485:
228:
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31:
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77:, different percussion instruments. Appropriate music symbols, depending on the intended effect, are placed on the staff according to their corresponding pitch or function. Musical notes are placed by pitch, percussion notes are placed by instrument, and rests and other symbols are placed by convention.
332:
is an additional vertical line joining staves to show groupings of instruments that function as a unit, such as the string section of an orchestra. Sometimes a second bracket is used to show instruments grouped in pairs, such as the first and second oboes or first and second violins in an orchestra.
450:
below the upper staff or the first ledger line above the lower staff. Very rarely, a centered line with a small C clef is written, and usually used to indicate that B, C, or D on the line can be played with either hand (ledger lines are not used from a center alto as this creates confusion). When
126:
represented by a vertical step from a line to an adjacent space depends on the key, and the exact timing of the beginning of each note is not directly proportional to its horizontal position; rather, exact timing is encoded by the musical symbol chosen for each note in addition to the
499:
467:
515:, which did not specify exact pitches but only the shape of the melodies, i.e. indicating when the musical line went up or down; presumably these were intended as mnemonics for melodies which had been taught by rote.
235:
The vertical position of the notehead on the staff indicates which note to play: higher-pitched notes are marked higher on the staff. The notehead can be placed with its center intersecting a line (
737:
530:
in conjunction with the neumes, made a brief appearance in a few manuscripts, but a number of manuscripts used one or more horizontal lines to indicate particular pitches.
258:
placed at the beginning of the staff. The clef identifies a particular line as a specific note, and all other notes are determined relative to that line. For example, the
522:
whose height on the page corresponded with their absolute pitch level (Longobardian and
Beneventan manuscripts from Italy show this technique around the year 1000).
876:
1032:
122:. Pitches of notes are given by their vertical position on the staff and notes are played from left to right. Unlike a graph, however, the number of
889:
840:
806:
772:
677:
336:
When more than one system appears on a page, often two parallel diagonal strokes are placed on the left side of the score to separate them.
658:"Information Design and Semiology: A Visual Study on Deconstructing Musical Notation for Improving First-Grade Children's Learning"
1498:
455:
or harp, the upper staff is normally played with the right hand and the lower staff with the left hand. In music intended for
1025:
463:, a grand staff normally comprises three staves, one for each hand on the manuals and one for the feet on the pedalboard.
328:(curly bracket) is used to join multiple staves that represent an instrument, such as a piano, organ, harp, or marimba. A
92:, also known as the G clef, is placed on the second line (counting upward), fixing that line as the pitch first G above "
980:
1533:
1397:
871:
73:, is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch or in the case of a
518:
During the 9th through 11th centuries a number of systems were developed to specify pitch more precisely, including
1623:
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1018:
1503:
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664:. Springer Series in Design and Innovation. Vol. 35. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. pp. 639–650.
554:(990–1050), whose four-line staff is still used (though without the red and yellow coloring he recommended) in
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1142:
85:
717:
1574:
1438:
1137:
931:
905:
484:
287:
1007:: Customizable staff paper in varying dimensions, staff heights, thicknesses, and margins in PDF format
306:
193:. In addition to the pronunciations expected from the spellings, both plural forms are also pronounced
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1067:
881:
84:
symbol at the appropriate vertical position on the left-hand side of the staff (possibly modified by
1508:
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411:
278:. Once fixed by a clef, the notes represented by the positions on the staff can be modified by the
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notation for indicating specific pitches, but the modern use of staff lines is attributed to
80:
The absolute pitch of each line of a non-percussive staff is indicated by the placement of a
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42:
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files of musical staff (A4 and Letter size; standard, TAB and more; with or without clefs)
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39:
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today. Five-line staves appeared in Italy in the 13th century and it was promoted by
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12th-century
Beneventan manuscript showing diastematic neumes and a single-line staff
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A simple grand staff. Each of the staves shown above has seven notes and one rest.
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1001:
formats provided by Perry Roland of
Alderman Library at The University of Virginia
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322:, indicating that the music on all the staves is to be played simultaneously. A
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247:—lines the width of the note they need to hold—added above or below the staff.
