In Westernmusical notation, the staff (US and UK)[1][2] or stave (UK)[3] (plural: staffs or staves)[1] is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch or in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments. Appropriate music symbols, depending on the intended effect, are placed on the staff according to their corresponding pitch or function. Musical notes are placed by pitch, percussion notes are placed by instrument, and rests and other symbols are placed by convention.
A typical five-line staff
The absolute pitch of each line of a non-percussive staff is indicated by the placement of a clef symbol at the appropriate vertical position on the left-hand side of the staff (possibly modified by conventions for specific instruments). For example, the treble clef, also known as the G clef, is placed on the second line (counting upward), fixing that line as the pitch first G above "middle C".
The lines and spaces are numbered from bottom to top; the bottom line is the first line and the top line is the fifth line.
The musical staff is analogous to a mathematical graph of pitch with respect to time. Pitches of notes are given by their vertical position on the staff and notes are played from left to right. Unlike a graph, however, the number of semitones represented by a vertical step from a line to an adjacent space depends on the key, and the exact timing of the beginning of each note is not directly proportional to its horizontal position; rather, exact timing is encoded by the musical symbol chosen for each note in addition to the tempo.
A time signature to the right of the clef indicates the relationship between timing counts and note symbols, while bar lines group notes on the staff into measures.
Staff is more common than stave in both American English and British English.[4] The plural of staff is staffs or staves in both American and British English.[1] (Stave is, in fact, a back-formation from staves.)[5] In addition to the pronunciations expected from the spellings, both plural forms are also pronounced /stævz/ in American English.[2]
Staff positionsEdit
Staff, with staff positions indicated
The vertical position of the notehead on the staff indicates which note to play: higher-pitched notes are marked higher on the staff. The notehead can be placed with its center intersecting a line (on a line) or in between the lines touching the lines above and below (in a space). Notes outside the range of the staff are placed on or between ledger lines—lines the width of the note they need to hold—added above or below the staff.
Which staff positions represent which notes is determined by a clef placed at the beginning of the staff. The clef identifies a particular line as a specific note, and all other notes are determined relative to that line. For example, the treble clef puts the G above middle C on the second line. The interval between adjacent staff positions is one step in the diatonic scale. Once fixed by a clef, the notes represented by the positions on the staff can be modified by the key signature or accidentals on individual notes. A clefless staff may be used to represent a set of percussion sounds; each line typically represents a different instrument.
Ensemble stavesEdit
Musical brace.Musical bracket.
A vertical line drawn to the left of multiple staves creates a system, indicating that the music on all the staves is to be played simultaneously. A brace (curly bracket) is used to join multiple staves that represent an instrument, such as a piano, organ, harp, or marimba.[6] A bracket is an additional vertical line joining staves to show groupings of instruments that function as a unit, such as the string section of an orchestra. Sometimes a second bracket is used to show instruments grouped in pairs, such as the first and second oboes or first and second violins in an orchestra.[7] In some cases, a brace is used for this purpose.[6][8]
When more than one system appears on a page, often two parallel diagonal strokes are placed on the left side of the score to separate them.[9]
Four-part SATB vocal settings, especially in hymnals, use a divisi notation on a two-staff system with soprano and alto voices sharing the upper staff and tenor and bass voices on the lower staff.
Confusingly, the German System (often in the combined forms Liniensystem or Notensystem) may refer to a single staff as well as to the Akkolade (from the French) or system in the English sense; the Italian term is accollatura.[9][10]
Grand staffEdit
The grand staff
When music on two staves is joined by a brace, or is intended to be played at once by a single performer (usually a keyboard instrument or harp), a grand staff (American English) or great stave (British English) is created. Typically, the upper staff uses a treble clef and the lower staff has a bass clef. In this instance, middle C is centered between the two staves, and it can be written on the first ledger line below the upper staff or the first ledger line above the lower staff. Very rarely, a centered line with a small C clef is written, and usually used to indicate that B, C, or D on the line can be played with either hand (ledger lines are not used from a center alto as this creates confusion). When playing the piano or harp, the upper staff is normally played with the right hand and the lower staff with the left hand. In music intended for organ with pedalboard, a grand staff normally comprises three staves, one for each hand on the manuals and one for the feet on the pedalboard.
A simple grand staff. Each of the staves shown above has seven notes and one rest.
HistoryEdit
12th-century Beneventan manuscript showing diastematic neumes and a single-line staff
Early Western medieval notation was written with neumes, which did not specify exact pitches but only the shape of the melodies, i.e. indicating when the musical line went up or down; presumably these were intended as mnemonics for melodies which had been taught by rote.
