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Tibetan Musical Notation

Author(s): IVAN VANDOR
Source: The World of Music, Vol. 17, No. 2 (1975), pp. 3-7
Published by: Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43615755
Accessed: 16-01-2017 07:21 UTC

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IVAN VANDOR

Tibetan Musical Notation

Tibetan civilization has a musical notation of striking originality which is still

little known and whose origin is obscure. This musical notation belongs sole
the religious tradition, in which context it has developed several distinct sty
according to the different monastic traditions of the four main religious or
This notation also exhibits different aspects depending on whether it refers
voices or to musical instruments. Furthermore, the instrumental notation is differ-
ent for each instrument, and this is why, for instance, in the same monastery the
notation for the conches does not employ the same graphic procedures as that
for the long trumpets, although a more detailed study does reveal the existence of
common features.
The notations do not have a prescriptive character, in other words, they do not
precisely indicate all the details of the musical performance and therefore do
not form a " text " to be realized, as is the case with the European musical notation.
On the contrary, what we have here are notations whose chief function is mne-
monic, and this also explains its few descriptive aspects. This essentially mne-
monic function is clearly demonstrated in the teaching of music in the monasteries.
For example, at the monastery of Nechung, which is now at Dharamsāla in North
India and whose Superior functioned as the State Oracle, a copy of the musical
notations of the repertoire of the long trumpets is given to the novices while they
are learning this repertoire. They thus use the notation as an aid to the memory.
But once they have learnt the pieces in question the notation is taken away from
them and burnt. Only a single copy of the notations is kept as a document
belonging to the monastic tradition. At the great monastery of Pepung in Kham,
a region in Eastern Tibet, chironomie techniques based on the musical notation
were used for teaching purposes. The master drew signs in the air corresponding
to this notation, and the pupils had to interpret them correctly when playing their
instruments.
The didactic function of these notations is also emphasized by the fact that the
manuscripts containing the notations are never used during the ceremonies, since
all the monks are expected to know the rituals and the music associated with
them by heart.

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 The vocal notation, which varies from one monastic tradition to another, at the
same time retaining certain common characteristics of a general nature, usually
consists of lines with varying undulations written in black ink, sometimes with the
addition of red and yellow ink. In some cases the use of different colours has only
a decorative function, while in other cases the red colour which accompanies part
of the lines indicates the passage of the chant which has to be sung as a solo by
the leader of the ritual.

Notations for the long trumpets. Monastery of Shedup Chokor Dargye Ling,
Swayambhunäth. The name of each note is written near its graphic representation.
Other indications concern the performance and the title of the ceremony.

The wavy line of this notation is accompanied by the syllables which form the
words of the text. Between these syllables there are often placed others which
may have different functions: they may serve to "hide" the text, as is the case
with some prayers of an esoteric character whose meaning should not be under-
stood by the non-initiated ; or they may provide indications referring exclusively
to the musical performance, in which case the syllables are never pronounced.
In the first case some of the intercalated syllables have to be pronounced very
clearly, while the pronunciation of other syllables does not have to be precise.
In some monasteries certain syllables, or a part of the text, are written in red ink,
this being an indication of a solo chant to be performed by the leader of the
ceremony.
This notation does not indicate the pitch of the notes or their duration, but some
times it does represent some of the changes which affect the notes. For examp
if the curve of the line is modified by a new graphic element, one can be virtually
certain that the latter corresponds to a melodic change. In addition, the syllab
referring to the musical performance also provide important indications, such
"leap to a higher note", or "sing softly". Depending on the particular monastery
the bulging parts of the lines may correspond to a melodic change or to t

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duration of a sung syllable. The European musician may be surprised by the
approximate character which he will be disposed to see in these indications,
although some contemporary graphic scores are no more precise, but he should
not forget that the Tibetan musical system, unlike the European one, is not based
on a number of scales with fixed degrees - the very idea of a scale is wholly
unknown to the Tibetan monks - and that the music in question depends on an
oral tradition in which notation, as we have seen, has functions that are altogether
different to those it can assume in the context of Western music.
The instrumental notation also varies according to the different monastic tradi-
tions and does not indicate the pitch or duration of the notes. It consists either of
graphic indications accompanying the vocal notation or the text of the prayers
to be recited, or of a notation independent of a text. To the latter may be added
the names of certain notes or patterns which are represented graphically, the titles
of certain prayers which are to be recited "inwardly" simultaneously with the
playing of the instrument, magical-religious syllables on which the performer
should meditate while playing, or simply explanations concerning the performance
itself.

