MUSICAL NOTATION

MUSICAL NOTATION

Musical Notation is any method by which sounds are written down so that they can be read and performed by others.

The present day conventional system of notation uses a five-line stave(staff) - divided by vertical lines into sections known as bars - on which notes, rests, clefs, key signatures, time signatures, accidentals and other symbols are written.

A Note indicates the duration of a sound and according to its position on the stave, its pitch. Notes can be arranged on the stage in order of pitch to form a scale. A Silence in the music is indicated by a rest. The clef, which is placed at the beginning of a stave, fixes the pitch. The key signature, which is placed after the clef, indicates the key. The time signature, placed after the key signature, shows the number of beats in a bar.

Accidentals are used to indicate the raising or lowering of the pitch of a Note.