Re: [Harp-L] history of music theory

[Pierre <slavio@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

An interesting question. You must be an engineer or a computer scientist to
want to know these things.  I had the same questions when I got started. I
am no expert but many of these things were figured out hundred of centuries
ago. The answer to most things is because it worked, although other systems
would have worked too. A lot of it is based on physics, the rest was choice
or chance; things that did not work were dropped. An evolution basically. I
doubt there is a record of early music development as music must be 30,000+
years old.

You have to think in terms of the first instruments, perhaps plucking a
string (string what string???) to get the first note. Then some centuries
later, a Howard Levy type came up with harmony (probably accidental though)
and it evolved over milleniums. Some frequencies harmonize, while others
don't. Harmony depends on how various sound waves interact. Since people did
not understand physics in those days (and probably could not even count), it
had to be trial and error. What worked survived and what did not died. I
just realized the first instrument had to have been the human voice or just
the mouth. For example humming or wistling or click sounds, then singing,
then rocks and sticks, drums and flutes all to accompany the singing.
Perhaps some kind of early blues or gospel (100,00 years ago). John Gindick
may have been close; or war chant.

What is interesting is that the fundementals of music today are almost
universal around the world although there are cultural differences (ex:
Indian music, japanese, ...). How did music traditions converge? Languages
did not converge. What did isolated cultures come up with?

How is music on planet X of the milky way?

Anyway, just my take on things.

Pierre.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Oliver Schoenborn" <oliver.schoenborn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 10:02 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] history of music theory


> Hi, a somewhat academic question for the musicians on this list who
> might also be history buffs:
>
> Does anyone know where I could find information on the history of music
> fundamentals (for lack of a better term):
>
> 1) when were the letters A-G assigned to the scale? Or the French
> Do-re-mi? Who came up with that?
> 2) how did we end up with 12 notes in a chromatic scale, and not say 10
> (decimal base) or 16 (a power of 2 base)?
> 3) why is the major scale 7 notes and not 6 or 8?
> 4) why are those seven notes spaced as 1-1-1/2-1-1-1-1/2?
> 5) when and how was the standard C note chosen?
> 6) has anyone created music on a decimal or hexadecimal scale? What does
> it sound like?
> 7) what is the oldest written sheet of music found?
> 7) many other questions that answers to the above would create :)
>
> I suspect many of these don't have definite answers, but there's
> probably books/web sites on this stuff, written for laypeople.  I did a
> search on musicology, historical musicology, but it doesn't seem those
> are the right terms.
>
> Oliver
>
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