Tongan music notation
Encyclopedia
The Tuungafasi or Tongan music notation is a subset of the standard music notation, originally developed by the missionary
James Egan Moulton
in the 19th century for singing church hymns in Tonga
.
, the note names were localised into to-le-mi… Unfortunately the word 'tole' is a vulgar expression
for the vagina
, and as such not to be used.
Moulton then developed a system where the main notes were indicated with the numbers 3 to 9, while a strike to the digits was used to sharpen them, for example:7, being 7# or 8b. At the end the full 12 notes of the octave became: 3-3-4-4-5-6-6-7-7-8-8-9, which are pronounced as: to-lu-fa-ma-ni-o-no-tu-fi-va-a-hi, (variants of the Tongan numerals 3 to 9 being tolu, fā, nima, ono, fitu, valu, hiva). To extend the single octave
(midi octave number 4) into the next higher, a dot can be put above the number. To reach the next lower, a dot or a little tail can be put under them. If needed 2 tails can be taken to arrive at even lower pitches, but that is rare. After all the notation is made for human singing, it does not need to have the extended range of musical instruments.
The Moulton notation, or Tongan notation was extremely popular and is still cherished by the Tongans. It is extremely common to see bandmasters writing out the music on the blackboards in the church halls during choir practices.
as in this schedule:
When 3 notes are shown, the fasi and alto are together on top, the tenor is in the middle, and the bass is on bottom. When 2 notes are shown, the tenor and bass are taken together, as otherwise the basses would come too low. Some musicians, however, take the bass octave always equal the tenor, causing for some signatures the bass coming too high. Then they need 2 tails under a number to reach a really low note.
(national anthem), we find as first measure: |3:-3/5:5|6:4/5:-5|
Every vertical bar (|) is a measure separator (often double at the begin and end of a stanza). As this music has a 4/4 time signature
, there appear 4 beats, every beat separated by a colon (:) or slash (/) (they are equal, but the slash is usually used in the middle and the colon elsewhere). The timesignature also tells that every beat is a quarter note. Therefore every single digit in a beat is a quarter note. When 2 digits appear they are each eighth notes and so forth. No digit at all, or a zero, is used for a rest, while a dash is a tie. The first measure of the example above thus becomes: a C note for 3/8 duration, another C for 1/8, followed by two quarter E's.
|3:-|-:-| is an example for a 2/4 timesignature; 2 beats in a measure, every beat a quarter note long. This results in a whole C. Note that the tie dashes can extend into following measures, unlike the international music notation where the note is to be repeated and then tie arcs are needed. Some Tonga musicians following that example, would also write a 3 in the second measure instead of a dash and also would then need tie arcs.
2/2 and 3/2 signatures are rarer, but work the same as the …/4 signatures except that all beats are twice as long. One digit in a beat being a half note and so forth.
Occasionally one finds 6/8 (like |3:4|) and 12/8 (like |3:4:5:6|) time signatures. Then every single digit is a 3/8 note, while the most common occurrence is 3 digits in one beat, (…:345:…) each of them of course one eighth. Also here two digits are possible, the first one being a quarter and the second an eight, but again with all the pitfalls as the 3 digits in the …/4 notation. It is mainly used for (…:3:-4:…) meaning a 5/8 note followed by a 1/8.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
James Egan Moulton
James Egan Moulton
James Egan Moulton was an English born Australian Methodist minister and headmaster and school president.-Early life:...
in the 19th century for singing church hymns in Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
.
The notation
Tongan music from the pre-European times was not really music in the current sense but rather a non tonic recital (like the 'pater noster'), a style still known nowadays as the tau fakaniua. Therefore when the missionaries started to teach singing, they had also to start with music from scratch. They found the doh-ray-mi-fah-sol-la-si-doh scale sufficient for their needs, avoiding the very complex and difficult to learn international music notation. But due to the limited number of consonants in the Tongan languageTongan language
Tongan is an Austronesian language spoken in Tonga. It has around 200,000 speakers and is a national language of Tonga. It is a VSO language.-Related languages:...
, the note names were localised into to-le-mi… Unfortunately the word 'tole' is a vulgar expression
Sexual slang
Sexual slang is a set of linguistic terms and phrases used to refer to sexual organs, processes, and activities; they are generally considered colloquial rather than formal or medical, and some may be seen as impolite or improper....
for the vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
, and as such not to be used.
