List of musical symbols
{{For|the Unicode block|Musical Symbols (Unicode block)}}
{{Short description|None}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2025}}
Musical symbols are marks and symbols in musical notation that indicate various aspects of how a piece of music is to be performed. There are symbols to communicate information about many musical elements, including pitch, duration, dynamics, or articulation of musical notes; tempo, metre, form (e.g., whether sections are repeated), and details about specific playing techniques (e.g., which fingers, keys, or pedals are to be used, whether a string instrument should be bowed or plucked, or whether the bow of a string instrument should move up or down).
Lines
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| style="width:110px;padding:10px 0" | 100px |Staff/stave |
style="padding:10px 0"|100px
|Ledger or leger lines |
style="padding:10px 0"|100px
|Bar line (or barline) |
style="padding:10px 0"|100px
|Double bar line |
style="padding:10px 0"|100px
|Bold double bar line |
style="padding:10px 0"|100px
|Dotted bar line |
50px
|Brace |
style="padding:10px 0"|50px
|Bracket |
Clefs
{{main|Clef}}
A clef assigns one particular pitch to one particular line of the staff on which it is placed. This also effectively defines the pitch range or tessitura of the music on that staff. A clef is usually the leftmost symbol on a staff, although a different clef may appear elsewhere to indicate a change in register. Historically, clefs could be placed on any line on a staff (or even on a space), but modern notation almost exclusively uses treble, bass, alto, and tenor clef.
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|G clef (Treble clef) |
Alto clef 100px | rowspan="2"|C clef (Alto and Tenor clefs) |
Tenor clef 100px |
100px
|F clef (Bass clef) |
100x100px
| rowspan=5|Octave clef |
100x100px |
100x100px |
100x100px |
100px |
On a 5-line staff 100px | rowspan="2"|Neutral clef |
On a single-line staff 100px |
100px
|Tablature |
Rhythmic values of notes and rests
{{main|Note value}}
In American usage, musical note and rest values have names that indicate their length relative to a whole note. A half note is half the length of a whole note, a quarter note is one quarter the length, etc.
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| style="width:110px;"| 100px100x100px |Beamed notes |
100px100x100px
| Dotted note |
100px
|Ghost note |
100px
|Multi-measure rest |
Breaks
style="vertical-align: middle;" class="skin-invert-image"
| style="width:110px;"|100px |Breath mark |
100px
|Caesura |
Accidentals and key signatures
{{main|Accidental (music)|Key signature|Circle of fifths}}
= Common accidentals =
Accidentals modify the pitch of the notes that follow them on the same staff position within a measure, unless cancelled by an additional accidental.
class="skin-invert-image" |
style="width:110px;"| 100px
|Flat |
100px
|Sharp |
100px
|Natural |
100px
|Double flat |
100px
|Double sharp |
=Key signatures=
Key signatures indicate which notes are to be played as sharps or flats in the music that follows, showing up to seven sharps or flats. Notes that are shown as sharp or flat in a key signature will be played that way in every octave—e.g., a key signature with a B{{music|♭}} indicates that every B is played as a B{{music|♭}}. A key signature indicates the prevailing key of the music and eliminates the need to use accidentals for the notes that are always flat or sharp in that key. A key signature with no flats or sharps generally indicates the key of C major or A minor, but can also indicate that pitches will be notated with accidentals as required. The key signature examples shown here are as they would appear in treble clef.
Flat key signatures{{clear}}
Sharp key signatures{{clear}}
= Microtones =
There is no universally accepted notation for microtonal music, with varying systems being used depending on the situation. A common notation for quarter tones involves writing the fraction ¼ next to an arrow pointing up or down. Below are other forms of notation:
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| style="width:110px;"| 100px 100px | Demiflat / Half flat |
100px 100px
| Flat-and-a-half (sesquiflat) |
100px
|Demisharp / Half sharp |
100px
|Sharp-and-a-half (sesquisharp) |
200px
|Harmonic flat |
A symbol with one vertical and three diagonal bars indicates a sharp with some form of alternate tuning.
File:Notation of partials 1-19 for 1-1.pngs in the harmonic series, labeled with their number (top line), frequency ratios (second line) and interval size in cents (bottom). The 11th harmonic is notated with the arrow notation for a demisharp (F↑ as opposed to F{{music|halfsharp}}) while the 7th, 13th, 17th and 19th are labeled with harmonic flats and harmonic sharps relative to C (because the 17th and 19th harmonics are closer to equal temperament than the (unlabeled) 5th, labeling of those is seldom necessary).]]
In 19 equal temperament, where a whole tone is divided into three steps instead of two, music is typically notated in a way that flats and sharps are not usually enharmonic (thus a C{{music|#}} represents a third of a step lower than D{{music|b}}); this has the advantage of not requiring any nonstandard notation.
