EDWARD'S LECTURE NOTES:
More notes at http://tanguay.info/learntracker
C O U R S E 
Western Music History through Performance
Jonathan Coopersmith, Curtis Institute of Music
https://www.coursera.org/course/musichistoryperforms
C O U R S E   L E C T U R E 
Ars Nova, New Rhythm in the 14th Century
Notes taken on January 20, 2016 by Edward Tanguay
at the beginning of the 14th century
there was finally a system of musical notation which
showed exact pitches
but durations were relative
music before this had been rhythmically grouped always into threes
same note shape could be given two or three beats, but depending on context
confusing
limiting
Philippe de Vitry
credited with creating the ars nova
Latin for "new art"
the last line of his treatise is "This is the new art."
ars nova is a name for the era of music in the 1300s
innovations in notation
breaking with the idea of a "perfection", i.e. that music needed to be grouped into threes
allowed for several levels of division
breves could be broken into groups of two or three semibreves
semibreves could be broken up into 2 or 3 smaller units called minims
a radical shift
for the first time, note durations were fixed
and no longer confined to groups of three
definitions
breve = double whole note
semibreve = whole note
four distinct time signatures or meters
9/8 time signature
breve into 3 semibreves into 9 minims
this is like three groups of triplets which wasn't such a big change from what had come before
if a breve is divided into three semibreves, as before, but each breve is divided into only two minims
a new feature of ars nova
3/4 signature
if a breve is divided into only two semibreves, and each breve into three minim
this gives us a 6/8 signature
sounds like two groups of triplets
not a big change
but if a breve is divided into only two semibreves, and each breve into only two minims
this gives us a 2/4 signature
a completely new sound
the most radical of all new time signatures since there were no groups of three at all
the real innovation is fixed note shapes
notes were no longer relative
both triple and duple meter (2/4) are possible
syncopation is possible for the first time
the shift of a musical accent in which emphasis is given to weak beats instead of strong beats
since note shapes retain their rhythmic value regardless of the context
allowed composers to exploit combinations of rhythm
some of the most complex music was composed during this time
combining syncopations, mixed meters, and different voices and meters at the same time
without this new notation, the innovations that occurred in the Renaissance would not have been possible