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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 process of interpreting musical notation is often referred to as reading music.
Distinct methods of notation have been invented throughout history by various cultures. Much information about ancient music notation is fragmentary. Even in the same time frames, different styles of music and different cultures use different music notation methods.
For example, classical music performers most often use sheet music using staves, , , and for writing and deciphering pieces. But even so, there are far more systems than just that. For instance, in professional country music, the Nashville Number System is the main method, and for string instruments such as guitar, it is quite common for tablature to be used by players.
Musical notation uses ancient and modern symbols made upon any media such as stone, , papyrus, parchment or manuscript paper; printed using a printing press (), a computer printer () or other Music engraving or Photocopier.
Although many ancient cultures used symbols to represent melody and , none of them were particularly comprehensive, which has limited today's understanding of their music. The direct ancestor of the modern Western culture system of notation emerged in Middle Ages, in the context of the Christian Church's attempts to standardize the performance of plainsong melodies so that chants could be standardized across different areas. Notation developed further during the Renaissance and Baroque music eras. In the Classical period (1750–1820) and the Romantic music era (1820–1900), notation continued to develop as the technology for musical instruments advanced. In the contemporary classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries, music notation has evolved further, with the introduction of graphical notation by some modern composers and the use, since the 1980s, of computer-based scorewriter programs for notating music. Music notation has been adapted to many kinds of music, including classical music, popular music, and traditional music.
A tablet from about 1250 BCE shows a more developed form of notation. Although the interpretation of the notation system is still controversial, it is clear that the notation indicates the names of strings on a lyre, the Musical tuning of which is described in other tablets. Research indicates these notations had dual purposes for liturgical and secular musical pieces since music was essential in both religious ceremonies and courtly activities. Although they are fragmentary, these tablets represent the earliest notated melody found anywhere in the world.
The notation for sung music consists of letter symbols for the pitches, placed above text syllables. Rhythm is indicated in a rudimentary way only, with long and short symbols. The Seikilos epitaph has been variously dated between the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE.
Three hymns by Mesomedes of Crete exist in manuscript. The Delphic Hymns, dated to the 2nd century BCE also use this notation, but they are not completely preserved.
Ancient Greek notation appears to have fallen out of use around the time of the decline of the Western Roman Empire.
Since the 6th century, Greek theoretical categories ( melos, genos, harmonia, systema) played a key role in the understanding and transmission of Byzantine music, The tradition of Damascus, especially, had a strong impact on the pre-Islamic Near East comparable to that of Persian music. The earliest evidence are papyrus fragments of Greek tropologia. These fragments present the hymn text following a modal signature or key (like "ΠΛ Α" for echos plagios protos or "Β" for echos devteros).
Unlike Western notation, Byzantine used since the 10th century were always related to modal steps (same modal degree, one degree lower, two degrees higher, etc.) in relation to such a clef or modal key (Enechema). Originally this key or the incipit of a common melody was enough to indicate a certain Melodic pattern given within the echos. Next to ekphonetic notation, only used in Lectionary to indicate formulas used during scriptural lessons, melodic notation developed not earlier than between the 9th and the 10th century, when a theta (θ), oxeia (/) or diple (//) were written under a certain syllable of the text whenever a longer melisma was expected. This primitive form was called "theta" or "diple notation".
The evolution of this notation can be observed in Greek monastic chant books like those of the Sticheron and the Irmologion. Chartres notation was used on Mount Athos and Constantinople, and Coislin notation was used within the patriarchates of Jerusalem and Alexandria, while another gestic notation was originally used for the asmatikon (choir book) and kontakarion (book of the soloist or monophonaris) of the Constantinopolitan cathedral rite. The earliest books which have survived, are "kondakars" in Slavonic translation which already show a notation system known as Kondakarian notation.Only one Greek asmatikon written during the 14th century (Kastoria, Metropolitan Library, Ms. 8) preserved this gestic notation based on the practice of cheironomia, and transcribed the gestic signs into sticherarion notation in a second row. For more about kondakar, see and . Like the Greek alphabet, notational signs are ordered left to right (though the direction could be adapted, like in certain Syriac alphabet manuscripts). The question of rhythm was entirely based on cheironomia (the interpretation of so-called great signs which derived from different chant books). These great signs (μεγάλα σῃμάδια) indicated well-known melodic phrases given by gestures of the choirleaders of the cathedral rite. They existed once as part of an oral tradition, developed into Kondakarian notation and were integrated, during the 13th century, into Byzantine round notation as a kind of universal notation system.After the decline of the Constantinopolitan cathedral rite during the fourth crusade (1201), its books kontakarion and asmatikon had been written in monastic scriptoria using Byzantine round notation. For more, see Byzantine music.
