Project 4: Ars Nova and Renaissance Music

Research Point: Dissemination of Music

My earlier studies into the printing of music revealed that over time, a variety of techniques have been used to print and copy sheet music.  Today’s system relies heavily on the use of computers, but earlier types relied of much different methods.

 O’Rouke-Jones & Summers (2013) describe how the printing of music was revolutionised in 1501 by the work of Ottavino Petrucci, stating that the availability of printed ‘sheet-music’ made for “a rapid rise is musical literacy”. The article continues to detail how Petrucci developed a technique of printing music using sharply defined metallic type.  This means that, although the paper had to be passed through the machine multiple times to add notes, staves and text, it created a clear, easy to ready replica of the original composition.

Previous to this, it must have been incredibly difficult for composers to share their music due to the laborious task of copying their compositions by hand.   Perhaps it would be fair to say that the reason music did not undertake major changes before the Renaissance period was due to composers' limited inspiration? 

In addition, my research has shown that early instruments had certain limitations which may also impact on the use of sheet music.  For example, a flute that was made by a reputable maker in Germany would have been unlikely to produces exactly the same tones and intervals as one produced in a poor part of England.  This means that what was perhaps an ‘A’ fingering on one, actually sounds a Bb on the other.  Of course this would greatly impact on the sound of a melody, possibly rendering it unrecognisable from the original composition. 

The course material details how early forms of music ‘printing’ would have been available, because before the time of notation, melodies would have been simple and easy to remember.  Later, a system of Neumes was introduced to give an idea of the melodic movement of the piece.  Having studied Neumes in my Music Composition course, I had inserted an exact from my ‘Music Composition Learning Log’:

“Neumes, originating from the Greek word pneuma (meaning breath), used a system of symbols to notate the notes in a melody.   The earliest examples of the use of this system were of Aramaic origin and were used for the recitation of the Christian Holy Scriptures.    However, it was not until around the 9^th century that Neumes began to become a shorthand aid for accurate melodic recitation of chants.   By the 11^th century, Beneventan Neumes were written using precise distances between the symbols and the text to notate the shape of the melody line.  Around this time, a single line was added to the system to notate one specific pitch (i.e. C), which could then be used as a baseline for all of the other symbols in the melody. 

In the 13^th century the Sarum chant was notated using squared-headed Neumes that loosely resemble the notation system used today.    This variant, called a Gothic Neume, was used until the 16^th century.   However, Neumes were only capable of notating the contour of a melody and relied heavily upon the musician already knowing the shape of the melody. 

The 16^th century saw the common use of the 5-line system we use today.  However, when looking at the use of Neumes, it is clear to see how the modern system of notation was developed.” (Extract from my Music Composition blog www.rpe1985.blogspot.co.uk)