During the 9th through 11th centuries a number of systems were developed to specify pitch more precisely, including diastematic neumes whose height on the page corresponded with their absolute pitch level (Longobardian and Beneventan manuscripts from Italy show this technique around the year 1000). Digraphic notation, using letter names similar to modern note names in conjunction with the neumes, made a brief appearance in a few manuscripts, but a number of manuscripts used one or more horizontal lines to indicate particular pitches.
Excerpt from a keyboard work by William Byrd written on a six-line staff, 1591
The treatise Musica enchiriadis (c. 900) uses Daseian notation for indicating specific pitches, but the modern use of staff lines is attributed to Guido d'Arezzo (990–1050), whose four-line staff is still used (though without the red and yellow coloring he recommended) in Gregorian chant publications today. Five-line staves appeared in Italy in the 13th century and it was promoted by Ugolino da Forlì; staves with four, five, and six lines were used as late as 1600.[11]
^Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, p. 514.
^ abIrvine, Demar; Pauly, Reinhard G.; Radice, Mark A. (1999). Irvine's writing about music. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 213. ISBN978-1-57467-049-3. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
^Rachmaninoff, Sergei (1965). Piano concertos nos. 1, 2, and 3. Courier Dover Publications. p. 261. ISBN978-0-486-26350-2. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
^Strauss, Richard (1904). Eine Alpensinfonie; and, Symphonia domestica. Courier Dover Publications. p. 71. ISBN978-0-486-27725-7. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
Dolmetsch Online: Printable PDF files of musical staff (A4 size)
: Printable PDF files of musical staff (A4 and Letter size; standard, TAB and more; with or without clefs)
Printable files of musical staff in PDF and PostScript formats provided by Perry Roland of Alderman Library at The University of Virginia
Customizable Manuscript Paper: Customizable staff paper in varying dimensions, staff heights, thicknesses, and margins in PDF format
October 23, 2023
staff, music, western, musical, notation, staff, stave, plural, staffs, staves, five, horizontal, lines, four, spaces, that, each, represent, different, musical, pitch, case, percussion, staff, different, percussion, instruments, appropriate, music, symbols, d. In Western musical notation the staff US and UK 1 2 or stave UK 3 plural staffs or staves 1 is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch or in the case of a percussion staff different percussion instruments Appropriate music symbols depending on the intended effect are placed on the staff according to their corresponding pitch or function Musical notes are placed by pitch percussion notes are placed by instrument and rests and other symbols are placed by convention A typical five line staffThe absolute pitch of each line of a non percussive staff is indicated by the placement of a clef symbol at the appropriate vertical position on the left hand side of the staff possibly modified by conventions for specific instruments For example the treble clef also known as the G clef is placed on the second line counting upward fixing that line as the pitch first G above middle C The lines and spaces are numbered from bottom to top the bottom line is the first line and the top line is the fifth line The musical staff is analogous to a mathematical graph of pitch with respect to time Pitches of notes are given by their vertical position on the staff and notes are played from left to right Unlike a graph however the number of semitones represented by a vertical step from a line to an adjacent space depends on the key and the exact timing of the beginning of each note is not directly proportional to its horizontal position rather exact timing is encoded by the musical symbol chosen for each note in addition to the tempo A time signature to the right of the clef indicates the relationship between timing counts and note symbols while bar lines group notes on the staff into measures Contents 1 Usage and etymology 2 Staff positions 3 Ensemble staves 4 Grand staff 5 History 6 See also 7 Notes 8 Further reading 9 External linksUsage and etymology EditStaff is more common than stave in both American English and British English 4 The plural of staff is staffs or staves in both American and British English 1 Stave is in fact a back formation from staves 5 In addition to the pronunciations expected from the spellings both plural forms are also pronounced s t ae v z in American English 2 Staff positions Edit nbsp Staff with staff positions indicatedThe vertical position of the notehead on the staff indicates which note to play higher pitched notes are marked higher on the staff The notehead can be placed with its center intersecting a line on a line or in between the lines touching the lines above and below in a space Notes outside the range of the staff are placed on or between ledger lines lines the width of the note they need to hold added above or below the staff Which staff positions represent which notes is determined by a clef placed at the beginning of the staff The clef identifies a particular line as a specific note and all other notes are determined relative to that line For example the treble clef puts the G above middle C on the second line The interval between adjacent staff positions is one step in the diatonic scale Once fixed by a clef the notes represented by the positions on the staff can be modified by the key signature or accidentals on individual notes A clefless staff may be used to represent a set of