NOTATION

STAFF
The staff as we know it is a further development of the

four-line staff which evolved during the tenth and eleventh

centuries. The eleventh century staff was one of four
lines. having either C or F designated with an appropriate
clef.

Example 1-a

The staff in general use since the thirteenth century is the

five-line staff shown below. Although a wide variety of clef
designations are possible, many of them are seldom
encountered and their meaning can quickly be deduced
from the understanding of the following clefs:

 Example 1-b Treble clef or G clef

Example 1-c Alto clef or C clef (used principally by the

viola).

 Example 1-c Alto clef or C clef (used

principally by the viola).

Example 1-d Tenor clef or C clef (used for the

upper ranges of the bassoon, trombone, and

cello).

Observe that two dots are placed on either side of the

F line.

 Example 1-f. The Grand Staff

 Added lines above or below the staff are called leger

lines. When the number of legar lines exceed three or

four, the composer or arranger will generally employ a
higher or lower clef, as needed. The 8 or 8va sign may be
used above the treble clef or below the bass clef for notes
requiring more than three or four leger lines.
Example 1-g

 A sharp ( ) placed before (to the left of) a note raises

that note one half.

A flat () placed before a note lowers that note lowers
that note one half-step.
The natural sign ( ) cancels all sharps and flats and
double sharps.
( X ) and double flats ( ) which otherwise would affect
that line or space.
In order to cancel a flat, a natural (not a sharp) is used.
Likewise, in order, to cancel a sharp, a natural (not a
flat) is used.

 Enharmonic equivalents are notes which are written

differently, but sound the same (on the piano).

Example 1-h

 An accidental ( x ) placed before a note

affects that note throughout that measure and

is cancelled by the bar line. (This principle was
not uniformly and consistently applied by
musicians prior to 1750). The bar line does not
cancel an accidental placed before a tied note.
in example 1-i the second note is still e(flat)
Example 1-i

 A sharp placed before a note sharped in the key signature

does not result in a double sharped note is precautionary.

Example 1-j

 If a flattered note is to be sharped later in the same

measure, it is not necessary to precede the sharp with a

natural.
Example 1-k

 If a double sharped note is to be a sharped note later in

the same measure, it is not necessary to precede the

sharp with a natural, although this was done in nineteenth
and early twentieth century publications.
Example 1-l

 If a double flatted note is to be a flat note later in the same

measure, it is not necessary to precede the flat with a

natural.
Example 1-m

 A natural cancels both sharps in a double sharped note,

and a natural cancels both flats in a double flatted note.

Example 1-n