A hands-on introduction to the notation of Western music, c. 900 to 1600. Students will become familiar with representative pieces while learning to read notations in which they are preserved. Material covered includes plainchant, sacred and secular polyphony, and notational puzzles and games. Classes are split between singing and discussions of notation as it relates to style, composition, performance and culture. Students gain hands-on practice with the art and mechanics of early notations, and will have the opportunity to use historical tools and techniques to notate their own quires of songs, to be displayed in the Mendel Music Library.
