Guido of Arezzo
In the 12th century, a development in teaching and learning music in a more efficient manner had arisen. Guido of Arezzo's alleged development of the Guidonian hand, more than a hundred years after his death, allowed for musicians to label a specific joint or fingertip with the gamut (also referred to as the hexachord in the modern era). Using specific joints of the hand and fingertips transformed the way one would learn and memorize solmization syllables. Not only did the Guidonian hand become a standard use in preparing music in the 12th century, its popularity grew more widespread well into the 17th and 18th century. The knowledge and use of the Guidonian hand would allow a musician to simply transpose, identify intervals, and aid in use of notation and the creation of new music. Musicians were able to sing and memorize longer sections of music and counterpoint during performances and the amount of time spent diminished dramatically.
The Stenographers' Guild
Pitman Shorthand was introduced in 1837 with the release of the inventor's book, "Stenographic Sound Hand". It reached Madras in 1886 when a commercial school run by the Pachaiyappa Charities began teaching the language. The Stenographers' Guild was formed fifty years later under the initiative of N. Subramania Iyer, a reporter at the Corporation of Madras, and S. Sivaramakrishna Iyer and P. Ramanuja Iyer, shorthand writers of the High Court of Madras, who convened a meeting in Panagal Park attended by about 40 shorthand writers from the Courts, Police, Government and newspapers. The Guild was inaugurated by C. Rajagopalachari, at the time Chief Minister of Madras, on September 26, 1937. It was to be two more years before the Guild was to be registered as a society. Its aim was to train shorthand writers.