"Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols."
The system of writing down music using symbols and markings to indicate pitch, rhythm, and dynamics.
Pitch: The highness or lowness of a sound.
Clef: A symbol at the beginning of the staff that determines the pitches of the notes.
Staff: The set of five horizontal lines and four spaces on which music is written.
Note: A symbol indicating the duration and pitch of a sound.
Rest: A symbol indicating a period of silence.
Time signature: A symbol at the beginning of a piece of music that indicates the number of beats per measure.
Tempo: The speed at which a piece of music is played.
Dynamics: The level of volume in music, indicated by symbols such as "f" for forte (loud) and "p" for piano (soft).
Articulation: The manner in which notes are played, indicated by symbols such as staccato (short and detached) or legato (smooth and connected).
Key signature: A symbol at the beginning of a piece of music that indicates the key in which the piece is written.
Musical form: The structure or organization of a piece of music, such as ABA or sonata form.
Ornaments: Decorative musical flourishes, such as trills or grace notes, that add interest to a melody.
Transposition: The process of changing the key of a piece of music to accommodate different instruments or vocal ranges.
Sight-reading: The ability to read and perform music at first sight, without prior practice or rehearsal.
Enharmonics: Notes that are spelled differently but sound the same, such as C# and Db.
Staff notation: The most common type of musical notation, which uses a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces to represent pitch and rhythm.
Tablature: A type of notation commonly used for stringed instruments, which uses lines to represent strings and numbers to indicate which fret to play.
Chord symbols: A type of notation used in jazz and popular music, which uses letters and symbols to indicate chords and their inversions.
Lead sheets: A type of notation commonly used in jazz and popular music, which combines melody, lyrics, and chord symbols.
Drum notation: A type of notation used for percussion instruments, which uses symbols to represent different drum sounds and rhythms.
Graphic notation: A type of notation that uses graphical elements such as shapes, symbols, and diagrams to represent musical elements such as pitch, rhythm, and dynamics.
Piano roll notation: A type of notation used in player pianos, which uses holes punched in a scroll of paper to represent notes, rhythms, and dynamics.
Shape notation: A type of notation that uses abstract shapes and symbols to represent music, created by the composer Cornelius Cardew.
Solfege notation: A type of notation that uses syllables to represent different pitches, commonly used in vocal training and singing.
Neume notation: A type of notation used in medieval and early Renaissance music, which uses symbols to represent individual notes and rhythms.
Microtonal notation: A type of notation used in music that employs intervals smaller than the conventional Western system of twelve equal half-steps, such as quarter-tones or smaller.
Numerical notation: A type of notation commonly used in computer-generated music, which assigns numerical values to represent pitch, rhythm, and other musical elements.
"The types and methods of notation have varied between cultures and throughout history."
"Much information about ancient music notation is fragmentary."
"Even in the same time period, such as in the 2010s, different styles of music and different cultures use different music notation methods."
"For professional classical music performers, sheet music using staves and noteheads is the most common way of notating music."
"For professional country music session musicians, the Nashville Number System is the main method."
"The symbols used include ancient symbols and modern symbols made upon any media such as symbols cut into stone, made in clay tablets, made using a pen on papyrus or parchment or manuscript paper; printed using a printing press (c. 1400s), a computer printer (c. 1980s) or other printing or modern copying technology."
"The church began notating plainchant melodies so that the same chants could be used throughout the church."
"Music 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."
"Notation continued to develop as new musical instrument technologies were developed."
"In the contemporary classical music of the 20th and 21st century, music notation has continued to develop, with the introduction of graphical notation by some modern composers and the use, since the 1980s, of computer-based score writer programs for notating music."
"Music notation has been adapted to many kinds of music, including classical music, popular music, and traditional music."
"Although many ancient cultures used symbols to represent melodies and rhythms..."
"The church began notating plainchant melodies so that the same chants could be used throughout the church."
"In the classical period (1750–1820) and the Romantic music era (1820–1900), notation continued to develop..."
"...with the introduction of graphical notation by some modern composers..."
"...and the use, since the 1980s, of computer-based score writer programs for notating music."
"Music notation has been adapted to many kinds of music, including classical music, popular music, and traditional music."
"Music notation has been adapted to many kinds of music, including classical music, popular music, and traditional music."