Today, the main difference between Western and Eastern neumes is that Eastern notation symbols are "differential" rather than absolute, i.e., they indicate pitch steps (rising, falling or at the same step), and the musicians must deduce the specific intervals based on the musical context and their current pitch. These step symbols themselves, or better "phonic neumes", resemble brush strokes and are colloquially called gántzoi ('hooks') in modern Greek.
Notes as pitch classes or modal keys (usually memorised by modal signatures) are represented in written form only between these neumes (in manuscripts usually written in red ink). In modern notation they simply serve as optional reminders, with modal and tempo directions added when necessary. In Papadic notation medial signatures usually meant a temporary change into another echos.
The so-called "great signs" were once related to cheironomic signs; according to modern interpretations they are understood as embellishments and microtonal attractions (pitch changes smaller than a semitone), both essential in Byzantine chant.See for a historical discussion of the great signs and their modern interpretations.
Since Chrysanthos of Madytos there are seven standard note names used for "solfège" ( parallagē) pá, vú, ghá, dhi, ké, zō, nē, while the older practice still used the four enechemata or intonation formulas of the four echoi given by the modal signatures, the authentic or kyrioi in ascending direction, and the plagal or plagioi in descending direction (Papadic Octoechos). made a difference between his monosyllabic and the traditional polysyllabic parallage. With exception of vú and zō, they do roughly correspond to Western solmization syllables as re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do. Byzantine music uses the eight natural, non-tempered scales whose elements were identified by Ēkhoi, "sounds", exclusively, and therefore the absolute pitch of each note may slightly vary each time, depending on the particular Ēkhos used. Byzantine notation is still used in many Orthodox Churches. Sometimes cantors also use transcriptions into Western or Kievan staff notation while adding non-notatable embellishment material from memory and "sliding" into the natural scales from experience. However, even in modern neume editions since the reform of Chrysanthos, many details rely on oral tradition passed down by traditional masters.
Notation had developed far enough to notate melody, but there was still no system for notating rhythm. A mid-13th-century treatise, De Mensurabili Musica, explains a set of six rhythmic modes that were in use at the time, although it is not clear how they were formed. These rhythmic modes were all in triple time and rather limited the rhythm in chant to six different repeating patterns. This was a flaw seen by German music theorist Franco of Cologne and summarised as part of his treatise Ars Cantus Mensurabilis (the art of measured chant, or mensural notation). He suggested that individual notes could have their own rhythms represented by the shape of the note. Not until the 14th century did something like the present system of fixed note lengths arise. The use of regular measures (bars) became commonplace by the end of the 17th century.
The founder of what is now considered the standard music staff was Guido d'Arezzo, an Italian Benedictine monk who lived from about 991 until after 1033. He taught the use of solmization syllables based on a hymn to Saint John the Baptist, which begins Ut queant laxis and was written by the Lombards historian Paul the Deacon. The first stanza is:
Guido used the first syllable of each line, Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si, to read notated music in terms of hexachords; they were not note names, and each could, depending on context, be applied to any note. In the 17th century, Ut was changed in most countries except France to the easily singable, open syllable Do, believed to have been taken either from the name of the Italian theorist Giovanni Battista Doni, or from the Latin word Dominus, meaning Lord.
Christian monks developed the first forms of modern European musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church, and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music, and its many derivatives. The Baroque style, which encompassed music, art, and architecture, was particularly encouraged by the post-Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor.
A staff of written music generally begins with a clef, which indicates the pitch-range of the staff. The treble clef or G clef was originally a letter G and it identifies the second line up on the five-line staff as the note G above middle C. The bass clef or F clef identifies the second line down as the note F below middle C. While the treble and bass clef are the most widely used, other clefs, which identify middle C, are used for some instruments, such as the alto clef (for viola and alto trombone) and the tenor clef (used for some cello, bassoon, Trombone, and double bass music). Some instruments use mainly one clef, such as violin and flute which use treble clef, and double bass and tuba which use bass clef. Some instruments, such as piano and pipe organ, regularly use both treble and bass clefs.