percussion sounds each line typically represents a different instrument Ensemble staves Edit nbsp Musical brace nbsp Musical bracket A vertical line drawn to the left of multiple staves creates a system indicating that the music on all the staves is to be played simultaneously A brace curly bracket is used to join multiple staves that represent an instrument such as a piano organ harp or marimba 6 A bracket is an additional vertical line joining staves to show groupings of instruments that function as a unit such as the string section of an orchestra Sometimes a second bracket is used to show instruments grouped in pairs such as the first and second oboes or first and second violins in an orchestra 7 In some cases a brace is used for this purpose 6 8 When more than one system appears on a page often two parallel diagonal strokes are placed on the left side of the score to separate them 9 Four part SATB vocal settings especially in hymnals use a divisi notation on a two staff system with soprano and alto voices sharing the upper staff and tenor and bass voices on the lower staff Confusingly the German System often in the combined forms Liniensystem or Notensystem may refer to a single staff as well as to the Akkolade from the French or system in the English sense the Italian term is accollatura 9 10 Grand staff Edit nbsp The grand staffWhen music on two staves is joined by a brace or is intended to be played at once by a single performer usually a keyboard instrument or harp a grand staff American English or great stave British English is created Typically the upper staff uses a treble clef and the lower staff has a bass clef In this instance middle C is centered between the two staves and it can be written on the first ledger line below the upper staff or the first ledger line above the lower staff Very rarely a centered line with a small C clef is written and usually used to indicate that B C or D on the line can be played with either hand ledger lines are not used from a center alto as this creates confusion When playing the piano or harp the upper staff is normally played with the right hand and the lower staff with the left hand In music intended for organ with pedalboard a grand staff normally comprises three staves one for each hand on the manuals and one for the feet on the pedalboard nbsp A simple grand staff Each of the staves shown above has seven notes and one rest History Edit nbsp 12th century Beneventan manuscript showing diastematic neumes and a single line staffEarly Western medieval notation was written with neumes which did not specify exact pitches but only the shape of the melodies i e indicating when the musical line went up or down presumably these were intended as mnemonics for melodies which had been taught by rote During the 9th through 11th centuries a number of systems were developed to specify pitch more precisely including diastematic neumes whose height on the page corresponded with their absolute pitch level Longobardian and Beneventan manuscripts from Italy show this technique around the year 1000 Digraphic notation using letter names similar to modern note names in conjunction with the neumes made a brief appearance in a few manuscripts but a number of manuscripts used one or more horizontal lines to indicate particular pitches nbsp Excerpt from a keyboard work by William Byrd written on a six line staff 1591The treatise Musica enchiriadis c 900 uses Daseian notation for indicating specific pitches but the modern use of staff lines is attributed to Guido d Arezzo 990 1050 whose four line staff is still used though without the red and yellow coloring he recommended in Gregorian chant publications today Five line staves appeared in Italy in the 13th century and it was promoted by Ugolino da Forli staves with four five and six lines were used as late as 1600 11 See also EditTablature Sight reading RastrumNotes Edit a b c staff in the Collins English Dictionary in British English also called stave plural staffs or staves a b staff in the Merriam Webster Dictionary stave Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary dictionary cambridge org Retrieved 17 March 2018 Ngram Viewer Pam Peters The Cambridge Guide to English Usage p 514 a b Irvine Demar Pauly Reinhard G Radice Mark A 1999 Irvine s writing about music Hal Leonard Corporation p 213 ISBN 978 1 57467 049 3 Retrieved 18 October 2011 Rachmaninoff Sergei 1965 Piano concertos nos 1 2 and 3 Courier Dover Publications p 261 ISBN 978 0 486 26350 2 Retrieved 18 October 2011 Strauss Richard 1904 Eine Alpensinfonie and Symphonia domestica Courier Dover Publications p 71 ISBN 978 0 486 27725 7 Retrieved 18 October 2011 a b Rastall Richard 2001 System In Sadie Stanley Tyrrell John eds The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd ed London Macmillan Publishers ISBN 978 1 56159 239 5 description in the German language Wikipedia Harvard Dictionary of Music 2nd edition 1972 Neume StaffFurther reading EditHaines John 2008 The Origins of the Musical Staff The Musical Quarterly Oxford University Press 91 3 4 327 378 JSTOR 20534535 External links EditDolmetsch Online Printable PDF files of musical staff A4 size Audio Graffiti Free Manuscript Paper Printable PDF files of musical staff A4 and Letter size standard TAB and more with or without clefs Printable files of musical staff in PDF and PostScript formats provided by Perry Roland of Alderman Library at The University of Virginia Customizable Manuscript Paper Customizable staff paper in varying dimensions staff heights thicknesses and margins in PDF format Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Staff music amp oldid 1178507618, 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