History of western music theory

As a designer and a musician who is trained in western classical and jazz, I have always admired western music theory and music notation system. I have always wondered how was music theory and notations developed and by whom. The way western music theory is organised, recorded on paper, preserved and transmitted always intrigued me. As a designer it seemed important for me to understand the history and processes behind the development of western music theory.

Music theory is the practical discipline which includes the concepts and methods used by composers and other musicians to create and play music. This includes pitch, scales, modes, rhythm, melody, chord, harmony, notation, tuning, instrumentation, arrangement and composing methods. All of the above were discovered and developed over the period of human history.

It is believed that the earliest form music was drumming, as the resources available to the early human kind could easily be turned into percussion instruments for example sticks, stones and wooden logs. It is believed that vocal music came into existence when humans tried to imitate animals and birds. This can be corroborated by the Native American and African cultures which still adhere to similar practices of their ancient religion.

The development of the more complex instruments were as slow as human civilization. Discoveries have shown that human beings had developed simple wind instruments around 40,000 years ago. Historic evidence has immersed showing that around the same time Neanderthals may have also developed wind instruments made out of bones. It is known that by 3500 BCE the Egyptians had developed advanced instruments like harps, flutes and clarinets. An early form of the trumpet had been developed in Denmark by 2500 BCE and the an instrument similar to the guitar was created by the Hittites in 1500 BCE. This was a great step in the evolution of music as this instrument had frets which could be used to manipulate pitch. This later gave birth to the harpsichords and the violin.

The Seikilos “Score”

In 800 BCE the earliest known written music was found in Turkey in cuneiform which was a religious hymn and one of the earliest known written manuscript from 1st century CE was discovered on a tombstone in Turkey.

Greece where classical art took birth was also the place where classical music took roots. It was here where the first stones of the foundations of modern music was placed. The famed mathematician Pythagoras took a scientific approach towards music and developed the keystone for music; the octave, which was an evolutionary step in the field of music. Aristotle used a similar scientific method and developed a method of music notation in 350 BCE. In 521 CE, Boethius took the another important step in music by introducing this method of notation to Western Europe, which allowed the European musicians to record their folk songs.

After Greece it was the Church which brought more developments into music theory. As it is well known, the Catholic church has a long history of involvement with arts. In 600 CE the first music school in Europe, the Schola Cantarum was built by the Church. Almost a century after the Schola Cantarum was built, another music school opened in Fuda, which attracted more people towards music vocation. By 800 CE, there were branches of the Cantarum in Paris, Cologne and Metz. During the same time the great unifier Charlemagne had composed poems and psalms into music. Another breakthrough in music came in 850 CE when Catholic musicians invented the church modes, which later evolved into minor and major scales which are the two major pillars of music. In 855 CE the first polyphonic/harmonic music which included two unrelated music was recorded, this eventually took over as the chanting style of the Church even after it was banned. In 1000 CE Guido D'Arezzo made pushed music to another level by making many improvements to the existing music theory. He invented the vocal notes; do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do, which is known as the solfege.

In 1465 the printing press was first used to print music which made transmission of music easier. The printing press allowed musicians to organize and profit from their compositions. The rules of music changed with the onset of the Renaissance. This was the beginning of a new age for music which continues to this day.