Modern musical symbols

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This is intended to be a comprehensive guide on the various symbols encountered in modern musical notation.

1 Lines
2 Clefs
3 Notes and rests
4 Pauses
5 Accidentals and key signatures
6 Time signatures
7 Note Relationships
8 Dynamics
9 Articulation marks
10 Ornaments
11 Octaves
12 Pedal marks
13 Repetition and codas
14 See also
15 References

[edit] Lines

	Staff The fundamental latticework of a musical score, upon which symbols are placed. The five staff lines and intervening spaces each correspond to the seven repeating pitches of the diatonic scale, as defined by the clef. For example, on a staff with a treble clef, the bottom staff line is assigned to E above middle C (E4 in note-octave notation). The space above it is F4, and so on. A common use of the staff is the grand staff, which combines bass and treble staffs into one system, joined by a brace, and used for keyboard music notation.
	Ledger lines Used to extend the staff if any pitches fall above or below it. Such ledger lines are placed behind the note heads, and extend a small distance to each side. Four lines is the practical limit for most situations.
	Bar line Used to separate two measures (see time signatures below for an explanation of measures). Bar lines are extended to connect the upper and lower staves of a grand staff.
	Double bar line Used to separate two sections or phrases of music.
	Dotted bar line Subdivides long measures into shorter segments for ease of reading.

[edit] Clefs

Clefs define the pitch range, or tessitura, of the staff on which it is placed. A clef is usually the leftmost symbol on a staff. Additional clefs may appear in the middle of a staff to indicate a change in register for instruments with a wide range. In early music, clefs could be placed on any of several lines on a staff.

	G clef (Treble Clef) The centre of the spiral defines the line or space upon which it rests as the pitch G above middle C, or approximately 392 Hz. Positioned here, it assigns G above middle C to the second line from the bottom of the staff, and is referred to as the "treble clef." This is the most commonly encountered clef in modern notation, and is used for most modern vocal music.
	C clef (Alto Clef) This clef points to the line (or space, rarely) representing middle C, or approximately 262 Hz. Positioned here, it makes the centre line on the staff middle C, and is referred to as the "alto clef." This clef is used in modern notation for the viola.
	F clef (Bass Clef) The line or space between the dots in this clef denotes F below middle C, or approximately 175 Hz. Positioned here, it makes the second line from the top of the staff F below middle C, and is called a "bass clef." This clef appears nearly as often as the treble clef.
	Neutral clef Used for pitchless instruments, such as those used for percussion. Each line can represent a specific percussion instrument within a set, such as in a drum set. Two different styles of neutral clefs are pictured here. It may also be drawn with a separate single-line stave for each untuned percussion instrument.

Treble and bass clefs can also be modified by octave numbers. An eight or fifteen above a clef raises the intended pitch range by one or two octaves respectively. Similarly, an eight or fifteen below a clef lowers the pitch range by one or two octaves respectively.

[edit] Notes and rests

Note and rest values are not absolutely defined, but are proportional in duration to all other note and rest values. For the purpose of definition, the duration of the quarter note is represented by R, for "reference length."

Note	Duration	Rest
	Longa Also called a "quadruple whole." This value appears in early music. Duration: R × 16
	Breve Also called a "double whole." Duration: R × 8
	Semibreve Also called a "whole." Duration: R × 4
	Minim Also called a "half." Duration: R × 2
	Crotchet Also called a "quarter." Duration: R
	Quaver Also called an "eighth." Duration: R / 2
	Semiquaver Also called a "sixteenth". Note the correspondence between the number of flags on the note and the number of branches or pawls on the rest. Duration: R / 4
	Demisemiquaver Also called a "thirty-second." Duration: R / 8
	Hemidemisemiquaver Also called a "sixty-fourth." Duration: R / 16
	Quasihemidemisemiquaver Also called a "hundred-twenty-eighth or "semihemidemisemiquaver." Duration: R / 32
	Beamed notes Beams connect and emphasize quavers and shorter note values.
	Dotted note Placing dots to the right of the corresponding notehead lengthens that note's duration. One dot lengthens the note by one-half its value, two dots by three-quarters, three dots by seven-eighths, and so on. Rests can be dotted in the same manner as notes.
	Multi-measure rest Indicates the number of measures in a resting part without a change in meter, used to conserve space. This requires the performer to count carefully, preceding their next entrance. Also called "gathered rest" or "multi-bar rest".

