The Evolution of The Compass
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ScribdTranslationsThe Evolution of The Compass
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The beginnings of music and musical notation
In illiterate societies, musical notation was not necessary, since it did not
there was a possibility to use it; the music was transmitted by ear. A generation
I learned a repertoire or a series of melodies by listening to them being sung or played.
previous generation. The same happened for a time with singing
ecclesiastical in our literate Western society; but so that the repertoires
they could be preserved, reproduced or propagated, it was necessary to devise a
system by which it could be indicated how it should be interpreted
the music.
2. Invention of the compass
At first, the measure of music was not given much importance,
but when the music became more complex, when the polyphony and the
instrumental music was developing, the need to measure was seen
time in musical works, and the measure was invented.
Evolution of the meter: Franco's notation system and meter
Colony
Franco of Cologne was one of the first music theorists in the 13th century.
and belonging to the School of Notre Dame, which promoted the concept of metric
the measure of music, an essential preliminary step to be able to establish
larger time groupings, that is, the meter. In the beginnings of the
musical notation, time was measured in proportions, the breve measured the
half of the brief and so on. The proportion between the different values
it was not always the same, but it changed depending on the work. For
indicate what that proportion between notes was, a series of began to be used
symbols that were placed at the beginning of the staff, so that musicians
They could interpret the work correctly.
The 'tempus' was the relation between the breve (square) and the semibreve (round), and
the 'prolatio', the relationship between the semibreve and the minima (white).
If a circle was placed at the beginning of the work, it signified perfect time: a breve would be equal to three
semibreves (it would be a measure of three beats, like that of 3/4). (It was called perfect due to the relationship
between themusicand thereligion: cthey considered that everything related to the number three represented
theMost Holy Trinity).
If a semicircle (a C, in practice) was placed, it signified the imperfect tense: a breve would be equal to
two whole notes (it would be a measure of two beats, like that of 2/4).
If there was a point inside the circle, it was called prolatio maiori: a breve would be equal to three.
minimums (it would be a time signature of three beats with ternary subdivision, like the 9/8 time signature).
If there was a point inside the C, it was also called prolatio maiori: a semibreve would be equal to three.
Minimums (it would be a two-beat measure with ternary subdivision, like in the 6/8 measure).
If there was no dot inside the C, it was prolatio minori, a brevis equal to two minims.
The subdivision would be binary, like in the 2/4 time signature.
From the combinations of these systems, four distinct ways of writing the time of the measure emerged:
With a circle with a point inside, it would mean it was a compass of ternary division and subdivision.
ternary, and it would be the current 9/8, for example.
With a circle having no points inside it, it was a compass for ternary division and binary subdivision.
like the current 3/4.
With a C with a dot inside, it was a compass for binary division and ternary subdivision, and it would be
equivalent to the current 6/8.
With a C without any dot inside, it was a compass for binary division and subdivision, it would be equivalent
to the current 2/4.
In modern musical notation, C is still used to represent the 4/4 time signature, and even
In the mid-twentieth century, it was called "compasillo."
The concept of compass as a space of time began to be established during the15th century. Sin embargo,
the system of dividing lines to delineate it graphically was not used until the16th century. The first case
what is known is in the year1536, cuandoSebald Heynenhe names it in his treatise on music of art
canendi. Until then, the dividing lines did not define measures, but indicated differences.
between what was before or after them, but they did not show any regularity. At first, it was not
regularly used in music, and those that were definitively established by action
from the baroque of central Europe.
3. Evolution of the compass: The compass in the 18th century
One of the essential concepts to properly determine the
The tempo of the music is the notion of beat or measure, which means the same.
what happened during the first half of the 18th century.
The meter in music is a measure of time, taken intentionally so that the voices
they coincide in harmony at the same time. And we will also say that the compass
it is the amount or delay of time that there is from the blow that wounds below
until another next in low.
Although this is not the only concept they had of a compass. This is another one:
"Compass is a movement in singing that guides the equality of the measure."
It always starts with a low beat, has a medium in high, and ends in low.
Although they are not very different concepts.
According to the concept that was held of 'compass', we can say that it is
synonym of what we today know as time or pulse. The only difference is
that the ancient unit of time or meter was represented by the
semibreve or the breve, while at present this place corresponds to him for
the general to the black one.
The measures were divided into binary and ternary. The binary was measured in twos.
equal parts, and the ternary in two unequal portions, the first being the
twice as long as the second.
The measures, in the theory of the first half of the eighteenth century, could be classified
also in larger or smaller. In the larger ones, the unit of time was
represented by the brief (the current square), while in the minors the
unit was equal to the breve (the current whole note). These two concepts,
related to a reference of always the same pulse, made the beat
mayor was twice the speed of the menor. That is why it is called
little compass or small compass, and it was represented with a semicircle (some
They thought today that it was a C) crossed in half by a thin line.
In addition, only seven measures were used. The first five were measured as
binary meter, and the other two last ones, as ternary meter.
Bibliography:
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