Snag Capturing Music: The Story Of Notation Formulated By Thomas Forrest Kelly Distributed As Volume

course in the history of western notation from antiquity thru the middle ages, the central theme of the book is that music notation is a sound recording device, allowing for reproduction, reading this at the same time as i read Nicholas Cook etc, gives me pause on this idea meaning in musicmaking, as Cook would have it, is in the performance/realization, and to be fair Kelly is notes in various asides that notation needs realization to be music.
questions of performance practice, though what goes on “between” the notes, or assumed/implied by/beyond the notation, is not really a topic of discussion.
A beautiful book visually. I wish it went a little bit further historically, It stops in the Renaissance era, taking the remainder of notation's history as a fait accompli, Certainly worth reading, but not as good as I had hoped, In today s digital landscape, we have the luxury of experiencing music anytime, anywhere, But before this instant accessibility and dizzying array of formats before CDs, the eighttrack tape, the radio, and the turntable there was only one recording technology: music notation.
It allowed singers and soloists to travel across great distances and perform their work with stunning fidelity, a feat that we now very much take for granted.
Thomas Forrest Kelly transports us to the lively and complex world of monks and monasteries, of a dove singing holy chants into the ear of a saint, and of bustling activity in the Cathedral of Notre Dame an era when the only way to share even the simplest song was to learn it by rote, church to church and person to person.
With clarity and a sense of wonder, Kelly tells a story that spans five hundred years, leading us on a journey through medieval Europe and showing how we learned to keep track of rhythm, melody, and precise pitch with a degree of accuracy previously unimagined.


Kelly reveals the technological advances that led us to the system of notation we use today, placing each step of its evolution in its cultural and intellectual context.
Companion recordings by the renowned Blue Heron ensemble are paired with vibrant illuminated manuscripts, bringing the art to life and allowing readers to experience something of the marvel that medieval writers must have felt when they figured out how to capture music for all time.
" Good info helped me write my paper, skiumah Loved it! But I was the music major geek who adored medieval music, I have to go back and sit down with the CD now, The book is also beautiful to look at and hold, When you think about it, it is pretty wild to imagine the first people who tried to preserve and transmit what they heard by writing it down when this had never been possible before.
A lovely quote about how a performance is passing from the future to the past I know I didn't get that exactly right brings the idea into focus.
Cool book. Fascinating story of the development of musical notation systems in Europe, Modern notation is based on these systems and it is interesting to see where the ideas came from and how they spread, sometimes after initial resistance.


The images of medieval manuscripts are quite lovely, but I'm very glad I don't have to try to interpret them.
The systems seem ridiculously complex compared to modern systems, especially for rhythm,

The title is misleading, The book does not really tell the full "story of notation", but rather the story of notation in Europe in the medieval period.
I would have liked at least a little information on notation systems from other cultures, And I would have loved more information on how the medieval system grew into the modern system, and at least some discussion on modern alternative proposals.
It just basically stops right before the era of Bach, It would be interesting to continue the story to include things like "figured bass" in the baroque era, guitar tablature, and how key signatures and accidentals allow notatingtones on a staff system which had been designed for representing modal music withtones per octave.
But in a clumsy way, due for an overhaul in my opinion,

Despite the fact that I would like to read a more full "story of notation", if I imagine the title of this book as "the story of medieval European notation" then it does a very good job of covering the material in an interesting way with attractive illustrations.
If you enjoy books about history, philosophy or technology, this is a great read, But if you love music, consider making this book a must read! Kelly calls the creation of musical notation "a celebration of mankind's technical achievements of the Middle Ages.
" However, this reader believes the real achievement is the writer's ability to discuss a complex subject in an understandable, easy manner.
You don't need to know anything about music notation to enjoy Capturing Music, Beautifully illustrated with an accompanying CD, this book is an engaging story and a sensory delight,

sitelink Get Capturing Music: The Story of Notation from the Denver Public Library

Laurie There were elements in this book that I found very intriguing, but it was just too slow to keep me awake! It was interesting to think about where our music writing system came fromwhy it is the way it is, how it evolved, the complexities involved in putting sound on a page, the elements we hang on to and the things we give up when writing notes downbut somehow these thoughtprovoking ideas weren't enough to keep me reading, and I had to turn the book back to the library when I was only/finished.
Maybe I will pick it up another day,.stars. As medieval music notation books go, this is a much nicer read for the motivate layman than, say, Apel's "The notation of polyphonic music,".
Was surprised to see a book published ininclude a physical CD instead of some download link, But it did give me an excuse to finally hear what Cordier's "Belle, bonne, sage" sounds like, This book is not intended to be a manual of music notation rules and style, but rather a history of the development of music notation.
And a fascinating history it is, If you've ever wondered why the lowest line of the bass clef is a "G", why the grand staff splits at middle C which is close, but not the middle of a piano keyboard, where the names of the G and F clefs come from, why note lengths are encoded by flags and dots, then this is your book.