Time signatures
{{main|Time signature}}
Most music has a rhythmic pulse with a uniform number of beats—each segment of this pulse is shown as a measure. Time signatures indicate the number of beats in each measure (the top number) and also show what type of note represents a single beat (the bottom number). There may be any number of beats in a measure but the most common by far are multiples of 2 or 3 (i.e., a top number of 2, 3, 4, or 6). Likewise, any note length can be used to represent a beat, but a quarter note (indicated by a bottom number of 4) or eighth note (bottom number of 8) are by far the most common.
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| style="width:110px;"| 100px |Simple time signatures |
200px
|Compound time signatures |
100x100px
|Complex/irregular time signatures Time signatures that cannot be classified as simple or compound, such as {{Music|time|5|4}} or {{Music|time|11|8}}, are often called complex, irregular or odd. These time signatures cannot be evenly subdivided into groups of two or three. |
100px
|Common time |
100px
|Alla breve / cut time |
80px
|Metronome mark |
Note relationships
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| style="width:110px;"| 100px |Tie |
100px100px
|Slur |
100px
|Glissando / Portamento |
100px
|Tuplet |
100px
|Chord |
100px
|Arpeggiated chord |
Dynamics
{{main|Dynamics (music)}}
Dynamics are indicators of the relative intensity or volume of a musical line.
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| style="width:110px;"| x36px |Pianississimo |
x36px
|Pianissimo |
x36px
|Piano |
x36px
|Mezzo piano |
x36px
|Mezzo forte |
x36px
|Forte |
x36px
|Fortissimo |
x36px
|Fortississimo |
x36px
|Sforzando / Sforzato (subito forzando/forzato) |
x36px
|Fortepiano |
50px
|Crescendo Can be extended under many notes to indicate that the volume steadily increases during the passage. |
50px
|Diminuendo / Decrescendo Can be extended under many notes to indicate that the volume steadily decreases during the passage. |
100px
|Niente |
Rarely, even softer or louder dynamic levels are indicated by adding more {{serif|p}}s or {{serif|f}}s. While {{serif|ppp}} is called "pianississimo" and {{serif|fff}} is called "fortississimo", these words (formed by adding an additional "iss") are not proper Italian.
Dynamics are relative, and the meaning of each level is at the discretion of the performer or the conductor. Laws to curb high noise levels in the workplace have changed the interpretation of very loud dynamics in some large orchestral works, as noise levels within the orchestra itself can easily exceed safe levels.[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/arts/music/20noise.html "No Fortissimo? Symphony Told to Keep It Down"] by Sarah Lyall, The New York Times (20 April 2008)
Articulation
Articulations specify the length, volume, and style of attack of individual notes. This category includes accents. Articulations can be combined with one another and may appear in conjunction with phrasing marks (above). Any of these markings may be placed either above or below a note.
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| style="width:110px;"|100px |Staccato |
100px
|Staccatissimo or Spiccato |
100px
|Tenuto |
100px
|Fermata or Pause |
100px
|Accent |
100px
|Marcato |
Ornaments
Ornaments modify the pitch pattern of individual notes.
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style="width:110px;"| 100px100px
|Tremolo |
100px100px
|Trill |
100px
|Upper mordent |
100px
|Lower mordent (inverted) |
100px100px100px
|Gruppetto or Turn |
100px
|Appoggiatura |
100px
|Acciaccatura |
Octave signs
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| style="min-width:110px;"|250px |Ottava alta |
250px
| Ottava bassa |
250px
| Quindicesima alta |
250px
| Quindicesima bassa |
8va and 15ma are sometimes abbreviated further to 8 and 15. When they appear below the staff, the word bassa is sometimes added.
Repetition, codas, and other direction symbols
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style="width:110px"|100px
|Repeat signs |
100px
|Simile marks |
100px
|Volta brackets (1st and 2nd endings, or 1st- and 2nd-time bars) |
50px
|Da capo |
50px
|Dal segno |
50px
|Segno |
50px
|Coda sign |
|Fine Marks the end of a composition or movement, usually following a repeat command such as D.C. al fine or D.S. |
50px
|Direct symbol |
Instrument-specific notation
= Bowed string instruments =
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| style="width:110px;"| 100px |Left-hand pizzicato or Stopped note |
100px
|Snap pizzicato |
100px
|Natural harmonic or Open note |
100px
|Up bow or Sull'arco |
100px
|Down bow or Giù arco |
40px
|Con sordino ("with mute") |
40px
|Senza sordino ("without mute") |
= Guitar =
The guitar has a fingerpicking notation system derived from the names of the fingers in Spanish or Latin. They are written above, below, or beside the note to which they are attached. They read as follows:
class="wikitable" | ||||||
Symbol | Spanish | Italian | Latin | English | French | Portuguese |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
p | pulgar | pollice | pollex | thumb | pouce | polegar |
i | índice | indice | index | index | index | indicador |
m | medio | medio | media | middle | majeur ou médius | médio |
a | {{lang|es|anular|italic=no}} | anulare | anularis | ring | annulaire | anular |
c, x, e, q | meñique | mignolo | minimus | little | auriculaire | mínimo |
= Piano =
== Pedal marks ==
Pedal marks appear in music for instruments with sustain pedals, such as the piano, vibraphone and chimes.
