Neumes: Showed melodic shape, not exact pitch. 4-line staff: Indicated pitch relative to other notes. Clefs: Placed notes on the staff at specific pitches. Mensuration: Indicated relative note length. Time signature: Specified meter and number of beats per measure. Modern notation: Shows pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and articulation.
Early Stages (Neumes)
Elements Represented: Melodic shape, not exact pitch.
Notation System: Small symbols (neumes) above the text of chants, indicating the rise and fall of the melody.
Evolution of Staff Notation (10th-16th Centuries)
Development of Staff: Lines added to neumes to indicate relative pitch. Four-line staff becomes the standard.
Clefs: Introduced to fix the position of notes on the staff at specific pitches (F, C, or G).
Mensuration: Symbols like "longas" and "breves" indicate the relative duration of notes.
Refining Notation (17th-19th Centuries)
Five-line Staff: Becomes standard, with the addition of the E line.
Modern Clefs: Treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs become widely used.
Modern Note Values: Whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth notes, etc., indicate precise note lengths.
Time Signature: Replaces mensuration, specifying meter (e.g., 4/4) and number of beats per measure.
Further Developments (20th Century)
Articulation and Dynamics: Symbols like staccato and sforzando indicate how notes should be played.
Italian Terms: Terms like "piano" and "forte" specify volume.
Modern Notation: Combines all these elements to precisely represent pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and articulation.
This is a simplified overview, and each stage of development involved further refinements and variations.
However, it captures the key elements of how Western musical notation evolved from simple indications of melody to a comprehensive system for capturing complex musical ideas.