Dear Jon, I had wanted to keep Guido d'Arezzo out of it, because, although Curwen's tonic sol-fa grew from his system, it is really quite different in a number of ways. For example, Guido's scale was a 6-note hexachord; Curwen's was an 8-note octave. (Please forgive the tautology.) Guido's hand shows the sol-fa syllables on the finger joints, whereas Curwen's hand signals are quite different.
The syllable Ti or Te for the 7th degree of the scale was originally "Si" standing for Sancte Iohannes (Saint John). The old hexachord system was based on three overlapping 6-note scales or hexachords. By the 17th century people often simplified it to just two hexachords, which were enough to straddle an octave. It would seem that shaped note singing evolved from this simplified system. A quick search with Google for "Shaped notes" will throw up any number of websites, including this one http://www.smithcreekmusic.com/Hymnology/American.Hymnody/ShapedNote /ShapedNote.hymnody.html which seems to explain everything very well. For those unfamiliar with shaped notes, it is a notational system which was created by William Little and William Smith in 1802 in America. They gave a special shape to four notes of the scale. Three of these were repeated to make up the octave: Fa = right-angled triangle, with the right-angle top-right; Sol = oval, with the fat "sides" at the bottom and top; La = a rectangle, with the fat sides at the bottom and top; Mi = a diamond. After about 1850 other shapes were added, so that there was a different shape for each of the seven different notes within an octave. According to the website I mentioned, the 4-shape system and the 7-shape system are still in use today. Best wishes, Stewart. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Lute Net" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Stewart McCoy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 3:34 AM Subject: Re: Lutesong in A? > Stewart, > > I didn't mean to imply that all music should be in C major (A Aolian, D > Dorian, etc.,etc.). I merely meant that the singer can adjust to the key of > the instruments whatever key his music is written in. That is what I meant > by "gimme the note" (preferably the tonic chord). The voice has an infinite > variation in interval and can adjust to the subtleties of temperament that > are implied in the key signature of a "fixed" tone instrument (piano, harp, > etc.) - or at least mine used to be able to when younger <g>. So my point > was in answer to the question on lute music in one key while the vocal part > was in another - don't transpose the lute to the singer, let the singer > adjust (as long as it is in his range). > > BTW, the Do - Re - Mi (Ut-Re-Mi) scale dates back to the time of Guido and > the hexachord. There was a convenient hymn of seven phrases - Ut queant > laxis. The first note of the first six phrases was ( if in C) C-D-E-F-G-A, > so the first syllable of the words of the phrase was used to teach the > intervals. (UT queant ..., REsonare ...., MIra ...., FAmuli ...., SOLve > ...., ,LAbiti ....). The Ti to make our octave was added later. The full > gamut (supposedly as the low G was noted as a Gamma - Gamma UT) involved > repeating the scale with overlaps. I.e., the first fa (c) was equivalent to > the second ut. The second fa to the third ut (f). Then the sequence breaks > and the fourth ut is at the third re (making its mi a b, while the > equivalent fa of the third scale is b flat). The fifth and sixth hexachord > scale again start on the previous fa, then the seventh starts on the re, > again giving a respective b nat/b flat at mi/fa. > > I made a quick scan of the Curwen system at your link, but will have to look > at it more carefully. Sounds like what is called in the Appalachian area > "shaped note singing" (a notation, not a way of singing). I've never seen > that notation, but I know it was used a great deal in the churches for the > choirs, which seems to match the description of Curwen's system at your > link. > > Finally, the hand signals. Again we go back to Guido. A drawing of the > "Guidonian hand" was a fixture in late medieval and Renaissance textbooks. > The open left hand was held up, and the various joints pointed to with the > right hand to indicate the note or interval. > > I am going to print your detailed description of Sol/Fa so as to read it at > leisure. But at first glance it appears to be meant to fix the pitch for the > instrumentalist, whereas the singer can work off any "key" pitch (that he > can reach). The "movable Doh" seems to relate to the moving Ut in the > hexachord system. > > I think the Ut became Do in English and German for euphonics, the French > still us Ut. I do have pictures of the Guidonian hand, the hexachord scales > (as related to Ut-Re), and the staff notation of Ut queant laxis. I can try > to scan them if anyone wants them. > > Best, Jon