Following the clef, the key signature is a group of 0 to 7 sharp (♯) or flat (♭) signs placed on the staff to indicate the key of the piece or song by specifying that certain notes are sharp or flat throughout the piece, unless otherwise indicated with accidentals added before certain notes. When a flat (♭) sign is placed before a note, the pitch of the note is lowered by one semitone. Similarly, a sharp sign (♯) raises the pitch by one semitone. For example, a sharp on the note D would raise it to D♯ while a flat would lower it to D♭. and are less common, but they are used. A double sharp is placed before a note to make it two semitones higher, a double flat makes it two semitones lower. A natural sign placed before a note renders that note in its "natural" form, which means that any sharp or flat applied to that note from the key signature or an accidental is cancelled. Sometimes a courtesy accidental is used in music where it is not technically required, to remind the musician of what pitch is required.
Following the key signature is the time signature. The time signature typically consists of two numbers, with one of the most common being . The top "4" indicates that there are four beats per measure (also called bar). The bottom "4" indicates that each of those beats are quarter notes. Measures divide the piece into groups of beats, and the time signatures specify those groupings. is used so often that it is also called "common time", and it may be indicated with rather than numbers. Other frequently used time signatures are (three beats per bar, with each beat being a quarter note); (two beats per bar, with each beat being a quarter note); (six beats per bar, with each beat being an eighth note) and (twelve beats per bar, with each beat being an eighth note; in practice, the eighth notes are typically put into four groups of three eighth notes. is a compound time type of time signature). Many other time signatures exist, such as or .
Many short classical music pieces from the Classical era and songs from traditional music and popular music are in one time signature for much or all of the piece. Music from the Romantic music era and later, particularly contemporary classical music and rock music genres such as progressive rock and the hardcore punk subgenre mathcore, may use mixed meter; songs or pieces change from one meter to another, for example alternating between bars of and .
Directions to the player regarding matters such as tempo (e.g., andante) and dynamics (e.g., forte) appear above or below the staff. Terms indicating the musical expression or "feel" of a song or piece are indicated at the beginning of the piece and at any points where the mood changes (e.g., gelassen) For vocal music, lyrics are written near the pitches of the melody. For short pauses (breaths), (retakes are indicated with a ' mark) are added.
In music for musical ensemble, a "sheet music" shows music for all players together, with the staves for the different instruments and/or voices stacked vertically. The conducting uses the score while leading an orchestra, concert band, choir or other large ensemble. Individual performers in an ensemble play from "parts" which contain only the music played by an individual musician. A score can be constructed from a complete set of parts and vice versa. The process was laborious and time consuming when parts were hand-copied from the score, but since the development of scorewriter computer software in the 1980s, a score stored electronically can have parts automatically prepared by the program and printed out quickly and inexpensively using a computer printer.
Jeong-gan-bo specifies the pitch by writing the note's name down in a box called jeong-gan. One jeong-gan is one beat each, and it can be split into two, three or more to hold half beats, quarter beats, and more.
Also, there are many markings indicating things such as ornaments. Most of these were later created by Ki-su Kim.
Wayne Howard (1977), Samavedic Chant, Yale University Press,
The Indian scholar and musical theorist Pingala (c. 200 BCE), in his Chanda Sutra, used marks denoting long and short syllables to indicate meters in Sanskrit poetry.A rock inscription circa 7th–8th century CE at Kudumiyanmalai, Tamil Nadu contains an early example of a musical notation. It was first identified and published by archaeologist/epigraphist D. R. Bhandarkar. Written in the Pallava-grantha script of the 7th century, it contains 38 horizontal lines of notation inscribed on a rectangular rock face (dimensions of around 13 by 14 feet). Each line of the notation contains 64 characters (characters representing musical notes), written in groups of four notes. The basic characters for the seven notes, sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, are seen to be suffixed with the vowels a, i, u, e. For example, in the place of sa, any one of sa, si, su or se is used. Similarly, in place of ri, any one of ra, ri, ru or re is used. Horizontal lines divide the notation into 7 sections. Each section contains 4 to 7 lines of notation, with a title indicating its musical 'mode'. These modes may have been popular from at least the 6th century CE and were incorporated into the Indian raga system that developed later. But some of the unusual features seen in this notation have been given several non-conclusive interpretations by scholars.
