the system are (1) the strong sense of key-feeling

aroused and the ease with which modulations are felt; and (2) the fact

that it is necessary to learn to sing in but one key, thus making

sight-singing a much simpler matter, and transposition the easiest

process imaginable. But these are advantages from the standpoint of the

vocalist (producing but one tone at a time) only, and do not apply to

instrumental music. The scheme will therefore probably be always

restricted to vocal music and will hardly come into very extensive use

even in this field, for the teacher of music is finding it perfectly

possible to improve methods of presentation to such an extent that

learning to sing from the staff becomes a very simple matter even to the

young child. And even though this were not true, the tonic-sol-fa will

always be hampered by the fact that since all letters are printed in a

straight horizontal line the ear does not have the assistance of the eye

in appreciating the rise and fall of melody, as is the case in staff

notation.]



1. Pitches represented by lines and spaces of a staff, the

higher the line, the higher the pitch represented, signs

called clefs at the beginning of each staff making clear the

pitch names of the lines and spaces.



2. Duration values shown by shapes of notes.



3. Accents shown by position of notes on the staff with regard

to bars, i.e., the strongest accent always falls just after

the bar, and the beat relatively least accented is found just

before the bar.



4. Extent and description of beat-groups shown by

measure-signs.



5. Key shown by key signature placed at the beginning of each

staff.



6. Rate of speed, dynamic changes, etc., shown by certain

Italian words (allegro, andante, etc.), whose meaning is

as universally understood as staff notation itself.