I'm looking for a reference...
Jack Martinelli
I'm looking for a publication, preferably on the web, that documents a
practice used by businesses during pre-modern times. Apparently
accountants used songs to record business transactions. At the time I
read it I found it fascinating but didn't take notes. What I recall
is that the songs were used as a mnemonic device intended to record
what customers bought and/or what they owed to the business.
I have read this somewhere but I don't remember where or what
historical period(s) this was practiced. If you have any suggestions
for further reading ...any help will be appreciated.
Karen Rodgers
You might want to post this in rec.music.theory. They really know
their stuff.
Best of luck,
Karen R.
Pope Pie (Sy Lehrman)
identical purchases at almost any business so without a notation for the
song it would difficult to distinguish one song from another, but it you
have notation it would quickly become obvious that it would be easier to
just write down the transaction. Indeed it is often said that writing
was invented to keep track of just such things.
Songs are used to recall large amounts of information like family trees,
legends, history, and multiplication tables. Apparently the French
students sing their multiplication tables as American students do the
alphabet.
I know an ethnomusicologist I could ask about it. I'll do that.
Pope Pie (Sy Lehrman)
Here is an answer not worth waiting for. According to the
ethnomucologist, he never heard of such a thing but he wouldn't be
surprised if somebody did it somewhere, just because songs are used in
so many other ways.
Good luck.
Twibil
wrote:
>
> Here is an answer not worth waiting for. According to the
> ethnomucologist, he never heard of such a thing but he wouldn't be
> surprised if somebody did it somewhere, just because songs are used in
> so many other ways.
Hmm.
I once thought of majoring in Ethnomucology, but contemplating all
that multi-cultural mucus was just too depressing.
I took up the banjo instead.
~Pete