>>>And music notation itself was invented by government employees >>>responding to a governmental mandate originating at the very highest >>>level. >>>-- >>>Andrew Stiller >> >>Guido d'Arezzo was a government employee? >>John >> >Guido d'Arezzo did not invent music notation, however yes, he was a >government employee, just like every other Mediaeval churchman. >Andrew Stiller
In that case EVERYONE was a government employee! (Except maybe pirates and highwaymen!) But I'm curious, Andrew. You seem to have had someone in particular in mind. Who, where, and when? According to the record, Guido was not motivated by any "mandate originating at the very highest level." Rather, he was looking for a more efficient way to reduce the 10 years he said it took him to teach the choirboys all the chants they needed to know. He's called a theorist, but actually he was one of the most successful music educators of all time! The teaching tools he worked out were still in use six centuries later. The pope got his demonstration only AFTER Guido had worked out his methods. And yes, he took a number of disparate practices that were floating around at least from the 9th century and codified them in a new way. Major advances are often of this kind. But if you're really searching for the "first" invention, I guess you have to deal with the Hebrew ta'amin markings or the cueiform of the Ugaritic "hymn to Nikal" c. 1400 B.C., both much older than Greek alphabetic notation. Hard to believe that "the government" would have concerned itself with something of interest only to servants (i.e. musicians). John John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
