Music Symbols Part 1

This article is made for the time when you see a foreign symbol in any notes that you might encounter and you want to know what it means. I will start from the beginning, with notes, rests and things you might already know, just to make sure that everything can be looked up in this explanation.

Those lines are called “Staff”. Its is the ground on which notes, songs and melodies are written down. The first kind of staff was used by monks in the early years of the 8th century.

Those are called “ledger” or “ledger lines”. They come in handy if a note is higher or lower than the notes that fit in the five “Staff” lines. They have the same function as the “Staff”

The line separating the “Staff” is called “bar line” or “Barline” . Its job is to, as the name already calls, separate bars.

This is the “double bar line”. It shows that a change in the music is happening. The key could change or the tempo or the theme.

This is called “bold double bar line”. It shows the end of a piece of music.

This is a “Bracket”. It connects two lines of music that sound simultaniously. In an orchestra it can be two instruments playing the same melody.

This is called a “Brace”. It differs from a Bracket in the way that it just connects two lines that are played by the same instrument, like a piano for example.

Clefs

This is the “treble-clef”. It shows in what note and what line holds which name and tune. This is the most used and common clef. Where the clef starts with the thin end the note is called “g”.

This is the “alto-clef”. It has the same function as the treble clef, just gives the lines other names and tunes. The middle line, where the two bellies meet there is the “c”.

This clef is called the “tenor-clef”. Again where the two bellies meet there is the “c”. It is one line higher now.

This is called the “F-clef”. The “f” is between the two points. This clef is most commonly used by musical accompaniment.

This clef is the “octave-clef”. The treble-clef and the F-clef can be modified by an eight under the clef. This shows that the note has the same pitch as with the normal clef, just one octave higher.

Those are called “neutral-staff”. They have not the same function as a normal staff and do not show the pitch of the notes. They more likely serve as place holders for the place where a clef should be. The lines and spaces do not represent any pitch. They are used for instruments with out a pitch like drums or percussion.

Special symbols for notes:

“Beamed notes”. Eight notes (quavers) have flags to separate them from quarter notes. If two eighth notes are next to each other they also can be connected by a beam instead of a flag.

A dot next to a note makes it a “dotted note”. A dot makes it longer. Exactly half of its original length longer.

This is a “ghost note”. It does not represent any pitch. They are used by composers to show rhythmic parts or parts in singing that are only spoken.

Special Breaks

This is called a “multi measure rest”. Its a compact way to indicate multiple measures of rest.

This is called a “breath mark”. It indicates when the composer suggest the musician to breath. It is not supposed to interrupt the tempo. For instruments with a bow it shows the musician

This “caesura” shows a break where the time is not counted.

Accidentals

“Flat”. Lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone.

“Sharp”. Raises the pitch of a note by one semitone.

“Neutral”. Renders null a sharp or a flat. The sharp or flat may have been indicated as an accidental or defined by the key signature.

“Double flat”. Lowers the pitch of a note by two semitones. Usually used when the note is already flat in the key signature.

“Double sharp”. It works the same as with the “Double flat”. But instead of lowering the pitch gets risen by two semitones.

All the images used in this article are from : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_symbols”.