To be a musician, as we are always insisting, implies much more than a knowledge of Harmony, which is only one part of the musician’s equipment, on the same level as the sciences of Rhythm, of Meter, of Instruments. — Aristoxenus of Tarentum

In our endeavour to rediscover ancient Greek music, Aristoxenus of Tarentum is without a doubt the most valuable source. A researcher of mousikē, which in ancient times encompassed all the Muses’ gifts—song, dance, and poetry—Aristoxenus sought to study and explain the underlying rhythmic patterns that govern them all, starting at the beginning, with the metric podas or foot, and advancing to the complexities of rhythmical structure.

All these he included in his work Rhythmic Elements, the second most important—after Harmonic Elements—of his surviving treatises. This seminal work remains the most important resource on rhythm for the student of ancient music, who faces, however, an almost insurmountable problem.

Written for his ancient peers, Aristoxenus’ treatises are almost incomprehensible for the modern musician due to a terminology that is either completely unknown or contradictory to Western music theory. This is exactly where the value of this book lies.

A long-awaited publication, the Rhythmic Elements for the Lyre Player bridges that gap. Featuring both the original and the translated text, it goes one step beyond. Using sheet music, modern notation, and passages from the original text with explanatory notes, this book attempts to explain Aristoxenus’ teachings in a simple way, aiming at the modern musician. Moreover, this publication contains not only the surviving fragments of Aristoxenus’ book, but also passages recorded by other ancient writers who studied his work.

Whether you have a lyre at home, or a true eagerness to understand ancient Greek music, this book is the way to dive into the world of rhythmopoiía, the rhythmic composition of the ancients.

_Credits
Nikolaos Koumartzis, D.Phil. (editor-in-chief)
Fotis Giantsios, M.Litt. (research director)
Lina Palera (composer)
Rogelio Toledo, Ph.D.(c), University of Vienna (foreword)
Armand D’Angour, Professor of Classics (scholarly advisor)
Michael J. Griffin, Professor of Classics (scholarly advisor)

_Publication ID
Paperback Premium Edition
Dimensions: 16 x 23 cm
Pages: 108
Plus Sheet music for the ancient Greek lyre