Throughout, there are many fullcolor plates of ancient manuscripts illustrating points made in the text, There is even a CD in the back cover containing tracks of Gregorian chants and other musical styles, each keyed to a specific example in the book.


The author also emphasizes the interplay between musical practice and musical notation and how that interplay affected the evolution of notation.
For example, the author mentions two principles at the foundation of the Western musical system p,: "first, that this music is meant to go with words and second, that the basic unit of musicwriting is not the note, but the syllable".


Although the book is an easy/fun read, it contains so much information and history that it will be a reference to which you will constantly return.
E. g. , when was tablature first used ans,BC where did 'do, re', mi, . ' names come from see p,why does the word 'gamut' have its origins in musical notation I couldn't possibly remember all the facts/dates/names mentioned in the book, so I try to remember the main themes and approximate dates when/why did the grand staff appear, when/why did rhythmic notation become important to notate, when/why did Italians get to coin all those names for dynamics/performance the rest I'll have to look up again in this wonderful reference.


Will this book make you a better musician Probably not, Will it clarify many of the idiosyncrasies of music notation Absolutely! I rated it three for my experience only.
This has never been and will never be my area of music, The text is wellexplained and wellresearched, and interestingly written, However, it's still hard to get through if you aren't into history or measured musical text, Easy to read but hard to finish, This wasn't bad. At least it didn't feel like a textbook, so that's nice, It almost made me wish I had attended more lecture sessions of my early music history course during undergrad years.
But not quite. A tour through the developmental history of musical notation, Wellresearched, colloquially presented, padded with examples and beautiful manuscript reproductions,

What you take away will largely depend on what you intend to take away, I wanted a rough review of the history not the details, and I did get it, But the details are there for those who want them,

The authors voice is heavily present throughout the book and occasionally addresses the reader directly in a chatty tone.
This sat somewhat at odds with the technical and historical details, and I couldnt find a consistent reading approach, Textbooks or scholarly works usually have a clear structure that bears easy scanandstop reading methods, General readership introductions have less detail and can be scanned at an even pace, Kelly has the eye of a scholar yet the tongue of a popular literature writer leaving

the reader in between with no clear narrative structure to bind the text.
The result are somewhat repetitive fragments, jumps in density, and a sense of unnecessary frustration, I found this history of the origins of written music notation quite interesting, The focus is entirely on the middle ages, starting with the earliest attempts at writing down music simple marks to remind performers of things and following the evolution to the basis of our modern notation, including precise notation of rhythm.
He addresses two key aspects of notation: pitch and rhythm, with the focus primarily on rhythm, I appreciated that he delved into the philosophical side of things and highlights how truly incredible and revolutionary is this idea of notating something that occurs in time of "recording" music.
The evolution of the notation of rhythm is closely related to mathematics and scientific advancements for example, clocks and he explains and contextualizes it really well.


I came away with a new appreciation for the accomplishments of the middle ages! I particularly enjoyed learning about how the composers of the middle ages pushed the limits of mathematical complexity with regards to notating rhythm, creating pieces that were not rivaled again in their complexity until theth century.
Our current notation evolved from their systems, but is in some senses actually a simplification of the greater complexity they experimented with.


I was a little disappointed that the author doesn't address the origin of notating precise pitch, different keys, semitones vs.
whole tones, etc. However, the book is complete unto itself and I think such a history would be a whole separate book, It makes sense that early music did not have to deal with these complexities since it evolved from singing, not instruments that are tuned.
And I do truly understand now how revolutionary and crucial it was to just invent how to notate rhythm,

The book reads smoothly and relatively quickly, but it can also be fairly technical and dense in places.
I followed along with the explanations of the various notational systems, but not to the extent that I could really sit down and read early music.
I think you could get a lot out of the book even if you don't follow the technical details, but it is a specialized topic so I only recommend it if it sounds intriguing to you!.