Early history Though its most popular usage occurred in the mid-twentieth century, the first evidence of graphic notation dates back much earlier. Originally called "
eye music", these graphic scores bear much resemblance to the scores of composers like
George Crumb. One of the earliest surviving pieces of eye music is
Belle, Bonne, Sage by
Baude Cordier, a
Renaissance composer. His score, formed in the shape of a heart, was intended to enhance the meaning of the
chanson. Characteristic of the
Ars subtilior, "experimentations with mensural signs and graphic shapes and colours were often a feature of musical design – for the sake of visual, rather than necessarily audible effect." Another example of eye music from the
ars subtilior is
Jacob Senleches'
La harpe de melodie, where the voices are notated on a stave that appears to be the strings of a harp. Eye music's popularity died down after the
Humanist movement of the mid-16th century, later to be revitalized in the twentieth century as the use of graphic scores became prominent once again. The 19th century music educator
Pierre Galin developed a method of notating music known as the
Galin-Paris-Chevé system, building on a notation system created in the 18th century by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. This system used numbers to indicate scale degrees, and used dots either above or below the note to indicate if they were in the lowest octave or the highest. The middle octave, relative to the example, contained no dots. Flats and sharps were notated using backslashes and forward slashes respectively. Prolongations of the note were notated using periods, and silence was notated with the number zero. This method was primarily used to teach sight-singing. The usage of symbols to indicate musical direction have been likened to an early version of graphic notation. As
J.Y. Bosseur mentions in
La musique du XXè siècle à la croisé des artes, the score progressed towards representing the management of space, a graphic space that allows us to know the multiple connections enclosed within it. Graphic notation in its modern form first appeared in the 1950s as a tool for avant-garde composers to integrate
Indeterminacy, chance, and a broader range of musical and non-musical sounds into their music. The earliest (Western) graphic score is Feldman's "Projection 1" from 1950. This movement was also pioneered by
John Cage in conversation with a group of composers, including Morton Feldman, Earle Brown, and Christian Wolff, now known as the New York School (distinct from the New York School painters). Pianist
David Tudor, a virtuosic and serious pianist able to realize the new notational forms in a compelling manner, was an important figure as well. Graphic notation was originally used by
avant-garde musicians and manifested itself as the use of symbols to convey information that could not be rendered with traditional notation such as
extended techniques. Graphic scores have, since their conception, evolved into two broadly defined categories, one being the invention of new notation systems used to convey specific musical techniques and the other the use of conceptual notation such as shapes, drawings and other artistic techniques that are meant to evoke improvisation from the performer. Examples of the former include
Morton Feldman's
Projection 1, which was the result of Feldman drawing abstract shapes on graph paper, Other notable pioneers of graphic notation include composers such as
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati,
Mauricio Kagel,
György Ligeti (
Artikulation),
Krzysztof Penderecki,
Karlheinz Stockhausen, and
Iannis Xenakis,
Morton Feldman,
Constance Cochnower Virtue, and
Christian Wolff. The post-World War II proliferation of graphic notation, among a broad array of new forms of experimental notation, was an important catalyst for interdisciplinary exploration across the arts, spawning many innovations across music, art, poetry and dance.
Twenty-first-century advancements In 2008, Theresa Sauer edited a compendium featuring graphic scores by composers from over fifty countries, demonstrating how widespread the practice has become. Since emerging in the 1950s, graphic notation has undergone significant development. Today, it is used not only in modern ensemble music but also in therapeutic contexts , and educational environments. Moreover, graphic scores promote collaboration among musicians from diverse backgrounds—including classical, folk, amateur, and jazz/pop traditions—by offering a common visual medium that enhances the accessibility and inclusiveness of contemporary music creation . Due in part to technological advancements and the rapid exchange of information, alternative forms of musical notation have become increasingly widespread. Since the early 20th century, many composers have experimented with Animated Music Notation (AMN)—a digital approach that introduces movement and visual dynamics as integral features of the musical score. ==Examples==