The Monochord in the Medieval and Modern Classrooms

Kathryn Buehler-McWilliams Independent Scholar
Russell E. Murray University of Delaware

Keywords: Pegagogy, Music Theory, Monochord, Pseudo-Odo, Guido of Arrezzo, Jean de Muris, Bartolomeo Ramis de Pereia

Abstract

The monochord was a standard feature of musical pedagogy in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In the modern classroom, it allows our students to experience the pedagogical world of the medieval classroom, bringing a deeper reality to an otherwise abstract series of concepts. This article presents a general overview of the various uses of the monochord in medieval and Renaissance pedagogy and provides a lesson plan for using the instrument effectively in an undergraduate music history class.

Author Biographies

Kathryn Buehler-McWilliams, Independent Scholar

Kathryn Buehler-McWilliams enjoys researching and recreating underappreciated medieval instruments. She has been building medieval instruments for over ten years, exhibiting them regularly at early music festivals in Boston, Berkeley, and Madison. She holds degrees in Music Education, Violin Performance, and Musicology, and has studied with luthier Daniel Larson. Her current research interest is the British Museum Citole, one of the oldest and best preserved extant medieval instruments.

Russell E. Murray, University of Delaware

Russell E. Murray, Jr. is Professor and Associate Chair of Music at the University of Delaware. He is also the director of the Collegium Musicum. His research interests are in the areas of Renaissance theory and pedagogy and musical institutions. He is the author of supplementary material material for The Enjoyment of Music and A History of Western Music (both published by Norton) and co-editor of Music Education in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (Indiana).

Published

2013-01-20

Issue

Vol 3 No 2: (Spring 2013)

Section

Reports and Practices

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