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| style="width:110px;"| 50px |Engage pedal |
25px
|Release pedal |
50px
| rowspan=2 |Variable pedal mark |
50px |
U.C.
|una corda or U.C. or 1 C. |
T.C.
|tre corde or tutte le corde or T.C. or 3 C. |
== Other piano notation ==
class="wikitable"
! ! Left hand ! Right hand |
rowspan="2" | English
| L.H. | R.H. |
---|
left hand
| right hand |
rowspan="2" | German
| l.H. | r.H. |
{{lang|de|linke Hand}}
| {{lang|de|rechte Hand}} |
rowspan="2" | French
| m.g. | m.d. |
{{lang|fr|main gauche}}
| {{lang|fr|main droite}} |
rowspan="2" | Italian
| m.s. | m.d. |
{{lang|it|mano sinistra}}
| {{lang|it|mano destra}} |
rowspan="2" | Spanish
| m.i. | m.d. |
{{lang|es|mano izquierda}}
| {{lang|es|mano derecha}} |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
|style="padding-left:1em;"|Finger identifications: |
Old (pre-1940) tutors published in the UK may use "English fingering". + for thumb, then 1 (index), 2 (middle), 3 (ring) and 4 (little).{{cite web|url=http://www.abrsm.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=4234|title=Scales-continental/ English Fingering|website=The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music|date=20 December 2004|access-date=3 September 2015}}
= Other stringed instruments =
(With the exception of harp)
0, 1, 2, 3, 4
|style="padding-left:1em;"|Finger identifications: |
The thumb is also used by the cello and bass, usually denoted by ϙ (a circle with a line coming out the bottom), or, more rarely, a T.
{{See also|Fingerstyle guitar#Notation}}
= Harp =
Fingering numbers are similar to piano, except there is no "5" as the little finger is not used in playing the harp.
1 = thumb, 2 = index finger, 3 = middle finger, 4 = ring finger.
= Four-mallet percussion =
1, 2, 3, 4
|style="padding-left:1em;"|Mallet identifications: |
Some systems reverse the numbers (e.g., 4 = Far-left mallet, 3 = Inner-left mallet, etc.) |
= Six-mallet percussion=
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
|style="padding-left:1em;"|Mallet identifications: |
Numbers for six-mallet percussion may be reversed as well.{{cite book|last1=Paterson|first1=Robert|title=Sounds That Resonate: Selected Developments in Western Bar Percussion During the Twentieth Century|date=2004|publisher=UMI Dissertation Services No. 3114502|location=Cornell University|page=182}}
= Organ=
The organ has many different abbreviations for its keyboards in European languages.
class="wikitable"
! ! Great ! Swell ! Choir ! Pedal ! Solo ! Orchestral ! Antiphonal ! Echo ! Positiv |
rowspan="2" | English
| Great | Swell | Choir | Pedal | Solo | Orchestral | Antiphonal | Echo | Positiv |
---|
Gt. or G
| Sw. or S | C. or Ch. | Ped. or Pd. | So. | Orch. | Ant. | Echo. | Pos. |
rowspan="2" | German
| Hauptwerk or Oberwerk | Schwellwerk or Brustwerk | Chor | Pedale | Solo | Orchester | Antiphonal | Widerhall | Positiv |
Hw. or Ow.
| Sw. or Bw. | Ch. | Ped. | Sol. | Orch. | Ant. | Echo. | Pos. |
rowspan="2" | French
| Grand-Orgue | Recit | Grand-Chœur | Pédale | Solo | Bombarde | Antiphonaire | Écho | Positif |
G.O.
| R. | G.C. | Ped. or Péd. | Sol. | Bom. or B. | Ant. (rare) | Écho. | Pos. |
rowspan="2" | Dutch
| Hoofdwerk | Zwelwerk | Koor | Pedaal | Solo | Bovenwerk | Antifonaal | Echo | Rugwerk |
Hw.
| Zw. | K. | Ped. | Sol. or Solo | Bw. (not to be confused with German Brustwerk) | Ant. | Echo | Rw. (not to be confused with French recit) |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
Elaine Gould, Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation. Faber Music (publisher), 2011.
External links
- [http://www.music-notation.info/en/compmus/musicfonts.html Comprehensive list of music symbols fonts]
- [http://www.dolmetsch.com/theoryintro.htm Music theory & history] (Dolmetsch Online)
- [http://www.dolmetsch.com/musicalsymbols.htm Dictionary of musical symbols] (Dolmetsch Online)
- [http://www.music-mind.com/Music/indexlrm.HTM Sight reading tutorial with symbol variations] Amy Appleby
{{Musical notation}}