Durations shorter than the 128^th are not unknown. 256^th notes occur in works of Vivaldi and even Beethoven. An extreme case is the Toccata Grande Cromatica by early-19th-century American composer Anthony Phillip Heinrich, which uses note values as short as 2048^ths; however, the context shows clearly that these notes have one beam more than intended, so they should really be 1024^th notes. The duration and name of these notes can be easily found with two simple formulae.
The name is: a $2 (n u m b e r o f f l a g s o n n o t e + 2)$ ^th note.
The number of beats it receives is $\frac{1}{2^{(number of flags on note + 2)}\div \mbox{bottom number of time signature}}$ of a beat.
These two formulae can also be applied to the branches or pawls on eighth- and smaller rests.

[edit] Pauses

	Breath mark In a score, this symbol tells the performer to take a short breath (or make a slight pause for non-wind instruments). This pause usually does not affect the overall tempo. For stringed instruments it indicates to lift the bow and play the next note with a downward bow.
	Caesura or Grand Pause Indicates a brief, silent pause, during which time is not counted. In ensemble playing, time resumes when so indicated by the conductor or leader. More commonly called "railroad tracks."

[edit] Accidentals and key signatures

Accidentals modify the pitch of the notes that follow them on the same staff position within a measure, unless cancelled by an additional accidental.

	Double flat Lowers the pitch of a note by two chromatic semitones.
	Flat-and-a-half Lowers the pitch of a note by three quarter tones. (Used in microtonal music.)
	Flat Lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone.
	Demiflat Lowers the pitch of a note by one quarter tone. (Used in microtonal music.)
	Natural Cancels a previous accidental, or modifies the pitch of a sharp or flat as defined by the prevailing key signature (such as F-sharp in the key of G major, for example).
	Demisharp Raises the pitch of a note by one quarter tone. (Used in microtonal music.)
	Sharp Raises the pitch of a note by one semitone.
	Sharp-and-a-half Raises the pitch of a note by three quarter tones. (Used in microtonal music.)
	Double sharp Raises the pitch of a note by two chromatic semitones.

Key signatures define the prevailing key of the music that follows, thus avoiding the use of accidentals for many notes. If no key signature appears, the key is assumed to be C major/A minor, but can also signify a neutral key, employing individual accidentals as required for each note. The key signature examples shown here are described as they would appear on a treble staff.

Flat key signature
Lowers by a semitone the pitch of notes on the corresponding line or space, thus defining the prevailing major or minor key. Different keys are denoted by differing numbers of accidentals, starting with the leftmost, i.e., B♭, and proceeding to the right; for example, if only the first two flats are used, the key is B♭ major/G minor, and all B's and E's are "flatted", i.e. lowered to B♭ and E♭.

Sharp key signature
Raises by a semitone the pitch of notes on the corresponding line or space, also defining the prevailing major or minor key. Different keys are denoted by differing numbers of accidentals, also proceeding from left to right; for example, if only the first four sharps are used, the key is E major/C♯ minor, and the corresponding pitches on the staff are raised.

[edit] Time signatures

Time signatures define the meter of the music. Music is "marked off" in uniform sections called measures, and time signatures establish the number of beats in each. This is not necessarily intended to indicate which beats are emphasized, however. The same music marked off in measures of a different duration will sound precisely the same if properly played, but since music could be marked off in infinitely many ways, it makes sense to mark it off in a way that conveys information about the way the piece actually sounds, and those time signatures tend to suggest, but only suggest, prevailing groupings of beats or pulses.

