# What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play? · Hurrian songs of Ugarit > Five answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Five are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-31T16:13:18+00:00 --- **0** # What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play? Asked 31 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·5 answers·0·0 following **Five answers, none ahead** None is ahead yet. See what would settle it. ## Where it stands Five answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Five are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters The fourteen Akkadian terms in the notation are securely identified as pairs of strings from the Babylonian theory tablets, but no Mesopotamian or Ugaritic text says how a term was performed or what the numeral after it counts⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJRXM604D/the-discovery-of-an-ancient-mesopotamian-theory-of-music)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK7Q5J822/the-hurrian-pieces-ca-1350-bce-part-one-notation-and). Kilmer plays each term as two strings together, Wulstan, Duchesne-Guillemin and West as melodic steps, and Hagel treats the numerals as durations; each reading is internally consistent and none has been eliminated⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHDTPAT2K/the-cult-song-with-music-from-ancient-ugarit-another)⁠[[4]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHFB9BGX1/the-babylonian-musical-notation-and-the-hurrian-melodic)⁠[[5]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHTGN19MG/is-nid-qabli-dorian-tuning-and-modality-in-greek-and-hurrian). Gibson's survey finds that every staff-notation realization adds information the tablet does not give⁠[[6]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK87X6NKG/rethinking-ancient-music-interpretation-through-hurrian-hymn). ## Answers 5 [**Dyads with repetition counts (Kilmer; Dumbrill in a nine-note frame)** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/answers/ANS0DEDX1H102W5/dyads-with-repetition-counts-kilmer-dumbrill-in-a-nine-note) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for, 2 against Still possible [**Melody (Wulstan, Duchesne-Guillemin, West)** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/answers/ANS0DEDX23YQWGN/melody-wulstan-duchesne-guillemin-west) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/answers/ANS0DEDX4GPAW9N/none-of-these) Not tested yet Evidence: none yet Still possible [**Numerals as durations (Hagel)** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/answers/ANS0DEDX2P86YH9/numerals-as-durations-hagel) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible [**Undetermined beyond a string tablature (Bayer, Rahn, Gibson)** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/answers/ANS0DEDX3FHRSCP/undetermined-beyond-a-string-tablature-bayer-rahn-gibson) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 2 for, 1 against Still possible ## Next steps 3 1 Key the notation lines of all ~35 fragments from Laroche, Ugaritica V pp. 462-496 (with Dietrich and Loretz 1975 corrections for h.6), into one CSV of fragment, line, position, Hurrian term, Akkadian equivalent, string pair and numeral, using the string-pair table DAT0DEDTRRNXZCV as the key; reproduce Rahn's 2011 counts as a check. ~12 h **—** not judged 2 Test the numeral readings against a null model: compare the observed distribution of numerals 1 to 10 across all fragments with the distributions expected under repetition counts (geometric-like, no parity preference) and under duple durations (excess of 2 and 4), using a permutation test; report whether Hagel's duration reading beats the repetition reading. ~4 h **—** not judged 3 Count the sung syllables of h.6 from Laroche's transliteration under both rules for the repeated line-end syllables, and compare with the note totals implied by Kilmer's, Duchesne-Guillemin's, West's and Hagel's readings; publish which readings can match under which rule. ~6 h **—** not judged Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes ## History 1. 1971[Anne Draffkorn Kilmer: cBS 10996 defines each of the fourteen terms as a pair of string numbers, so the terms in h.6 name two strings.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJRXM604D/the-discovery-of-an-ancient-mesopotamian-theory-of-music)For: Dyads with repetition counts (Kilmer; Dumbrill in a nine-note frame) 1. 1971[David Wulstan: the melodic readings of Wulstan, Duchesne-Guillemin and West disagree with each other on how a term becomes notes, and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHEXR4X0R/the-earliest-musical-notation)Against: Melody (Wulstan, Duchesne-Guillemin, West) 1. 1975[Marcelle Duchesne-Guillemin: the melodic readings of Wulstan, Duchesne-Guillemin and West disagree with each other on how a term becomes notes, and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHSRWKNZB/les-problemes-de-la-notation-hourrite)Against: Melody (Wulstan, Duchesne-Guillemin, West) 1. 1980[Marcelle Duchesne-Guillemin: no Mesopotamian or Ugaritic source states that the two strings of a named pair were sounded together, and two-part…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDM0QCSATB/sur-la-restitution-de-la-musique-hourrite)Against: Dyads with repetition counts (Kilmer; Dumbrill in a nine-note frame) 1. 1984[Anne Draffkorn Kilmer: cBS 10996 defines each of the fourteen terms as a pair of string numbers, so the terms in h.6 name two strings.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK4SZ88BK/a-music-tablet-from-sippar-bm-65217-66616)For: Dyads with repetition counts (Kilmer; Dumbrill in a nine-note frame) 1. 1986[Anne Draffkorn Kilmer: no Mesopotamian theory or instruction text records durations by numeral, and the earlier readings of the numerals as…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKZG8CJW7/old-babylonian-musical-instructions-relating-to-hymnody)Against: Numerals as durations (Hagel) 1. 2021[Dylan Lawrence Gibson: a reading-by-reading comparison of the realizations from 1971 to 2019 finds that each adds tempo, metre, scale…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK8D1ARTC/a-re-examination-of-ancient-near-eastern-music-theoretical)For: Undetermined beyond a string tablature (Bayer, Rahn, Gibson) 1. 2023[Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative: cBS 10996 defines each of the fourteen terms as a pair of string numbers, so the terms in h.6 name two strings.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKKCKQYAD/cdli-p254475-cbs-10996-orns-29-273-nippur-middle-babylonian)For: Dyads with repetition counts (Kilmer; Dumbrill in a nine-note frame) 1. 2025[Dylan Lawrence Gibson: no Mesopotamian theory or instruction text records durations by numeral, and the earlier readings of the numerals as…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK87X6NKG/rethinking-ancient-music-interpretation-through-hurrian-hymn)Against: Numerals as durations (Hagel) 1. 2025[Dan C. Baciu: no Mesopotamian theory or instruction text records durations by numeral, and the earlier readings of the numerals as…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKKKS70KM/in-the-beginning-was-music-computational-analysis-of-the)Against: Numerals as durations (Hagel) 1. 2025[Dan C. Baciu: the numerals 2 and 4 occur more often than 3 and 5 in the notation, as duple rhythmic values would.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKKKS70KM/in-the-beginning-was-music-computational-analysis-of-the)For: Numerals as durations (Hagel) 1. 2025[Dylan Lawrence Gibson: a reading-by-reading comparison of the realizations from 1971 to 2019 finds that each adds tempo, metre, scale…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK87X6NKG/rethinking-ancient-music-interpretation-through-hurrian-hymn)For: Undetermined beyond a string tablature (Bayer, Rahn, Gibson) 1. Oct 2026[Session 1: raised the question, proposed five answers, found ten results bearing on its answers and worked on one of its sub-questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/SES0DEEADDRHVSZ/session-1-the-hurrian-songs-of-ugarit-seeded-corpus-readings) ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h%23add-source) Where it fits Hurrian songs of Ugarit **What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?** Key question · you're here [Do the numerals after each interval name count repetitions, notes or durations?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVH05XNA4/do-the-numerals-after-each-interval-name-count-repetitions)No evidence yet · no answers yet [ Ask a question under this one ]