This is a really interesting question. We have music from centuries ago so it might be easy to think that we pretty much have all the music there must have been created in human civilization (or at least close to it) but this is far from the truth.
For most of history music was not written down. We really have no idea what people played in antiquity – which is really a shame to never be able to know what songs they sang or what beats they played.
Music was actually written down as far back as the 6th Century B.C. in ancient Greece and Rome. The writing in this time was a bit more of a reminder on how to sing the songs rather than precise notation but it was certainly the beginning of writing down music in a digestible form.
The modern system of music notation had its roots in the 11th Century which grew from Gregorian Chants or Plainsong in the church. This is a process of taking liturgical text and singing it. To remind people of how the song is supposed to be sung – the sections where it goes up or down or certain embellishes – there would be squiggly lines and other ornamentations added to the text to direct the singers.
Eventually Guido d’Arezzo decided to draw a single line to make a reference for pitch. Notes would be drawn above and below the line to designate higher or lower pitches. This system was eventually refined and evolved into a more modern system which contained four lines.
If you have the chance you should really check out what notation for Gregorian Chants looks like. It’s very evocative of modern notation but not quite there; there are no bar lines or rhythmic accuracy like we have in today’s notation.
It wasn’t until the end of the 17th century that modern notation began to flourish.
So yes, music was written down thousands of years ago but it really never becomes the modern notation we know today until late into the 17th century. If you have the chance to look at some early notation it’s very fascinating and offers insight into what would eventually become modern music writing. Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com
2 thoughts on “When Was Music First Written Down?”
Dear Robert,
I am very fortunate to have a page of music on vellum from sometime around 1340-1400. i would like to learn how to read it. Do you know any good references?
I will send you a picture. I have two other pages but not on velum.
For the earliest known notation, look up Anne Draffkorn Kilmer of U.C. Berkeley. She has studied cuneiform notation back to the 20th century BC.
— J.S.