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Excerpt from a keyboard work by
William Byrd written on a six-line staff, 1591
17:
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The lines and spaces are numbered from bottom to top; the bottom line is the
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indicates the relationship between timing counts and note symbols, while
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on individual notes. A clefless staff may be used to represent a set of
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is centered between the two staffs, and it can be written on the first
410:, or is intended to be played at once by a single performer (usually a
407:
352:
324:
189:
in both
American and British English, alongside the traditional plural
386:(from the French) or system in the English sense; the Italian term is
1369:
1307:
1234:
1062:
1057:
344:
607:: "in British English: also called: stave; plural: staffs or staves"
30:
1010:
562:; staves with four, five, and six lines were used as late as 1600.
1523:
1229:
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718:"How To Read The Notes On The Pentagram » The Art Of Playing"
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29:
243:). Notes outside the range of the staff are placed on or between
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sounds; each line typically represents a different instrument.
994:
984:
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239:) or in between the lines touching the lines above and below (
916:
Harvard
Dictionary of Music (2nd edition, 1972): Neume, Staff
305:
297:
761:
Irvine, Demar; Pauly, Reinhard G.; Radice, Mark A. (1999).
929:
Haines, John (2008). "The
Origins of the Musical Staff".
748:
Pam Peters, The
Cambridge Guide to English Usage, p. 514.
205:
656:
Antunes, Ines P.; Rosa, Carlos; Almeida, Flávio (2024).
211:
199:
208:
202:
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1421:
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632:"stave Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary"
906:description in the German language Knowledge (XXG)
756:
754:
511:Early Western medieval notation was written with
333:In some cases, a brace is used for this purpose.
110:The musical staff is analogous to a mathematical
434:) is created. Typically, the upper staff uses a
382:) may refer to a single staff as well as to the
877:The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
861:
859:
662:Advances in Design and Digital Communication IV
526:notation, using letter names similar to modern
318:drawn to the left of multiple staves creates a
1026:
694:"Dolmetsch Online - Chart of Musical Symbols"
8:
832:Eine Alpensinfonie; and, Symphonia domestica
660:. In Martins, Nuno; Brandão, Daniel (eds.).
801:. Courier Dover Publications. p. 261.
1588:
1033:
1019:
1011:
835:. Courier Dover Publications. p. 71.
620:"staff" in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary
605:"staff" in the Collins English Dictionary
600:
598:
596:
767:. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 213.
406:When music on two staves is joined by a
270:between adjacent staff positions is one
58:
592:
27:Musical notation to represent the pitch
866:Rastall, Richard (2001). "System". In
250:Which staff positions represent which
69:), also occasionally referred to as a
231:Staff, with staff positions indicated
7:
981:Audio Graffiti Free Manuscript Paper
615:
613:
351:notation on a two-staff system with
173:, with the latter being, in fact, a
86:conventions for specific instruments
359:voices sharing the upper staff and
25:
1598:
1597:
1587:
991:Printable files of musical staff
977:files of musical staff (A4 size)
798:Piano concertos nos. 1, 2, and 3
497:
483:
195:
343:vocal settings, especially in
146:group notes on the staff into
1:
1005:Customizable Manuscript Paper
795:Rachmaninoff, Sergei (1965).
540:
374:(often in the combined forms
764:Irvine's writing about music
670:10.1007/978-3-031-47281-7_53
556:Gregorian chant publications
1398:History of music publishing
367:voices on the lower staff.
1640:
438:and the lower staff has a
1603:Category:Musical notation
1583:
1469:Numbered musical notation
1260:Scientific pitch notation
829:Strauss, Richard (1904).
34:A typical five-line staff
1250:Helmholtz pitch notation
880:(2nd ed.). London:
636:dictionary.cambridge.org
370:Confusingly, the German
266:on the second line. The
103:and the top line is the
1593:List of musical symbols
1464:Nashville Number System
941:Oxford University Press
1143:Transposing instrument
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949:10.1093/musqtl/gdp002
932:The Musical Quarterly
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309:
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230:
219:in American English.
33:
882:Macmillan Publishers
442:. In this instance,
161:is more common than
138:to the right of the
88:). For example, the
1489:Percussion notation
412:keyboard instrument
254:is determined by a
154:Usage and etymology
536:Musica enchiriadis
520:diastematic neumes
472:
404:
312:
304:
233:
36:
1611:
1610:
1555:Mensural notation
891:978-1-56159-239-5
842:978-0-486-27725-7
808:978-0-486-26350-2
774:978-1-57467-049-3
698:www.dolmetsch.com
679:978-3-031-47281-7
262:puts the G above
16:(Redirected from
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1454:Graphic notation
1118:Rehearsal letter
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971:Dolmetsch Online
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310:Musical bracket.
