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Music Notation Symbols
(not a complete List of notations)
Clefs - Notes and Rests - Accidentals - Relationships - Dynamics - Accents - Repeats
Music Notation consists of a collection of music symbols that are used to better define the structure of a musical composition. These musical symbols will tell us the pitch that a song is played in, (clefs), the key that it is played using a key signature composed of sharps and flats, a pitch change in the composition, (sharps and flats), and where the silences between the notes are to be played, (rests). Some of theses music symbols also tell us where,and when to emphasize, or de-emphasize a particular segment of the music , ( accents , dynamics), or when to play a passage more than once, (repeats). There are different types of clefs, rests, dynamics, accents, accidentals and repeat symbols used in music notation, each one having a unique characteristic, and their use depends on what the composer wishes to accomplish in his musical score.
CLEFS
A Clef (from the French for "key") is a musical symbol used to indicate the pitch of written notes. Placed on one of the lines at the beginning of the staff, it indicates the name and pitch of the notes on that line. This line serves as a reference point by which the names of the notes on any other line or space of the staff may be determined. The two clefs that we most commonly use today are the G clef or treble clef, and the F clef or bass clef.
G clef (Treble Clef) - The center of the spiral defines the line or space upon which it rests as the pitch range of the composition
C clef (Alto Clef) - This clef points to the line (or space, rarely) representing middle C
F clef (Bass Clef) - The line or space between the dots in this clef denotes the pitch range
Octave Clef - Treble and bass clefs can also be modified by octave numbers
Neutral Clef - Used for pitch-less instruments, such as some of those used for percussion
A Rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a sign indicating the length of the pause. Each rest symbol corresponds with a particular note value
Multi-Measure Rest - Indicates the number of measures in a resting part depending upon the number over the rest
Double Bar Line - Used at changes in key signature, major changes in style or tempo, or to separate 2 phrases of music
Dotted Bar Line - Divides long measures into shorter segments for ease of reading
Beamed Notes -Beams connect and emphasize quavers, (1/8 notes), and shorter note values
Ledger Lines - Used to extend the staff to pitches that fall above or below it
Breath Mark - In a score, this symbol tells the performer to make a slight pause
An accidental is a note whose pitch is not a member of a scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the symbols used to mark such notes, sharps, flats, and natural, may also be called accidentals. An accidental sign raises or lowers the following note from its normal pitch, usually by a semitone, although microtonal music may use "fractional" accidental signs, and one occasionally sees double sharps or flats, which raise or lower the indicated note by a whole tone. Accidentals apply within the measure and octave in which they appear and modify the pitch of the notes that follow them on the same staff unless cancelled by an another accidental.
Demiflat - Lowers the pitch of a note by one quarter tone
Flat - Lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone, or one half step
Flat-and-a-Half - Lowers the pitch of a note by three quarter tones
Double Flat - Lowers the pitch of a note by two chromatic semitones, or one whole step
Natural - Cancels a previous accidental, or modifies the pitch of a sharp or flat as defined by the prevailing key signature
Demisharp - Raises the pitch of a note by one quarter tone
Sharp - Raises the pitch of a note by one semitone
Sharp-and-a-Half - Raises the pitch of a note by three quarter tones
Double Sharp - Raises the pitch of a note by two chromatic semitones
Common Time - The equivalent of 4/4 time
Cut Time - Indicates 2/2 time
Metronome Mark - Defines the tempo of the music by assigning the durations of the note values within the score
Triplet - Condenses three notes into the normal duration of two notes
Ligature - Also known as a phrase mark. A group of notes intended to be played or sung as one phrase.
Tie - Indicates that the two notes joined together are to be played as one note. A tie joins two notes of the same pitch
Legato - Notes covered by this sign are to be played with no gaps. Sometimes indistinguishable from a slur
Glissando (Portamento) - A continuous, unbroken glide from one note to the next that includes the pitches in between
Slur - Used in musical notation to indicate a group of notes that must be played smoothly. A slur may join any number of notes of varying pitches
Chord (Triad) - Three or more notes played simultaneously. If only two notes are played, it is called an interval
Arpeggio or Rolled chord - Like a chord, except the notes are played in rapid sequence
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a note or the relative intensity of a note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic (staccato, legato etc.) or functional (velocity). In short they indicate the relative intensity or volume of a musical line
Piano - Soft
Mezzo-piano - Half as soft as piano
Pianissimo - Very soft. Usually the softest indication in a piece of music
Forte - Loud
Mezzo-Forte - Half as loud as forte
Fortissimo - Very loud. Usually the loudest indication in a piece
Sforzando - Denotes an abrupt, fierce accent on a single sound or chord
Decrescendo - A gradual decrease in volume, usually extends for several notes
Crescendo - A gradual increase in volume, usually extends for several notes
Accents and Articulations specify how individual notes are to be performed within a passage. In music, an accent is an emphasis placed on a particular note, either as a result of its context or specifically indicated by an accent mark. A tonic accent is an emphasis on a note by virtue of being higher in pitch than surrounding notes. An agogic accent is an emphasis by virtue of being longer in duration than surrounding notes, in a way that shifts their time of onset. Dynamic accents are created when one note is louder than another.
Accent - The note is played louder or with a harder attack than any surrounding notes
Staccato - This indicates that the note is to be played shorter than notated, usually half the value
Staccatissimo - Indicates a longer silence after the note (as described above), making the note very short
Fermata - An indefinitely-sustained note or chord
Natural Harmonic or Open note - On a stringed instrument, denotes that a natural harmonic is to be played
Marcato - The note is played much louder or with a much harder attack than any surrounding notes
Trill - A rapid alternation between the specified note and the next higher tone or semitone within its duration
Tremolo - A rapidly-repeated note. If the tremolo is between two notes, then they are played in rapid alternation
Grace Note - The first half of the principal note's duration has the pitch of the grace note
Repeats give specific directions for navigating passages. In music, a repeat sign is the sign which indicates a section should be repeated. If the piece has one repeat sign alone, then that means to repeat from the beginning, and then continue on (or stop, if the sign appears at the end of the piece). A corresponding sign facing the other way indicates where the repeat is to begin. These are similar to the instructions da capo and dal segno.
Where the composer wants a different ending for the second time a repeat is played, they will place number brackets above the bars which are to be played the first time (1), and those which are to be played the second time (2). These are referred to as "first-time bar" and "second-time bar," or "first and second endings." Numbers higher than two can be given as well, which implies that the passage is repeated as many times as the highest ending number given.
Da Capo - Tells the performer to repeat playing of the song from its beginning. This is followed by al fine or al coda
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
Segno - Sign that marks the beginning or end of a musical repeat, 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
Volta Brackets (1st and 2nd endings) - Denote that a repeated passage is to be played in different ways on different playings
Repeat Signs - Enclose a passage that is to be played more than once
Simile Marks - Denote that preceding groups of beats or measures are to be repeated, more than once
Next - Music Scales
The Music Staff | Rests | Dotted Notes | Tied Notes | Timing | Time Signatures | Music Notation | Chromatic Scale | Major Diatonic Scale
Minor Diatonic Scale | Scale Modes | Complimentary Scales | Pentatonic Scale | Blues Scale | Chord Theory | Circle of Fifths
Alternate Guitar Tuning | Finger Picking | More Fingers | Intonation
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_musical_symbols