Introduction to Notation Systems: Difference between revisions
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*Bennett, [https://www.wqxr.org/story/how-was-musical-notation-invented-brief-history/ "How was musical notation invented? A brief history."] | *Bennett, [https://www.wqxr.org/story/how-was-musical-notation-invented-brief-history/ "How was musical notation invented? A brief history."] | ||
*Williams, [https://www.mymusictheory.com/reference/345-the-evolution-of-music-notation "The | *Williams, [https://www.mymusictheory.com/reference/345-the-evolution-of-music-notation "The evolution of music notation."] | ||
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**Chant Notation(s) | **Chant Notation(s) | ||
**Rhythmic Modes | **Rhythmic Modes | ||
** | **Shaffer, ''Open Music Theory'': [http://openmusictheory.com/protonotation.html Protonotation] | ||
**Figured Bass Notation | **Figured Bass Notation | ||
**[https://fasola.org/resources/ Sacred Harp Shape Note Singing] | **''Fasola'': [https://fasola.org/resources/ Sacred Harp Shape Note Singing] | ||
**Drum | **''Drum Book'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20131206152241/http://www.drumbook.org/drum-lessons/beginner-drums/drum-notation/ Drum Notation] | ||
** | **Hall, [http://davidhall.io/visualising-music-graphic-scores/ "The Art of Visualizing Music."] | ||
*Common popular music notations | *Common popular music notations | ||
**Jazz | **''Jazz Guitar Online'': [https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/how-to-read-jazz-chords/ How to read jazz chords and lead sheets.] | ||
**''How Music Works'': [https://www.howmusicworks.org/703/Playing-with-Chords/Slash-Chord-Notation Slash Chord Notation] | |||
**''Guitar Thinker'': [https://guitarthinker.com/lessons/nashville-number-system Nashville Number System.] | |||
** | |||
*Tablatures (historical and worldwide): | *Tablatures (historical and worldwide): | ||
** | **''Music Notes Now Blog'': "[https://www.musicnotes.com/now/tips/how-to-read-guitar-tabs/ Guitar Tab Explained."] | ||
**Chinese Gugin | |||
**Chinese Gugin | |||
*Other World Musics | *Other World Musics | ||
** | **Wikipedia: [[wikipedia:Seikilos_epitaph|Epitaph of Seikilos]] | ||
**Javanese Gamelan | **Javanese Gamelan Cipher Notation | ||
**[[wikipedia:Gongche_notation|Chinese Gongche Notation]] | **Wikipedia: [[wikipedia:Gongche_notation|Chinese Gongche Notation]] | ||
** | **[https://sites.tufts.edu/yewevu/ D. Locke, "Yewevu in the Metric Matrix"] | ||
*Various modalities | *Various modalities | ||
**Braille notation | **Braille notation | ||
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**XML (or other computer-coded notations) | **XML (or other computer-coded notations) | ||
**DAW visualizations | **DAW visualizations | ||
**[[wikipedia:Dance_notation|Dance notation]] | **Wikipedia: [[wikipedia:Dance_notation|Dance notation]] | ||
==== '''Instructor References''' ==== | |||
* [https://sumarsam.web.wesleyan.edu/Intro.gamelan.pdf Sumarsam, "Introduction to Gamelan"] | |||
* [http://www.peiyouqin.com Chang, ''Chinese Gugin Playing and Notation''] | |||
*[https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com Ultimate Guitar Tabs] | |||
*[http://www.jazzstudies.us Jazz Studies Chord Charts Database] | |||
Revision as of 19:32, 29 July 2020
| This lesson is part of the Fundamentals of Sound & Music module. |
Objectives
- Student will be able to critically assess the difference between an aural cue and its visual representation
- Student will learn the definitions of etic vs. emic; prescriptive vs. descriptive notations
- Student will be able to identify the emic/etic and descriptive/prescriptive aspects of various notations
- Student will assess the functionality of different notation system(s) according to specific goals (i.e. performativity vs. representation)
- Student will be familiar with various notation systems and the main sonic aspect they annotate, notably: guitar tablature, lead sheet notation, braille music notation, and electronic notation formats such as DAW diagrams, MIDI 1.0 and MusicXML files.
Resources
Readings
Notation Explained
- Handout on Prescriptive/Descriptive and Etic/Emic notations
- Granade, "Cracking the Code: What Notation Can Tell Us About Our Musical Values" (Open Access Musicology, forthcoming)
- Rowbury, From the Front of the Choir Blog:
- Global Notation: "Specifying the information you want."
Histories of Western Notations
- Bennett, "How was musical notation invented? A brief history."
- Williams, "The evolution of music notation."
Individual Notation Types
- Western notations through history
- Chant Notation(s)
- Rhythmic Modes
- Shaffer, Open Music Theory: Protonotation
- Figured Bass Notation
- Fasola: Sacred Harp Shape Note Singing
- Drum Book: Drum Notation
- Hall, "The Art of Visualizing Music."
- Common popular music notations
- Jazz Guitar Online: How to read jazz chords and lead sheets.
- How Music Works: Slash Chord Notation
- Guitar Thinker: Nashville Number System.
- Tablatures (historical and worldwide):
- Music Notes Now Blog: "Guitar Tab Explained."
- Chinese Gugin
- Other World Musics
- Wikipedia: Epitaph of Seikilos
- Javanese Gamelan Cipher Notation
- Wikipedia: Chinese Gongche Notation
- D. Locke, "Yewevu in the Metric Matrix"
- Various modalities
- Braille notation
- MIDI signals
- XML (or other computer-coded notations)
- DAW visualizations
- Wikipedia: Dance notation
Instructor References
- Sumarsam, "Introduction to Gamelan"
- Chang, Chinese Gugin Playing and Notation
- Ultimate Guitar Tabs
- Jazz Studies Chord Charts Database
Tools
- MIDI Monitor (Software; Mac only)
- MIDIOX (Software; Windows only)
- Audacity (Software)
Class Activities
- Discussion and demonstration of different notation systems and their individual purposes, strengths and weaknesses
- Transcription of a simple melody in guitar tablature (given fretboard diagrams) and braille music notation
- Demonstration of the creation of various electronic notation formats
- Demonstration of MIDI signals using MIDI monitor software
- Listening and "quick" transcription of musical examples: compare to score and discuss differences based on notation's function.
- In-class interpretation of various notations on different instruments.
- If you have a Javanese gamelan: Have students perform from gamelan notation and illustrate non-written practices
Assignments
- Notating short melodies in different notation systems
- Transcription assignment: ask students to transcribe examples from various musical traditions with different aims and/or given different parameters (i.e. "notate the pitch parameter.")