A complete Tibetan monastery orchestra usually consists of two conches, two

short trumpets of bone or metal, two long trumpets with a length of up to four
metres, two instruments of the oboe family, two different types of large cymbals,
drums, a hand-bell and a small drum on which the skins are struck by little balls
attached to cords. The notation applies only to some of these instruments. In the
majority of cases the indications added to the vocal notation refer to the cymbals
called rolmo. We give below some examples which come from the Tantric mon-
astery of Gyütö. The numbers given to the notations correspond to the order in
which they are discussed below.

1. O 2.X 3. 4. / /1 5. /O)
/' ///> I
1. Indicates a single stroke on t
placed above or below the syllab
the instrument should be played
red colour it is either the leader of the ritual alone who has to play or all the
monks playing the rolmo cymbals.
2. Indicates an accelerated and fast performance with a marked diminishing of
the volume, executed by striking the centre of the left cymbal with the right cymbal
held horizontally.
3. The dotted part indicates an acceleration, and the hook denotes an ever
faster acceleration with a marked decrease in the volume. This sign is rendered by
playing only on the left edges of the cymbals.
4. Each of these signs is rendered in the same way as the preceding one, but to
each of them corresponds a technique involving a progressively closer succession
of strokes.
5. Indicates an acceleration with a marked decrease in the volume performed by
the leader of the ceremony. The latter, having played this pattern, rotates the right
cymbal above the left cymbal, at the same time turning it upside down.
The following indications, which come from a monastery of the Karma Kagyüpa
order, are found in some prayer books where they are written between the sen-
tences of the text.

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 1. (ô) 2. ♦ 3. ^ 4. c§0 5. ^ or ^
) Ç

6. or °^° 7^°
1 . Indicates an entry of the si
2. Indicates a certain rhythmic
3. Indicates another rhythmic
4. Indicates the same pattern,
5. Indicates an entry of the sh
6. Indicates an entry of the ob
7. Indicates an entry of the s
rolmo cymbals illustrated in th
8. Indicates an entry of the ob
bals. In some prayer-books an
sionally indicated only by a drawing of one of these instruments placed between
the sentences of the text. In other cases only the names of some instruments are
given for the same purpose.
The instrumental notation independent of a text applies only to the repertoire of
the conches, the short trumpets and the long trumpets. These notations are some-
times written on separate sheets, each of which contains a given piece, or else
they may be written down in little books containing only the instrumental reper-
toire. As has already been pointed out, these notations are never used during the
rituals and serve above all to assist the memory. Each individual drawing indicates
a certain note which has to be played in a particular manner in accordance with

A manuscript page of vocal notation. Monastery of Ganden Chöpel Ling, Bodhnath

the respective monastic tradition. These signs may be furnished with indications
such as "the four gyang" (the name of a note on the long trumpets rendered in a
predetermined manner), "to be given a long duration and to be played softly",
or "cut off the sound sharply" or "finish very softly". In addition, the names of the
different notes may be written at the side, either above or below the corresponding
sign. It must, however, be emphasized that a "note", in the Tibetan system, does
not correspond to what we understand by this term in the West. For example, the
repertoire of the long trumpets is based on only three different notes which belong
to the instrument's low, middle and high register respectively, and it is the way of
playing these notes which varies considerably. For example, the middle-register

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note can be played with various degrees of intensity, it can start with an ascending
glissando, it can start softly and end very loud, it can include brief glissandi lead-
ing to neighbouring notes, and so forth. All these different ways of rendering the
same note have names of their own and are represented in the notation by distinct
signs.

Notations for the short trumpets. Monastery of Shedup Chökor Dargye Ling. Some
of the written characters do not refer directly to the music but have a mystico-
magicai function.

Notation for the conch-shells. Monastery of Shedup Chökor Dargye Ling

The origin of these notations is unknown, and nothing else exists which may be
compared directly with them. Some writers do not rule out the possibility that the
notations were influenced by the Nestorians, who introduced aspects of the nota-
tions of the Oriental Church throughout Central Asia as far as Chinese Turkestan.
It is also known that, at least during the 18th century, a small Armenian community
existed in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. As against this, however, the Tibetan tradi-
tion attributes the origin of these notations to India. However this may be, it is
logical to assume that they evolved from a common source - probably the vocal
notation - and that in this case the instrumental notation represents a subsequent
development. Given the comparative isolation and autonomy of the monasteries,
the notations would necessarily have been elaborated with a certain degree of
independence, and this would explain the sometimes striking differences in the
graphic procedures. But it will only be possible to establish the origin of these
notations on the basis of future research, which will need to include historical stud-
ies in the music of Tibetan Buddhism itself. ■

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