Notation : the thin red line
Early musical notation consisted of neumes that gave the basic shape of the tune and a primitive notion of rhythm, but could not tell the performer what note to start on. This changed around the year 1030, when the choirmaster Guido of Arezzo came up with the simple device of a thin red line: a dot directly on it would always represent the note "F," a dot above it, G; a dot below it, E; and so on. This system of Western musical notation paved the way for harmony--and composers
Video, English, [2004], ©2000
Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton, NJ, [2004], ©2000