History of Musical Notation, the Baroque Era and Music of the World

Part 1- Evolution of Musical Notation

The basis and variety of music itself comes from the different patterns and levels of notation. They are the record on paper of what is supposed to be played by the instrumentalist. Music, as we all know, has gone through thousands of years, dated from all the way back to the time before the birth of Christ. In effect, music and its notation have also gone through many stages of change and perfection. Musical notation can be divided into two main uses.

The first use of musical notation is using it as an aid to memory. Unlike nowadays, in majority, music has been passed down orally in the past. Written pitches and rhythms only serve didactic use. Therefore, music notation in the past allows all musicians to improvise and to add in their own details. Musical notation in the past only contains mandatory style and notes, without the dynamics or other elements of music. These ¡§details¡¨ are usually learnt when a student in the music...