In the notation of Indian rāga, a solfege-like system called swara is used. As in Western solfege, there are names for the seven basic pitches of a major scale ( Shadja, Rishabha, Gandhara, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada, usually shortened to Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni). The tonic of any scale is named Sa, and the dominant Pa. Sa is fixed in any scale, and Pa is fixed at a fifth above it (a Pythagorean fifth rather than an equal-tempered fifth). These two notes are known as achala swar ('fixed notes').
Each of the other five notes, Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni, can take a 'regular' ( shuddha) pitch, which is equivalent to its pitch in a standard major scale (thus, shuddha Re, the second degree of the scale, is a whole-step higher than Sa), or an altered pitch, either a half-step above or half-step below the shuddha pitch. Re, Ga, Dha and Ni all have altered partners that are a half-step lower ( komal or "flat") (thus, komal Re is a half-step higher than Sa).
Ma has an altered partner that is a half-step higher ( teevra or "sharp") (thus, teevra Ma is an augmented fourth above Sa). Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni are called vikrut swar ('movable notes'). In the written system of Indian notation devised by Ravi Shankar, the pitches are represented by Western letters. Capital letters are used for the achala swar, and for the higher variety of all the vikrut swar. Lowercase letters are used for the lower variety of the vikrut swar.
Other systems exist for non-twelve-tone equal temperament and non-Western music, such as the Indian Swaralipi.
Znamenny Chants are not written with notes (the so-called linear notation), but with special signs, called Znamëna (Russian for "marks", "banners") or Kryuki ("hooks"), as some shapes of these signs resemble hooks. Each sign may include the following components: a large black hook or a black stroke, several smaller black 'points' and 'commas' and lines near the hook or crossing the hook. Some signs may mean only one note, some 2 to 4 notes, and some a whole melody of more than 10 notes with a complicated rhythmic structure. The stolp notation was developed in Kievan Rus' as an East Slavs refinement of the Byzantine music neumatic musical notation.
The most notable feature of this notation system is that it records transitions of the melody, rather than Musical note. The signs also represent the mood and indicate how this part of melody is to be sung (tempo, strength, devotion, meekness, etc.). Every sign has its own name and also features as a spiritual symbol. For example, there is a specific sign, called "little dove" (Russian: голубчик ( golubchik)), which represents two rising sounds, but which is also a symbol of the Holy Ghost. Gradually, the system became more and more complicated. This system was also ambiguous, so that almost no one, except the most trained and educated singers, could sing an unknown melody at sight. The signs only helped to reproduce the melody, not coding it in an unambiguous way. (See Byzantine Empire)
Gongche notation used Chinese characters for the names of the scale.
Ryukyu Islands sanshin music uses kunkunshi, a notation system of kanji with each character corresponding to a finger position on a particular string.
Notes in the ranges outside the central octave are represented with one or more dots above or below each number. For the most part, these cipher notations are mainly used to notate the skeletal melody (the balungan) and vocal parts (gerong), although transcriptions of the elaborative instrument variations are sometimes used for analysis and teaching. Drum parts are notated with a system of symbols largely based on letters representing the vocables used to learn and remember drumming patterns; these symbols are typically laid out in a grid underneath the skeletal melody for a specific or generic piece.
The symbols used for drum notation (as well as the vocables represented) are highly variable from place to place and performer to performer. In addition to these current systems, two older notations used a kind of staff: the Surakarta script could capture the flexible rhythms of the Sindhen with a squiggle on a horizontal staff, while in Yogyakarta, a ladder-like vertical staff allowed notation of the balungan by dots and also included important drum strokes. In Bali, there are a few books published of Gamelan gender wayang pieces employing alphabetical notation in the old Balinese script.
Composers and scholars both Indonesian and foreign have also mapped the slendro and pelog Musical tuning systems of gamelan onto the Western staff, with and without various symbols for microtonal music. The Dutch composer Ton de Leeuw also invented a three-line staff for his composition Gending. However, these systems do not enjoy widespread use.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Indonesian musicians and scholars extended cipher notation to other oral traditions, and a diatonic scale cipher notation has become common for notating Western-related genres (church hymns, popular songs, and so forth). Unlike the cipher notation for gamelan music, which uses a "fixed-Do" (that is, 1 always corresponds to the same pitch, within the natural variability of gamelan tuning), Indonesian diatonic cipher notation is "movable-Do" notation, so scores must indicate which pitch corresponds to the number 1 (for example, "1=C").
Tonic sol-fa is a type of notation using the initial letters of solfège.
The Miscellaneous Symbols block has a few of the more common symbols:
The Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block has three emoji that may include depictions of musical notes:
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