When we think about the foundations of Western music, one of the most important – foundational, in fact! – contributions comes from medieval Italy. The modern system of musical notation, the one that allows musicians today to read and perform music written centuries ago, owes much to an Italian monk, Guido d’Arezzo.

Living in the 11th century, Guido d’Arezzo was a Benedictine monk and music theorist who wanted to simplify how music was taught and remembered. At the time, melodies were either learned orallywritten using neumes, marks that indicated pitch movement but not precise notes; as useful as it was, the system was cumbersome and made learning music slow and unreliable.