Microtones in Greek and Indian Music
Munir 1
Mustafain Munir
Professor Moore
Ancient Greek and Roman Music
12 December 2013
Microtonal Phenomena in Ancient Greek and Classical Indian Music
The semitone today is almost unanimously used in Western Music to divide the octave into twelve equal intervals, and rarely are further divisions used; this is called twelve-tone equal temperament. In opposition, the common division of the octave in Arab music today is the quartertone, a type of microtone exactly one half a semitone, and the resulting is a 24-tone equal temperament. This system was derived from the work of the famous Arab scholar and a philosopher named Al-Farabi (872-950CE).1 Al-Farabi also contributed to the field of Greek musical theory, and is in part responsible for its preservation. There are an abundance of distinctive features that differentiate what is thought of as traditional “Western” music with that of “Eastern” music. However, one of the most prominent aspects is the unmistakable use of microtones in the theory and performance of the latter and a sufficient dearth of its application in the former. It is quite intriguing then that in Classical Greece, considered a key time period in the development of Western Civilization, the preferred musical structure from the fifth century BC to the late fourth century, was the enharmonic genus and it indubitably contained microtones. The term “microtone” in music is commonly defined as any interval smaller than a semitone, however throughout the course of this paper this description will come into question and seem less like a definition and more like a generalized interpretation.
It is the objective this paper, therefore, to further explore the theory of microtones through its
1
He most likely did not however use equal division.
Munir 2 use in Ancient Greek music comparing and contrasting it with another culture whose microtonal application is well established, classical music of India. This study addresses the
Mustafain Munir
Professor Moore
Ancient Greek and Roman Music
12 December 2013
Microtonal Phenomena in Ancient Greek and Classical Indian Music
The semitone today is almost unanimously used in Western Music to divide the octave into twelve equal intervals, and rarely are further divisions used; this is called twelve-tone equal temperament. In opposition, the common division of the octave in Arab music today is the quartertone, a type of microtone exactly one half a semitone, and the resulting is a 24-tone equal temperament. This system was derived from the work of the famous Arab scholar and a philosopher named Al-Farabi (872-950CE).1 Al-Farabi also contributed to the field of Greek musical theory, and is in part responsible for its preservation. There are an abundance of distinctive features that differentiate what is thought of as traditional “Western” music with that of “Eastern” music. However, one of the most prominent aspects is the unmistakable use of microtones in the theory and performance of the latter and a sufficient dearth of its application in the former. It is quite intriguing then that in Classical Greece, considered a key time period in the development of Western Civilization, the preferred musical structure from the fifth century BC to the late fourth century, was the enharmonic genus and it indubitably contained microtones. The term “microtone” in music is commonly defined as any interval smaller than a semitone, however throughout the course of this paper this description will come into question and seem less like a definition and more like a generalized interpretation.
It is the objective this paper, therefore, to further explore the theory of microtones through its
1
He most likely did not however use equal division.
Munir 2 use in Ancient Greek music comparing and contrasting it with another culture whose microtonal application is well established, classical music of India. This study addresses the
Cited: Barker, Andrew. Greek Musical Writings I The Musician and His Art. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Barker, Andrew. Greek Musical Writings II Harmonic and Acoustic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1989. Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring, 1993), pp. 36-58. Symposion Wien 29, Sept.-1 Oct. 2003. pp. 9-49. Free, Katherine B. “Greek Drama and the Kutiyattam” Theatre Journal, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp Jones, William and N. Augustus Willard. Music of India. Nabajiban Press. Calcutta. 1962 Joshi, Baburao Kaufmann, Walter. The Ragas of North India. Indiana University Press. 1968. Tarn, W. W. The Greeks in Bactria & India. Cambridge University, 1951. West, M.L. “Ancient Greek Music”. Oxford University Press. New York. 1992.