Ángel Menchaca (March 1, 1855 – May 8, 1924) was an Argentine music theorist of Paraguayan birth. Born in

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

, Menchaca was of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

extraction. Trained for a career in the law, he taught history and literature in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. In 1914 he published ''Nuevo sistema teórico-gráfico de la música'', which suggested a new system of

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

based on a 12-note alphabet instead of traditionally-used notes and staffs. The system was the subject of a lecture tour which he gave throughout Europe; he also invented a special keyboard which was meant to use it. A composer as well, he wrote songs and choral music for use in schools, among other works. He died in Buenos Aires.

References

1855 births 1924 deaths Music theorists Argentine musicologists 20th-century musicologists People from Asunción Paraguayan emigrants to Argentina Argentine people of Basque descent 19th-century musicologists {{musicologist-stub