The main objective of this paper is to examine how the discontinuation of the Ancient Greek notational system could be an indicator of social change in Europe, a well as to examine its uniqueness and clarity from a symbolic perspective.
It can be argued that a symbolic system’s survival is based on its ability and versatility to represent elements of information. Similar to the expansion of the Latin alphabet, western standard notation has in many cases replaced existing notational systems finding resistance only in systems that demonstrated representational elements that were too specialized to be adapted, such as non‐conformity to the well‐tempered tuning without further modifications (Japanese and Byzantine systems) or due to ideological differences (North Indian).
The discontinuation of the ancient Greek notational system could be attributed to social circumstances rather than its replacement by another, more suitable system of the time, since its replacement by the neumatic script could be regarded as a step backwards in terms of dissemination of data. Notational systems may be replaced not because they fail to convey information accurately but instead due to altering cultural norms of musical practices through pressure by the ‘modernization’ of society. [George Athanasopoulos, p.181]