	Specific time The bottom number represents the note value of the basic pulse of the music (in this case the 4 represents the quarter-note). The top number indicates how many of these note values appear in each measure. This example announces that each measure is the equivalent length of three crotchets (quarter-notes).		Common time This symbol is a throwback to sixteenth century rhythmic notation. It once meant the equivalent of 2/4. and now means the equivalent of 4/4 (See imperfect time).
	Cut time Indicates 2/2 time, also called Alla breve.
	Metronome mark Written at the start of a score, and at any significant change of tempo, this symbol precisely defines the tempo of the music by assigning absolute durations to all note values within the score. In this particular example, the performer is told that 120 crotchets, or quarter notes, fit into one minute of time.

[edit] Note Relationships

	Tie Indicates that the two notes joined together are to be played as one note. This can also indicate a note sustained over two or more measures.
	Slur Indicates that the two notes are to be played in one physical stroke, one uninterrupted breath, or (on instruments with neither breath nor bow) connected into a phrase as if played in a single breath. Slurs and ties are similar in appearance. A tie is distinguishable because it always joins exactly two immediate adjacent notes of the same pitch, whereas a slur may join any number of notes of varying pitches.
	Legato Notes covered by this sign are to be played with no gaps. Sometimes indistinguishable from a slur.
	Glissando A steady glide from one note to the next.
	Ligature Also known as a phrase mark. Usually appears in music for string instruments to indicate bowing.
	Triplet Condenses three notes into the normal duration of two notes. If the involved notes are beamed, the brackets on either side of the number can be omitted. This can be generalized to a tuplet, where a certain number of notes are condensed into the normal duration of the greatest integer power of two notes less than that number, e.g., six notes played in the normal duration of four notes.
	Chord Three or more notes played simultaneously. If only two notes are played, it is called an interval.
	Arpeggio Like a chord, except the notes are played one at a time in sequence. Also known as a rolled chord or a spread chord.

[edit] Dynamics

Dynamics are indicators of the relative intensity or volume of a musical line.

	Pianissimo Very soft. Usually the softest indication in a piece of music.
	Piano Soft. Usually the most often used indication.
	Mezzo-piano Literally, half as soft as piano.
	Mezzo-forte Similarly, half as loud as forte. More commonly used than mezzo-piano. Note: if no dynamic appears, mezzo-forte is assumed to be the prevailing dynamic level.
	Forte Loud. Used as often as piano to indicate contrast.
	Fortissimo Very loud. Usually the loudest indication in a piece.
	Sforzando Literally "straining", denotes a strong, sudden increase in volume.
	Crescendo A gradual increase in volume. Can be extended under many notes to indicate that the volume steadily increases during the passage.
	Diminuendo or Decrescendo A gradual decrease in volume. Can be extended in the same manner as crescendo.

[edit] Articulation marks

Articulations (or accents) specify how individual notes are to be performed within a phrase or passage. They can be fine-tuned by combining more than one such symbol over or under a note. They may also appear in conjunction with phrasing marks listed above.

