Clearing out all that e-mail to myself.

An argument for the natural basis of music.

By the way, the Aretine ut(do)-re-mi-fa-sol-la (si/ti) syllables has its origins in the leading syllables to the first stanza of the Hymn to St John (Hymnus in Ioannem) by Paulus Diaconis (Deacon Paul Warnefrid), in the eighth century, who wrote histories and homilies as well—he was attached to both the Lombard and Carolingian kingodoms.

Ut queant laxis   Resonare fibris
Mira gestorum   Famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti   Labii reatum,
  sancte Iohannes.

Fast forward a few hundred years, Guido d’Arezzo (I’ll just call him Aretine Guy) took the six leading syllables and used them as a mnemonic (solmization, or solfege) to the notes of the scale (dominant G, C, or F). Having only six notes (hexachord) required sliding the ut up to the re and mi notes in order to allow sol and la to catch those higher notes. Why not add another syllable?

In the 17th century, si (Sancte Ioannes) was added. The French singing masters took the Italian ut and si and changed them to do and ti for their dark and francophone purposes, ooh!

some manuscripts, http://www.mont-bleu.com/eut.htm , Catholic Encyclopedia on ut re mi fa sol la

About.com Italian section, translates the stanza thusly: “So that Your servants may sing at the top of one's voices the wonders of Your Acts, absolve the fault from their stained lips.” ...holy John.

Text of the Hymnus entire

More note history for Felicity.
6:12:26 PM  #  comment []

I always regret not visiting this site regularly, and today just proves it.

One for the Trekkies. Starship Exeter - The Savage Empire is a fan production based on The Original Series, and it is indeed watchable. It's available as a Quicktime movie; also on the website are pictures of the props used and the sets - the Captain's Chair is great. "The U.S.S. Exeter, freshly recrewed and commanded by Capt. John Garrovick, is on a mission to save a ship infected with the deadly Canopus Plague. The Exeter must travel to the homeworld of Andorian Lt. B'fuselek to find the cure. But Andorian rebels have other plans . . . and so do the Klingons! "

Speaking of Klingons...

Plus, sweet Kit Marlowe, virtual Africa [by way of the Cartoonist]
1:05:55 PM  #  comment []

Horrible drive home through winter rain and rush hour traffic. Ate. Slept. Saw Inu-Yasha: Love through Time.
4:00:39 AM  #  comment []

If you have MAME or MacMAME, an overwhelming tang of nostalgia, thirty minutes, and a spare $999, you too can satisfy your cravin’.
3:36:00 AM  #  comment []

Andrew Plotkin writes a piece on game design disguised as a game review, or is it the other way around?
3:22:54 AM  #  comment []