Guidonian Hand - Hexachord in Middle Ages

Hexachord in Middle Ages

The hexachord as a mnemonic device was first described by Guido of Arezzo, in his Epistola de ignoto cantu and the treatise titled Micrologus. It was the most basic pedagogical tool for learning new music in the European Middle Ages, and was often referenced in contemporary musical theory. In each hexachord, all adjacent pitches are a whole tone apart, except for the middle two, which are separated by a semitone. These six pitches are named ut, re, mi, fa, sol, and la, with the semitone between mi and fa. These six names are derived from the first syllable of each half-line of the 8th century hymn Ut queant laxis.

Each hexachord could start on G, C or F and the table to the right, reading upwards from the bottom, shows the notes in each hexachord for each of three octaves. Reading from left to right could, within certain limits, permit notes within different octaves to be distinguished from each other. Thus, C (modern c) was "C fa ut" (or "Cefaut"), c (modern c') was "C sol fa ut", and cc (modern c") was "C sol fa". Since the lowest pitch was designated by the Greek letter Γ (gamma, for 'g'), the pitch was known as "Gamma ut" or "Gamut", a term which came to designate the range of notes available, and later, a complete range of anything.

The hexachordal system also distinguished between B♭ (fa in the F hexachord, and known as "B molle" for 'soft B') and B♮ (mi in the G hexachord, and known as "B durum" for 'hard B'). Over time, the soft and hard variants of 'b' were depicted as a rounded '♭' and a squared-off '♮' which gradually developed into the modern flat and natural signs.

Since a single hexachord did not cover every possible note in the range of the gamut (only C–A, F–D excluding B natural, or G–E excluding B flat), singers would have to "mutate" between hexachords if the range of a sixth was exceeded or if there was an alternation between B natural and B flat. In this way the "Guidonian" system of multiple hexachords was different from the modern system of solfege, wherein a single set of syllables suffices to name all possible pitches (including, often, chromatic pitches) within a mode.

Because it included B durum, the G hexachord was called hexachordum durum; likewise, the F hexachord was called hexachordum molle. The C hexachord, containing neither B, was called hexachordum naturale.

In the 14th century, this system was expanded to hexachords that would accommodate an increased use of signed accidentals. From this time onward, the use of such notes was called musica ficta.