	Staccato This indicates that the note is to be played shorter than notated, usually half the value, the rest of the metric value is then silent. Staccato marks may thus appear on notes of any value, thus shortening their actual performed duration without speeding up the music itself.
	Staccatissimo Indicates a longer silence after the note (as described above), making the note very short. Usually applied to quarter-notes or shorter. (In the past, this marking's meaning was more ambiguous: it sometimes was used interchangeably with staccato, and sometimes indicated an accent and not staccato. These usages are now defunct, but still appears in some older scores.)
	Marcato or Accent The note is played louder or with a harder attack than any surrounding unaccented notes. May appear on notes of any duration.
	Left-hand pizzicato or Stopped note A note on a stringed instrument where the string is plucked with the left hand (the hand that usually stops the strings) rather than bowed. On the horn, this accent indicates a "stopped note" (a note played with the stopping hand shoved further into the bell of the horn).
	Snap pizzicato On a stringed instrument, a note played by stretching a string away from the frame of the instrument and letting it go, making it "snap" against the frame. Also known as a Bartók pizzicato.
	Natural harmonic or Open note On a stringed instrument, denotes that a natural harmonic is to be played. On a valved brass instrument, denotes that the note is to be played "open" (without lowering any valve).
	Tenuto This symbol has two meanings. It usually indicates that it be played for its full value, without any silence between it and the next note, but with a separate attack (non legato). It can also direct the performer to give the note a slight accent. Combining a tenuto with a staccato yields a "portato," which indicates intermediate note-lengths, detached but not quite staccato.
	Fermata An indefinitely-sustained note or chord. Usually appears over all parts at the same metrical location in a piece, to show a halt in tempo.
	Sull'arco On a bowed string instrument, the note is played while drawing the bow upward.
	Giù arco Like sull'arco, except the bow is drawn downward.

[edit] Ornaments

Ornaments modify the pitch pattern of individual notes.

	Trill A rapid alternation between the specified note and the next higher tone or semitone within its duration. Also called a "shake." When followed by a wavy horizontal line, this symbol indicates an extended, or running, trill.
	Mordent An insertion of the semitone below the specified note within its value (this particular case can be called a "lower mordent"). Without the vertical line, the inserted semitone is above the specified note, and the ornament is known as an upper mordent.
	Turn Also known as a gruppetto, combines an upper mordent and a lower mordent, in that order, into the specified note's value. If the symbol is reversed, the lower mordent is played first.
	Grace note Also known as an appoggiatura, it means the first half of the principal note's duration has the pitch of the grace note (the first two-thirds if the principal note is a dotted note).
	Slashed grace note Also known as an acciaccatura, it means the principal note's duration begins with the pitch of the grace note for only a very small part of the principal note's value.

[edit] Octaves

Ottava alta
Notes below the dashed line are played one octave higher than notated.

Ottava bassa
Notes above the dashed line are played one octave lower than notated.

Quindicesima alta
Notes below the dashed line are played two octaves higher.

Quindicesima bassa
Notes above the dashed line are played two octaves lower.

[edit] Pedal marks

These pedal marks appear in music for the piano.

	Engage pedal Tells the pianist to put the sustain pedal down.
	Release pedal Tells the pianist to let the sustain pedal up.
	Variable pedal mark More accurately indicates the precise use of the sustain pedal. The extended lower line tells the pianist to keep the sustain pedal depressed for all notes below which it appears. The inverted "V" shape indicates the pedal is to be momentarily released, then depressed again.

[edit] Repetition and codas

	Tremolo A rapidly-repeated note. If the tremolo is between two notes, then they are played in rapid alternation. The number of slashes through the stem (or number of diagonal bars between two notes) indicates the frequency at which the note is to be repeated (or alternated). As shown here, the note is to be repeated at a demisemiquaver (thirty-second note) rate.
	Repeat signs Enclose a passage that is to be played more than once. If there is no left repeat sign, the right repeat sign sends the performer back to the start of the piece.
	Simile marks Denote that preceding groups of beats or measures are to be repeated.
	Volta brackets (1st and 2nd endings) Denote that a repeated passage is to be played in different ways on different playings.
	Da capo Tells the performer to repeat playing of the song from its beginning. This is followed by al fine, which means to repeat to the word fine and stop, or al coda, which means repeat to the coda sign and then jump forward.
	Dal segno Tells the performer to repeat playing of the song starting at the nearest segno. This is followed by al fine or al coda just as with da capo.
	Segno Mark used with dal segno.
	Coda Indicates a forward jump in the song to its ending passage, marked with the same sign. Only used after playing through a D.S. al coda or D.C. al coda.