Introduction to Notation Systems

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 represent, notably: guitar tablature, lead sheet notation, braille music notation, and electronic notation formats such as Standard MIDI File and MusicXML.

Resources

Readings

Notation Explained

• Handout on Prescriptive/Descriptive and Etic/Emic notations
• A. Granade, "Cracking the Code: What Notation Can Tell Us About Our Musical Values" (Open Access Musicology, forthcoming)
• C. Rowbury, "Music Notation: What is it good for and why does it matter?" (From the Front of the Choir Blog, 2011)
• C. Rowbury, "The song is not the sheet music!" (From the Front of the Choir Blog, 2010)
• C. Rowbury, "Using sheet music to teach and learn songs: the Pros and Cons" (From the Front of the Choir Blog, 2011)
• "Specifying the information you want." (Global Notation Website, 2020)
  

Histories of Western Notations

• J. Bennett. "How was musical notation invented? A brief history." (How To Classical Blog, 2017)
• V. Williams. "The Evolution of music notation." (My Music Theory Blog)
• D. Hall, "The Art of Visualizing Music."

Individual Notation Types

• Western notations through history
  • Chant Notation(s)
  • Rhythmic Modes
  • Protonotation: Shaffer et al. "Protonotation" (Open Music Theory)
  • Figured Bass Notation
  • Sacred Harp Shape Note Singing
  • Drum Notation: "Drum Notation." (Drum Book 2013)
• Common popular music notations
  • Jazz Chart Notation: "How to read jazz chords and lead sheets." (Jazz Guitar Online)
  • [1]Jazz Chord Charts Database
  • Slash Notation
  • Nashville Notation: "Nashville Number System." (Guitar Thinker)
• Tablatures (historical and worldwide):
  • Guitar Tablature: "Guitar Tab Explained." (Music Notes Now Blog)
  • Ultimate Guitar Tabs
  • Chinese Gugin Tablature: P. Chang "PeiyouQin"
• Other World Musics
  • Ancient Greek notation (i.e. Epitaph of Seikilos: Wikipedia Article)
  • Javanese Gamelan cipher notation: Sumarsam: Introduction to Gamelan (Piece database: Gendhing Jawi: Javanese Gamelan Notation Database)
  • Chinese Gongche Notation
• Various modalities
  • Braille notation
  • MIDI signals
  • XML (or other computer-coded notations)
  • DAW visualizations
  • Dance notation

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.")