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Present day standard music notation is based on a five-line staff with symbols for each note showing duration and pitch in twelve tone equal temperament. Pitch is shown using the diatonic scale, with accidentals to allow notes on the chromatic scale, and duration is shown in beats and fractions of a beat.
A staff (in British English, also stave) is generally presented with a clef, which indicates the particular range of pitches encompassed by the staff. A treble clef placed at the beginning of a line of music indicates that the lowest line of the staff represents the note E above middle C, while the highest line represents the note F one octave higher. Other common clefs include the bass clef (second G below middle C to A below middle C), alto clef (F below middle C to G above middle C) and tenor clef (D below middle C to E above middle C). These last two clefs are examples of C clefs, in which the line pointed to by the clef should be interpreted as a middle C. In a similar fashion, the treble clef points to a G and the bass clef points to an F.
In early music, the clef was written as a letter and its location on the staff was chosen by the writer. The treble clef and bass clef used today are stylized versions of the letters G and F, respectively. Their locations are now standardized. Unusual clefs are used for certain requirements, such as the low G clef used for classical guitar music and tenor parts in choral music.
Following the clef, the key signature on a staff indicates the key of the piece by specifying certain notes to be held flat or sharp throughout the piece, unless otherwise indicated. The key signature is presented in the order of the circle of fifths, with flats B-E-A-D-G-C-F and sharps in the opposite order, F-C-G-D-A-E-B.
Another common element of a staff is the time signature, which indicates the rhythmic characteristics of the piece. Time signatures generally consist of two numbers; the upper number indicates the number of beats per measure (or "bar"), while the lower indicates what sort of note constitutes a "beat". A time signature of 4/4 (also known as " common time" and sometimes indicated with a large "C" symbol) implies that there will be four beats per measure, with each beat constituting a quarter noteIn music, a quarter note (American) or crotchet (Canadian) is a note played for one-quarter the duration of a whole note, hence the name. Quarter notes are notated with an oval, filled-in note head and a straight stem with no flags (see image). A related. A signature of 2/2 (or " cut time", a "C" with a vertical slash) allows 2 beats per measure, with each half noteIn music, a half note (American) or minim (Canadian) is a note played for one half the duration of a whole note, hence the name. Half notes are notated with a hollow oval note head (like a whole note) and a straight note stem with no flags (like a quarter lasting a beat. This is important, because the first beat of each bar is generally stressed. Less commonly, music that lacks rigid rhythmic organization is written without a time signature.
Notes representing a pitch outside of the scope of the five line staff can be represented using leger lineeighth notes. The lines on the right would usually be considered too far off the staff and would be written in a different clef or with 8va notation. A leger line (sometimes spelled ledger line is a tool of musical notation to express notes that do not fas, which provide a single note with additional lines and spaces. Octave (8va) notation is used, particularly for keyboard music, where notes are substantially above or below the staff.
Multiple staves can be grouped together to form a staff system. A system is used where two staves are required to cover the range of the instrument (as with a keyboard instrument), or where multiple related instruments are played (as with three violin parts on a score). A score for ensemble music includes multiple systems, as does most organ music (where the pedals are written as a separate system).
Various directions to the player regarding matters such as tempoThis article is about tempo in music. For tempo in chess, see Tempo (chess). In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian for " time") is the speed or pace of a given piece. Measuring tempo The tempo of a piece will typically be written at the start of a piece and dynamicsIn music, dynamics refers to the volume or loudness of the sound, in particular to the range from soft to loud. The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics. The renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli was o are added above or below the staff, often in Italian (sometimes abbreviated). For vocal music, lyrics are written.
Here is a sample illustrating some common musical notation.
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