musical notation

/ˌmjuzəkəl noʊˌteɪʃən/

Other forms: musical notations

Definitions of musical notation

1. noun

   (music) notation used by musicians
   types:

   bar line

   a vertical line before the accented beat marking the boundary between musical bars

   tablature

   a musical notation indicating the fingering to be used

   musical scale, scale

   (music) a series of notes differing in pitch according to a specific scheme (usually within an octave)

   interval, musical interval

   the difference in pitch between two notes

   staff, stave

   (music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written

   clef

   a musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it

   key signature, signature

   the sharps or flats that follow the clef and indicate the key

   key, tonality

   any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music

   atonalism, atonality

   the absence of a key; alternative to the diatonic system

   musical time signature, time signature

   a musical notation indicating the number of beats to a measure and kind of note that takes a beat

   bar, measure

   musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats

   rest

   a musical notation indicating a silence of a specified duration

   musical note, note, tone

   a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

   slur

   (music) a curved line spanning notes that are to be played legato

   sharp

   a musical notation indicating one half step higher than the note named

   flat

   a musical notation indicating one half step lower than the note named

   cancel, natural

   a notation cancelling a previous sharp or flat

   accidental

   a musical notation that makes a note sharp or flat or natural although that is not part of the key signature

   fermata

   (music) a symbol, 𝄐 or 𝄑, indicating that a note or rest is to be held for a length determined by the performer or conductor

   solmisation, solmization

   a system of naming the notes of a musical scale by syllables instead of letters

   segno

   (music) a notation written at the beginning or end of a passage that is to be repeated

   sforzando

   (music) a mark above or below a note indicating that it is to be played with sudden force or strong accent

   gamut

   the entire scale of musical notes

   keynote, tonic

   (music) the first note of a diatonic scale

   supertonic

   (music) the second note of a diatonic scale

   mediant

   (music) the third note of a diatonic scale; midway between the tonic and the dominant

   subdominant

   (music) the fourth note of the diatonic scale

   dominant

   (music) the fifth note of the diatonic scale

   submediant

   (music) the sixth note of a major or minor scale (or the third below the tonic)

   leading tone, subtonic

   (music) the seventh note of the diatonic scale

   pedal, pedal point

   a sustained bass note

   step, tone, whole step, whole tone

   a musical interval of two semitones

   half step, semitone

   the musical interval between adjacent keys on a keyboard instrument

   quarter tone, quarter-tone

   half of a semitone

   musical octave, octave

   a musical interval of eight tones

   third

   the musical interval between one note and another three notes away from it

   fourth

   the musical interval between one note and another four notes away from it

   fifth

   the musical interval between one note and another five notes away from it

   sixth

   the musical interval between one note and another six notes away from it

   seventh

   the musical interval between one note and another seven notes away from it

   shake, trill

   a note that alternates rapidly with another note a semitone above it

   diatonic scale

   a scale with eight notes in an octave; all but two are separated by whole tones

   chromatic scale

   a 12-note scale including all the semitones of the octave

   gapped scale

   a musical scale with fewer than seven notes

   G clef, treble clef, treble staff

   a clef that puts the G above middle C on the second line of a staff

   F clef, bass clef

   a clef that puts the F below middle C on the fourth line of a staff

   alto clef, viola clef

   a clef that puts middle C on the third line of a staff

   C clef

   a movable clef that puts middle C on one of the lines of a staff

   soprano clef

   a clef that puts middle C on the bottom line of the staff

   tenor clef

   a clef that puts middle C on the fourth line of the staff; used for writing music for bassoons or cellos or tenor horns

   major key, major mode

   a key whose harmony is based on the major scale

   minor key, minor mode

   a key based on the minor scale

   home key, tonic key

   the basic key in which a piece of music is written

   double bar

   notation marking the end of principal parts of a musical composition; two adjacent bar lines

   alla breve

   a musical time signature indicating two or four half notes to a measure

   tie

   (music) a curved line over two notes of the same pitch; indicates that the note is to be sustained for their combined time value

   double sharp

   a musical notation of two sharps in front of a note indicating that it is to be raised by two semitones

   double flat

   a musical notation of two flats in front of a note indicating that it is to be lowered by two semitones

   solfa, tonic solfa

   a system of solmization using the solfa syllables: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti

   middle C

   the note designated by the first ledger line below the treble staff; 261.63 hertz

   chord

   a combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously when sounded together

   passing note, passing tone

   a nonharmonic note inserted for transition between harmonic notes

   semibreve, whole note

   a musical note having the longest time value (equal to four beats in common time)

   whole rest

   a musical rest equal in duration to four beats in common time

   half note, minim

   a musical note having the time value of half a whole note

   half rest

   a musical rest having the time value of half a whole rest or equal in duration to two beats in common time

   crotchet, quarter note

   a musical note having the time value of a quarter of a whole note

   quarter rest

   a musical rest having one-fourth the time value of a whole rest

   eighth note, quaver

   a musical note having the time value of an eighth of a whole note

   semiquaver, sixteenth note

   a musical note having the time value of a sixteenth of a whole note

   demisemiquaver, thirty-second note

   a musical note having the time value of a thirty-second of a whole note

   hemidemisemiquaver, sixty-fourth note

   a musical note having the time value of a sixty-fourth of a whole note

   acciaccatura, appoggiatura, grace note

   an embellishing note usually written in smaller size

   blue note

   a flattened third or seventh

   monotone

   a single tone repeated with different words or different rhythms (especially in rendering liturgical texts)

   type of:

   notation, notational system

   a technical system of symbols used to represent special things