Neumatic notation
Notación neumática
- Date
- c. century IX-X · confidence medium
- Place
- Abbey of St. Gall, St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Credited to
- Carolingian cantors and scribes
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Signs above the text showing the rise and fall of plainchant melody, without precise pitches. It set down in writing a music that had previously been learned by heart.
The oldest sources (Laon, St Gall) date from around 900-930; their exact origin (Metz, St Gall, Byzantium?) is disputed.
What it led to
- the writing and preservation of Gregorian chant
- Guido's staff lines and stave
- medieval music theory