Moulton then developed a system where the main notes were indicated with the numbers 3 to 9, while a strike to the digits was used to sharpen them, for example:
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
(midi octave number 4) into the next higher, a dot can be put above the number. To reach the next lower, a dot or a little tail can be put under them. If needed 2 tails can be taken to arrive at even lower pitches, but that is rare. After all the notation is made for human singing, it does not need to have the extended range of musical instruments.
The Moulton notation, or Tongan notation was extremely popular and is still cherished by the Tongans. It is extremely common to see bandmasters writing out the music on the blackboards in the church halls during choir practices.
Pitch
Tongan singers recognise up to 4 voices, which results in the typical 4 lines of numbers in the notation. The leading voice is called 'fasi', a male voice. The next one is kānokano or alto, a female voice. The third is the tēnoa or tenor, and the last one the laulalo or bass. Occasionally the bass sings a different lyrics than the rest. The middle octave (of the 3 octave range mentioned above), varies with the voice, the kānokano is usually one above the tēnoa, while the laulalo is one below. In addition the exact position of the middle doh or C depends on the key signatureKey signature
In musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental...
as in this schedule:
When 3 notes are shown, the fasi and alto are together on top, the tenor is in the middle, and the bass is on bottom. When 2 notes are shown, the tenor and bass are taken together, as otherwise the basses would come too low. Some musicians, however, take the bass octave always equal the tenor, causing for some signatures the bass coming too high. Then they need 2 tails under a number to reach a really low note.
Duration
The duration of a note is not indicated by a different symbols, as in the international music notation but by the number of notes in a beat. The more notes in a beat, the shorter each has to be. For example in the fasi o e tui o e otu TongaKo e fasi 'o e tu'i 'o e 'Otu Tonga
"Ko e fasi o e tui o e Otu Tonga" is the national anthem of Tonga. The title literally means "song of the king of the Tonga Islands" in the Tongan language but is in daily life better known as fasi fakafonua, which translates to "national song". The lyrics of the anthem were written by Prince...
(national anthem), we find as first measure: |3:-3/5:5|6:4/5:-5|
Every vertical bar (|) is a measure separator (often double at the begin and end of a stanza). As this music has a 4/4 time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, there appear 4 beats, every beat separated by a colon (:) or slash (/) (they are equal, but the slash is usually used in the middle and the colon elsewhere). The timesignature also tells that every beat is a quarter note. Therefore every single digit in a beat is a quarter note. When 2 digits appear they are each eighth notes and so forth. No digit at all, or a zero, is used for a rest, while a dash is a tie. The first measure of the example above thus becomes: a C note for 3/8 duration, another C for 1/8, followed by two quarter E's.
|3:-|-:-| is an example for a 2/4 timesignature; 2 beats in a measure, every beat a quarter note long. This results in a whole C. Note that the tie dashes can extend into following measures, unlike the international music notation where the note is to be repeated and then tie arcs are needed. Some Tonga musicians following that example, would also write a 3 in the second measure instead of a dash and also would then need tie arcs.
More time signatures
In 2/4 (like |3:4|) and 3/4 (like |3:4:5|) and 4/4 (like |3:4/5:6|) time signature every beat is a quarter note. Two digits (…:34:…) makes each an eighth note; have four digits (…:3456:…) and each is a sixteenth. Three digits (…:345:…) are possible, the first one being a quarter and both others each an eighth, but might be confusing. Some musicians put a comma or dot inside the beat (…:3,45:…) to remind the singers of the unequal duration. But the real use is with a tie (…:3-4:…), to have a 3/8 note followed by a 1/8.2/2 and 3/2 signatures are rarer, but work the same as the …/4 signatures except that all beats are twice as long. One digit in a beat being a half note and so forth.
Occasionally one finds 6/8 (like |3:4|) and 12/8 (like |3:4:5:6|) time signatures. Then every single digit is a 3/8 note, while the most common occurrence is 3 digits in one beat, (…:345:…) each of them of course one eighth. Also here two digits are possible, the first one being a quarter and the second an eight, but again with all the pitfalls as the 3 digits in the …/4 notation. It is mainly used for (…:3:-4:…) meaning a 5/8 note followed by a 1/8.