List of musical symbols

List of musical symbols

Musical symbols are marks and symbols used since about the 13th century in musical notation of musical scores. Some are used to notate pitch, tempo, metre, duration, and articulation of a note or a passage of music. Some symbols are instrument-specific notation giving the performer information about which finger, hand or foot to use.

About List of musical symbols in brief

Summary List of musical symbolsMusical symbols are marks and symbols used since about the 13th century in musical notation of musical scores. Some are used to notate pitch, tempo, metre, duration, and articulation of a note or a passage of music. In some cases, symbols provide information about the form of a piece or about how to play the note. Some symbols are instrument-specific notation giving the performer information about which finger, hand or foot to use. The staff is the fundamental latticework of music notation, on which symbols are placed. The five staff lines and four intervening spaces correspond to pitches of the diatonic scale; which pitch is meant by a given line or space is defined by the clef.

A symbol with one vertical and three diagonal bars indicates a sharp with some form of alternate tuning. There is no universally accepted notation for microtonal music, with varying systems being used depending on the situation. A small s in front of the dynamic notations means subito, and means that the dynamic is to change to the new notation rapidly. Subito is commonly used with sforzandos, but can appear with all other dynamic notation, most commonly as sff or spp.