Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [notation]

For questions about visual representation of music and its uses. If the question is about a specific type of notation like tablature, that should also be tagged. Questions about how to input specific notation are best served with the engraving tag.

Notation is the visual representation of auditory phenomena, often for a musician's benefit. Music can be represented in many ways, some of which emphasize higher-level structure and facilitate analysis, while other methods simply instruct a performer on how to perform a piece. One common method, sheet music, indicates the pitches to be sounded by their position on a staff, and their durations via abstract symbols.

See also the discussion at What is the relationship between the notation and engraving tags?

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What is the meaning of this small vertical line?

During this question about "China Gates" by John Adams another question came up: What is the meaning of the little vertical line in bass clef bar 4 in front of the C? The same mark re-appears several times in the piece, for example in bar 19 in…
Arsak
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Two whole notes on the same measure, what does it mean?

I'm starting to analyze the Slavic March by Tchaikovsky. In measures 6, 8 and 9 the Clarinet has these repeated whole notes, but I don't know what they mean (I'm not a clarinetist). The bassoon/fagotto also has the same repeated whole notes in…
Víctor López García
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What do Four Vertical Dots mean?

I was looking through a score by Bartok (5th String Quartet) and came across a symbol I didn't recognize. There is a dot between each line in the clef. What does this mean? Edit: Here's another example, which looks more like a barline:
Josiah
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Music Notation - Little notes

Can someone please tell me what the little notes (4 bars after C) are called?
user2950895
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Why are only even values used for note duration?

So, I was wondering why there are only even numbered notes? Like half, quarter, and eighth and so on.
user139024
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Is there a historical reason why we say "C sharp" but notate on the staff "sharp C"?

Early music students are often confused with where to place accidentals: When we speak, we say the note name first and then the accidental: C sharp. When we're writing away from the staff, we do the same: C♯. But when we notate in the staff, we…
Richard
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Do triplets always have a 3 written on top?

I was told by my teacher that a triplet will always have a three written on top. I've also seen this in theory books for graded exams which have also said that any triplet grouping will have a bracket around it. And I've read in other places that…
user74651
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What does a pair of ceiling brackets mean?

I was reading a piece of music (a modern transcription of Begli Occhi by Barbara Strozzi, 1654), and came across a puzzling bit of notation: a pair of ceiling brackets (the upper halves of square brackets) above the staff around two pairs of notes.…
Steve
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What is the correct way of filling a 9/8 bar with a single note?

Similar to how you can fill a whole 4/4 bar with a single whole note, what is the best or most correct/readable way to fill a 9/8 bar with one note? I was thinking about a dotted half note tied with a dotted quarter note, but it looks a bit funny.
michaeljan
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Notation for blind people?

Let's assume a person can no longer see, but he can play a musical instrument. He wants to read notes and learn new pieces. Is there any kind of notation system for such blind people?
SovereignSun
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What are the small ">" signs above the notes?

Take a look: What are the > markings above the notes? I know of a decrescendo and a crescendo but can they be applied to specific notes?
cmp
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In a piano score, what is the meaning of a V with a dot in it

In a beginners piano scorebook, under the last cord there is a V with a dot in it. I searched but can't find what it could mean. In case that matters, it's a French book. There is no other place in the score where I can find this symbol. What…
CeSinge
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How do I read this text-only musical notation from Wikipedia

I have practically no music notation experience, so please consider me a dummie when answering. I am reading this Wikipedia article, about the clave rhythm. They use a text only notation looking like this: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a || X . X . X . . X…
Soren Ventegodt
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What does a -4 above the stave mean?

I've recently encountered a -4 above the stave in both vocal and instrumental jazz pieces. None of the students nor our director know what to do with it, what does it mean? Here are two examples: Wave - By Antonio Carlos Jobim - Arr. Paris…
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Should I learn to read standard notation?

I've been playing guitar for the last two years, and never came in contact with pieces in standard notation. This is probably because I never had any lessons, and am self-taught. But the thing I want to know is where I might come in contact with…
skystar
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