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The Interdependence of Notation Systems and Musical Information

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2019

Dalia Cohen  and
Ruth Katz
Dalia Cohen
Affiliation:
Hebrew Univeristy, Jerusalem, Israel
Ruth Katz
Affiliation:
York College and the Graduate Center, City Univ. of New York
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Extract

For more than two decades, since we built the Jerusalem Melograph in 1957, we had been in touch, in one way or another, with Charles Seeger, the scholar and researcher. Above all, he was a unique and marvelous human being. A desire to understand an unveil basic laws which govern musical expression in its multiple manifestations was central to his work and it dictated his choice of areas of investigation. For example: the factors which shape the writing down of oral traditions; the musical parameters of speech; the bridge between language and music; the factors which determine the meaning of modal frameworks; the significance of musical components in performance compared to written realizations—these were but a few of the areas with which he dealt. The informant, whether composer, performer, or auditor, constituted an important variable in all of his investigations. On the whole, Seeger never lost sight of the human being.

Type
Articles
Information
Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council , Volume 11 , 1979 , pp. 100 - 113
Copyright
Copyright © 1979 By the International Folk Music Council 

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References

Notes

1. See Cohen-Katz 1968.Google Scholar

2. These are characteristic of Vedic chants or of gamakas in Indian music.Google Scholar

3. As characterized in Negro singing (see Seashore 1938:349–59) and the singing of the Samaritans (see Katz 1974:109–34 and Cohen-Katz 1960: 67–74).Google Scholar

4. For the meaning of intonation in practice, see Cohen 1969:66–90 and Katz 1968:68–85.Google Scholar

5. The contribution of the melisma to the definition of style is acceptable in very general terms and it is usually associated with the three categories: syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic. We found that both the exact quantity as well as the changes along the time axis are important for the characterization of the melisma. Morever, melismas are related to such other factors as rhythm, tempo, meter, etc. (See Cohen-Katz, in press).Google Scholar

6. The various scales of loudness (decibel, phon, and sone) can be obtained only with the aid of electronic instruments. In traditional notation systems, it is only possible to designate directional changes in this parameter such as louder, softer, etc.Google Scholar

7. Goodman (1968:127–70) attempted to define theoretically the essential requirements of notation systems. While his requirements do not fully describe music practice, they may, however, as a theoretical construct, serve as a guideline for the assessment of notation systems.Google Scholar

8. Exactitude is always delimited, because performance and perception are.Google Scholar

9. See Goodman 1968:177–92.Google Scholar

10. The abbreviation introduces, on the one hand, a new sign and, on the other, it reduces the number of signs in the various combinations. In the West, a suitable compromise between the number of signs and the number of abbreviations was reached. The use of a binary system of notation reduces the number of basic signs, but increases the number of signs utilized in the various combinations (see Bukspan 1973).Google Scholar

11. The Tamil notation system of southern India may serve as an example (see Kaufman 1967:210).Google Scholar

12. See Hood 1954:318.Google Scholar

13. See Kaufman 1967:25–26, 53, and 74–75.Google Scholar

14. The Coefficient of Weak Monotonisity is indispensible in the social sciences in contrast to the natural sciences, where relationships are corelationships are expressed by various functions, which are defined numerically. For the definition of the Coefficient of Weak Monotonisity, see Samuel Shye 1978:277.Google Scholar

15. This is, of course, one of Goodman's requirements. However, he allows no room for degrees of efficiency or inefficiency.Google Scholar

16. E. Karkoschka stands out among the scholars who are concerned with problems of inaccuracy and inefficiency in Western notation, present as well as past. (See Karkoschka 1972.)Google Scholar

17. The principles of the jo-ha-kyű in Japanese music or that of the dastgah in Persian music are examples of general directives. For the latter see Nettl 1972.Google Scholar

18. The close relationship between textual structure and the musical organization in Vedic chant may serve as an illustration.Google Scholar

19. The length of a composition (if external restrictions are not counted) depends on stylistic ideals and on the musical materials used. If a close relationship is desired between different parts of a composition, some circumscription may be dictated by the nature of our perception.Google Scholar

20. For a most interesting exposition about the identity of musical compositions, see Goodman 1968:177–92.Google Scholar

21. At present the influx of music (in the West) into the region of the higher parameters in the row Pi has created additional problems as far as exact organization and notation is concerned.Google Scholar