gamme

Meaning of "Gamme" in Music

In music, the term "gamme" refers to a scale, particularly in medieval music theory. It is often used to describe a sequence of musical notes arranged in ascending or descending order. The term "gamme" is derived from the French word for scale and is related to the English word "gamut".

The concept of "gamme" in music notation can be traced back to medieval times when a system of repeating letters AG in each octave was introduced. When the range was extended down by one note to a G, that note was denoted using the Greek letter gamma (γ), which is the lowest note in medieval music notation. It is from this gamma that the French word "gamme" derives, and the English word "gamut" is derived from "gamma-ut".

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