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but its duration in relation to the notes around it. These
symbols are as follows; each has half the duration of its
neighbor to the left:
A dot placed to the right of a note head increases by half
the duration of that note. Such symbols when placed on a
staff may indicate relative pitch and relative duration. In
the grid, lines represent alternate notes of the scale and
the spaces the intervening notes. Pitch and duration may
be fixed by supplying two further indications: a clef and
a tempo mark. The clef assigns a definite pitch to a given
line of the staff; the first clef fixes the second line up as the
G (g′) above middle C (c′):
Tempo and duration
The tempo mark is a sign that lies outside the staff. It
appears above and may be a precise fixing of one duration
(120 MM” means that the quarter note lasts 1/120 of a
minute, or one-half second), or it may be an approximate
verbal indication setting tempo by reference to accepted
conventions (allegro, or quickly; moderato, or moderate
speed; etc.).
Staff notation is well adapted to two fundamental aspects
of Western music: harmony and rhythm. For harmony,
note symbols can easily be placed vertically together on
a single stem, and these notes need not be all of the same
duration; or more than one stem may be used to indicate
multiple melodic lines in the musical texture. For rhythm,
the existence of an underlying regular pulse, or stress,
must be indicated. This is achieved by two devices: the bar
line and the time signature. The bar line primarily indi-
cates a point of main stress. Bar lines are usually equally
spaced as to duration, though there are numerous excep-
tions. A time signature indicates, first, the duration of
the space between two bar lines (a measure, or bar); and,
second, the subsidiary stress patterns within that space. A
supplementary system for indicating stress is the device of
linking successive notes together by beaming, or stroking.
Two eighth notes may be linked together as shown in (a);
four sixteenth notes (b); or a mixed group of values (c):
The implication of such grouping is generally that the first
note carries a stress. Beaming thus may be used either
to reinforce the stress patterns of the time signature (the
metre) or to contradict it and set up a cross rhythm.
Accidentals
Staff notation rests firmly on the Western system of scales,
within which all notes are assumed to be natural unless
accidentals precede them or a key signature is in use. An
accidental (or flat; ♯, or sharp) is a temporary lowering or
raising of pitch by a semitone; a key signature is the use
of the same signs on a more permanent basis, valid to the
end of a piece or until countermanded by a new signature.
Another accidental, the natural, cancels a previously indi-
cated flat or sharp and may be used to alter one note or in
a key signature to emphasize a key change. Any combina-
tion of sharps or flats is theoretically possible in a key sig-
nature, but the actual combinations are usually governed
by the Western system of keys, or groups of interrelated
notes and chords.
Auxiliary signs
Timbre and volume are specified through a variety of
additional signs: symbols such as (stress) and (increase
in volume), and verbal instructions (frequently in Italian)
such as forte (loud) and col legno (with the wood of the
bow) placed above or below the staff wherever space
permits. Additional symbols may also provide information
about pitch and duration: the dot for staccato, the fermata,
or hold sign ({hold above}), the phrase mark, indications
of amount of vibrato, and so forth. Other verbal instruc-
tions indicate the general manner of performance (pesante,
“heavy”; cantabile, “songlike”; etc.) or expression (con
dolore, “with suffering”; giocoso, “playfully”; etc.). Fur-
ther, there are for each type of instrument certain technical
signs, as for bowing, breathing, tonguing, or use of mutes.
Other auxiliary signs are a kind of shorthand. Most
important are symbols indicating notes not shown on the
staff. An ornament sign may call for additional notes to be
played within the value of a note. It may even delay the
sounding of the main note. The precise meaning of such
an ornament varies from one style of music to another and
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