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185:also exists for
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118:with respect to
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43:musical notation
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402:The grand staff
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1474:Klavarskribo
1449:Figured bass
1323:Appoggiatura
1270:Articulation
1068:Abbreviation
1049:
983:: Printable
973:: Printable
936:
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846:. Retrieved
831:
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812:. Retrieved
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738:Ngram Viewer
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720:. 2022-04-06
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639:. Retrieved
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534:
532:
523:
519:
517:
510:
451:playing the
427:
419:
405:
387:
383:
379:
376:Liniensystem
375:
371:
369:
348:
338:
335:
329:
323:
319:
315:
313:
249:
245:ledger lines
240:
236:
234:
190:
186:
182:
178:
162:
158:
157:
133:
109:
104:
100:
98:
79:
70:
66:
62:
54:
46:
37:
1560:Music stand
1434:Chord chart
1413:Scorewriter
1390:Sheet music
1188:Dotted note
1123:Repeat sign
1098:Ledger line
943:: 327–378.
448:ledger line
436:treble clef
428:great stave
420:grand staff
394:Grand staff
388:accollatura
380:Notensystem
284:accidentals
260:treble clef
90:treble clef
1534:Shakuhachi
1509:Ekphonetic
1494:Simplified
1459:Lead sheet
1333:Grace note
1198:Note value
1193:Grace note
1161:Accidental
999:PostScript
848:18 October
814:18 October
780:18 October
724:2023-12-03
703:2023-12-03
544: 900
528:note names
461:pedalboard
339:Four-part
288:percussion
241:in a space
105:fifth line
101:first line
1529:Swaralipi
1519:Kunkunshi
1479:Tablature
1444:Eye music
1328:Glissando
1303:Fingering
1088:Dal segno
572:Tablature
524:Digraphic
440:bass clef
237:on a line
144:bar lines
124:semitones
71:pentagram
1618:Category
1539:Znamenny
1380:Tonguing
1365:Staccato
1318:Ornament
1293:Dynamics
1245:Interval
1208:Notehead
1183:Cue note
957:20534535
874:(eds.).
641:17 March
566:See also
444:middle C
384:Akkolade
347:, use a
268:interval
264:middle C
165:in both
148:measures
94:middle C
1548:Related
1514:Gamelan
1504:Chinese
1484:Parsons
1355:Portato
1338:Mordent
1313:Marcato
1298:Fermata
1288:Damping
1283:Caesura
1240:Tremolo
1171:natural
1083:Da capo
939:(3/4).
582:Rastrum
548:Daseian
546:) uses
475:History
353:soprano
345:hymnals
330:bracket
274:in the
40:Western
1370:Tenuto
1308:Legato
1278:Accent
1235:Tuplet
955:
888:
839:
805:
771:
676:
513:neumes
372:System
349:divisi
320:system
191:staves
183:staffs
179:staves
67:staves
63:staffs
59:plural
45:, the
1524:Neume
1348:Trill
1343:Slide
1230:Tacet
1220:Pitch
1176:sharp
1128:Tempo
1113:Scale
1108:Ossia
1050:Staff
953:JSTOR
588:Notes
459:with
457:organ
453:piano
426:) or
418:), a
408:brace
361:tenor
325:brace
252:notes
187:staff
163:stave
159:Staff
129:tempo
116:pitch
112:graph
55:stave
53:also
47:staff
1360:Slur
1225:Rest
1213:stem
1203:beam
1166:flat
1103:Mode
1078:Clef
997:and
886:ISBN
850:2011
837:ISBN
816:2011
803:ISBN
782:2011
769:ISBN
674:ISBN
643:2018
416:harp
365:bass
363:and
357:alto
355:and
341:SATB
272:step
256:clef
169:and
140:clef
120:time
82:clef
1375:Tie
1073:Bar
995:PDF
993:in
985:PDF
975:PDF
945:doi
666:doi
414:or
378:or
282:or
114:of
96:".
65:or
38:In
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1063:15
951:.
937:91
935:.
884:.
870:;
858:^
753:^
696:.
672:.
634:.
612:^
595:^
541:c.
390:.
314:A
150:.
134:A
131:.
107:.
61::
57:;
51:UK
1058:8
1034:e
1027:t
1020:v
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947::
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894:.
852:.
818:.
784:.
727:.
706:.
682:.
668::
645:.
539:(
430:(
422:(
215:/
212:z
209:v
206:æ
203:t
200:s
197:/
49:(
20:)
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