Mensural music notation system versus modern music notation system.

The mensural notation system was established by Franco of Cologne in the year 1250. It went through several stages of development.The measurement of beats in the mensural notation seem to be similar to modern notation. But different in the way they are presented.The white mensural signs represent its final stage of development.These are only a few of the signs.

Below are some words used to indicate time signature/ metre in music. A time signature/ metre explains how beats are divided in each bar of a musical piece.In understanding time signature,the mensural system and the modern system uses different terms that have the same meaning.

References

Ellinwood, L.(1977). The fourteenth century in Italy. In Hughes, D.A., Abraham,G. The new oxford history of music III ars nova and the renaissance 1300-1540 (pp 49 & 50). London. Oxford University Press.

Apel, W. (1960).Harvard dictionary of music. Cambridge, Massachusetts (p.439). Harvard University Press.