Historical development of the numbered musical notation in Japan: A reevaluation of the notation from the viewpoint of musical perception and cognition

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25580025
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Aesthetics and studies on art
• Research Institution: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
• Principal Investigator: YAMASHITA Kaoruko (坂田薫子) 東京藝術大学, 音楽学部, 教授 (90283324)
• Research Collaborator: INOUE Eri ; KATSURA Izumi ; OZAWA Mimiko
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 数字譜 / 数字唱

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to reevaluate an educational potentiality of the numbered musical notation which played a significant role in the Meiji period. In this study, I collected and examined the historical materials, analysed practice examples, and tried learning and teaching by cooperators. As a result, I clarified three points as follows: 1. The reason why the numerical notation had been abolished was its incompleteness as a score, neglecting the significance for the children. 2. Jaques-Dalcroze Solfege brings up an understanding of the functional harmony by numerical singing. 3. Using numerical scores and numerical singing helps understanding of musical structures and the tonality. So, I conclude that numerical notation and singing is useful in the current music education.

Free Research Field

音楽教育学