Hexachords, solmization, and musica ficta (original) (raw)

The hexachord system, introduced and developed by Guido d'Arezzo and his colleagues in the 11th century, was a central element of musical practice and culture in medieval Europe, and continued to influence Renaissance and Manneristic practice through the early 17th century.

While rightly acclaimed as a very successful method for teaching the art of sight-reading, Guido's hexachord system more generally serves as a familiar framework from which to approach many issues of medieval and Renaissance composition and performance.

This FAQ article will first present the basic hexachord system and its origins; then medieval and Renaissance extensions of the system to permit a fuller set of accidentals; and finally some alternative systems proposed by Bartolomé Ramos (1482) and Johannes Lippius (1610, 1612) based on octaves rather than hexachords.