music notation glossary
this music notation glossary explains the words you meet when you read or write sheet music, from staff and clef to tuplet, voicing and MusicXML, in one or two plain sentences each. the terms are grouped by topic, and each definition links to a longer guide where there is one.
- the staff, clefs and pitch
- rhythm and time
- keys and harmony
- markings and form
- scores, parts and files
what is music notation?
music notation is the system of symbols used to write music down so someone else can play it: notes on a staff for pitch and length, a clef and key signature to fix the pitches, a time signature for the beat, and markings for loudness, speed and style. sheet music is music notation on a page or screen.
the staff, clefs and pitch
- staff (or stave)
- the five horizontal lines and four spaces that notes are written on. higher on the staff means higher in pitch.
- clef
- the symbol at the start of a staff that fixes which pitch each line stands for. without it, a note's position means nothing.
- treble clef (G clef)
- a clef that curls around the second line from the bottom, marking it as the G above middle C. used for high instruments and the piano's right hand.
- bass clef (F clef)
- a clef whose two dots sit either side of the fourth line, marking it as the F below middle C. used for low instruments and the piano's left hand.
- grand staff
- a treble staff and a bass staff joined by a brace, as in piano music, with middle C on a ledger line between them.
- ledger line
- a short extra line above or below the staff for a note that is too high or too low to fit on it.
- accidental
- a sharp (♯), flat (♭) or natural (♮) written before a note. it raises, lowers or restores the note until the end of that bar.
- enharmonic
- two spellings of the same sound, such as F♯ and G♭. the key decides which spelling is correct on the page.
- concert pitch
- the actual sounding pitch. a concert-pitch score shows every instrument at the note you hear. see transposing instruments.
- transposing instrument
- an instrument whose part is written at a different pitch from the sound, such as the B♭ trumpet, whose written C sounds as B♭.
rhythm and time
- time signature
- two stacked numbers after the key signature. the top says how many beats are in a bar; the bottom says which note value gets one beat.
- bar (or measure)
- a unit of time between two barlines. every bar holds exactly the number of beats the time signature gives.
- note value
- how long a note lasts: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth. each is half the length of the one before.
- rest
- a symbol for silence, with a length that matches the note value it is named after.
- dot
- a dot after a note adds half of its value, so a dotted half note lasts three beats in 4/4.
- tie
- a curved line joining two notes of the same pitch into one longer sound, often across a barline. not to be confused with a slur.
- tuplet
- a group of notes played in the time of a different number, marked with a bracket and number, such as a triplet: three notes in the time of two.
- beam
- a thick line joining the stems of eighth notes and shorter values, grouped so each beat is easy to see.
- compound meter
- a meter whose beat divides into three, such as 6/8, felt as two beats of three eighth notes each.
- pickup (anacrusis)
- one or more notes before the first full bar, as when a song starts on the word before the downbeat.
- syncopation
- rhythm that stresses an offbeat or a weak beat instead of the strong beat the meter expects.
keys and harmony
- key signature
- the sharps or flats after the clef that apply all the way through. it tells you the key, up to a choice between a major key and its relative minor. see the circle of fifths.
- relative minor
- the minor key that shares a key signature with a major key, three half steps below it: A minor for C major.
- interval
- the distance between two notes, named by counting letter names (a third, a fifth) and qualified as major, minor, perfect, augmented or diminished.
- chord
- three or more notes sounding together. a triad stacks two thirds; a seventh chord adds a third more.
- chord symbol
- a shorthand above the staff, such as Cmaj7 or G7/B, naming a chord's root, quality and bass note. use the chord identifier to name one from its notes.
- Roman numeral
- a chord named by its place in the key, such as V for the chord on the fifth note, so a progression works in any key.
- cadence
- the chords that end a phrase. V to I is an authentic cadence, the strongest "ending" sound.
- voicing
- the way a chord's notes are arranged: their octaves, their order and which are doubled or left out. see how to voice chords.
- inversion
- a chord with a note other than its root in the bass. C/E is C major in first inversion.
- harmonization
- choosing chords or extra parts to go under a melody. see how to harmonize a melody.
markings and form
dynamics are usually written as Italian abbreviations under the staff. this is the common set, from softest to loudest.
| marking | Italian word | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pp | pianissimo | very soft |
| p | piano | soft |
| mp | mezzo-piano | moderately soft |
| mf | mezzo-forte | moderately loud |
| f | forte | loud |
| ff | fortissimo | very loud |
| cresc. or < | crescendo | getting louder |
| dim. or > | diminuendo | getting softer |
- articulation
- a mark on a note that shapes its attack or length: a dot for staccato (short), a line for tenuto (full length), a wedge for an accent.
- slur
- a curved line over notes of different pitches, meaning play them smoothly in one breath or bow.
- tempo marking
- the speed of the music, as a word such as andante or as beats per minute, such as ♩ = 96.
- fermata
- a curve with a dot over a note or rest, meaning hold it longer than written.
- repeat sign
- a double barline with two dots, telling the player to go back and play a section again.
- D.C. and D.S.
- da capo means go back to the beginning; dal segno means go back to the sign (𝄋). both often end "al coda" or "al fine".
- rehearsal mark
- a boxed letter or bar number at the start of a section, so a group can say "from letter B".
scores, parts and files
- score
- the music for every instrument together, one staff per part, stacked so the conductor or composer sees everything at once.
- part
- the music for one player only, printed in that instrument's own key.
- lead sheet
- a melody on one staff with chord symbols above and lyrics below, the standard way to write a song. see how to make a lead sheet.
- scorewriter (notation software)
- software for writing, playing back and printing sheet music, such as notei, MuseScore, Sibelius or Dorico. see notation software compared.
- engraving
- the layout and drawing of printed music: spacing, beaming, stem directions and page turns. the word comes from the metal plates music was once printed from.
- MusicXML
- the open file format notation programs use to swap scores. it keeps notes, rhythms, parts and markings, and almost every scorewriter reads it.
- MIDI
- a format and protocol for musical performance data: which notes play, when and how hard. it carries no notation, so spelling and layout are lost.
- MSCZ
- MuseScore's own score file. see how to open an MSCZ file online.
common questions about notation terms
what is the difference between a tie and a slur?
a tie joins two notes of the same pitch, so they sound as one longer note. a slur joins notes of different pitches, so they are played smoothly with no break between them. they look almost the same; the pitches tell you which one it is.
what is the difference between a bar and a measure?
nothing. "bar" is the usual word in British English and "measure" in American English. both mean the stretch of music between two barlines.
what is the difference between a score and a part?
a score shows every instrument at once, stacked on separate staves. a part shows one instrument's music only, often transposed into the key that player reads. a conductor reads the score; each player reads a part.
sources
- Open Music Theory: introduction to Western musical notation
- Open Music Theory: notating rhythm
- Wikipedia: glossary of musical terminology
- MusicXML 4.0 specification, W3C Music Notation Community Group
this glossary is part of the how to write sheet music guide series. notei publishes it, and notei is our product.
written and checked by the notei team. how these guides are written and corrected.