Book contents
- The Science of Music
- Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
- The Science of Music
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Transliteration
- Introduction
- Part I Context
- 1 Music and Mathematics in an Interconnected Web of Cosmic Relations
- 2 Learning the Science of Music in Medieval Baghdad
- 3 Al-Urmawi’s Baghdad before and after the Coming of the Mongols
- 4 Al-Urmawi Goes to the Mustansiriyya: How to Learn the Science of Music
- Part II Texts
- Epilogue
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
- Series page
4 - Al-Urmawi Goes to the Mustansiriyya: How to Learn the Science of Music
from Part I - Context
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 December 2024
- The Science of Music
- Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
- The Science of Music
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Transliteration
- Introduction
- Part I Context
- 1 Music and Mathematics in an Interconnected Web of Cosmic Relations
- 2 Learning the Science of Music in Medieval Baghdad
- 3 Al-Urmawi’s Baghdad before and after the Coming of the Mongols
- 4 Al-Urmawi Goes to the Mustansiriyya: How to Learn the Science of Music
- Part II Texts
- Epilogue
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
- Series page
Summary
Chapter 4 considers another major actor in the learning of musical knowledge, besides the patrons: professional scholars. While it is true that musical treatises were for the most part commissioned for the elites, once a text was out in the market, anyone with an interest in the subject and a small amount of money in their pocket could acquire a copy. Professional scholars pursued music as a part of their training in mathematics. I center my discussion around the studies of one such scholar of music at the madrasa of Mustansiriyya, who was a student of al-Urmawi himself. I analyze a rare manuscript that contains marginal notes written by this scholar who studied the subject matter under the master. This rare manuscript grants us a unique perspective into how scholars actually went about learning their subject matter.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Science of MusicKnowledge Production in Medieval Baghdad and Beyond, pp. 97 - 112Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025