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Staff (music)
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<h2 id="usage-and-etymology">Usage and etymology</h2> <p><i>Staff</i> is more common than <i>stave</i> in both <a href="/facts/American_English/sdAfgPgM">American English</a> and <a href="/facts/British_English/ymJR5Rnd">British English</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> with the latter being, in fact, a <a href="/facts/Back-formation/2X5S2HPT">back-formation</a> from the plural <i>staves</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> The plural <i>staffs</i> also exists for <i>staff</i> in both American and British English, alongside the traditional plural <i>staves</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> In addition to the pronunciations expected from the spellings, both plural forms are also pronounced /stævz/ in American English.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="staff-positions">Staff positions</h2> <p>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 (<i>on a line</i>) or in between the lines touching the lines above and below (<i>in a space</i>). Notes outside the range of the staff are placed on or between <a href="/facts/Ledger_line/TL02j18r">ledger lines</a>—lines the width of the note they need to hold—added above or below the staff. </p><p>Which staff positions represent which <a href="/facts/Note_(music)/spIQyV4T">notes</a> is determined by a <a href="/facts/Clef/a3FBqdAf">clef</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Treble_clef/a3FBqdAf">treble clef</a> puts the G above <a href="/facts/Middle_C/FdvRz0zL">middle C</a> on the second line. The <a href="/facts/Interval_(music)/aFwkkgpY">interval</a> between adjacent staff positions is one <a href="/facts/Steps_and_skips/Q6jCFRnB">step</a> in the <a href="/facts/Diatonic_scale/ejXSu379">diatonic scale</a>. Once fixed by a clef, the notes represented by the positions on the staff can be modified by the <a href="/facts/Key_signature/Pz4Gkn9N">key signature</a> or <a href="/facts/Accidental_(music)/prhokUk8">accidentals</a> on individual notes. A clefless staff may be used to represent a set of <a href="/facts/Percussion_instrument/YojwA7VR">percussion</a> sounds; each line typically represents a different instrument. </p> <h2 id="ensemble-staves">Ensemble staves</h2> <p>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 <a href="/facts/Bracket/yzGM9J8A">brace</a> (curly bracket) is used to join multiple staves that represent an instrument, such as a piano, organ, harp, or marimba.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> In some cases, a brace is used for this purpose.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p><p>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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p><p>Four-part <a href="/facts/SATB/H5sRjsYH">SATB</a> vocal settings, especially in <a href="/facts/Hymnal/v0JeqmJJ">hymnals</a>, use a <i>divisi</i> notation on a two-staff system with <a href="/facts/Soprano/CeoEVKTQ">soprano</a> and <a href="/facts/Alto/60zpdsJn">alto</a> voices sharing the upper staff and <a href="/facts/Tenor/nYVSWeEI">tenor</a> and <a href="/facts/Bass_(voice_type)/gmdDI2wM">bass</a> voices on the lower staff. </p><p>Confusingly, the German <i>System</i> (often in the combined forms <i>Liniensystem</i> or <i>Notensystem</i>) may refer to a single staff as well as to the <i>Akkolade</i> (from the French) or system in the English sense; the Italian term is <i>accollatura</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="grand-staff"> Grand staff</h2> <p>When music on two staves is joined by a <a href="/facts/Bracket/yzGM9J8A">brace</a>, or is intended to be played at once by a single performer (usually a <a href="/facts/Keyboard_instrument/zVUA9QNG">keyboard instrument</a> or <a href="/facts/Harp/FhRqeCDf">harp</a>), a grand staff (<a href="/facts/American_English/sdAfgPgM">American English</a>) or great stave (<a href="/facts/British_English/ymJR5Rnd">British English</a>) is created.[<i>dubious – discuss</i>] Typically, the upper staff uses a <a href="/facts/Treble_clef/a3FBqdAf">treble clef</a> and the lower staff has a <a href="/facts/Bass_clef/a3FBqdAf">bass clef</a>. In this instance, <a href="/facts/Middle_C/FdvRz0zL">middle C</a> is centered between the two staffs, and it can be written on the first <a href="/facts/Ledger_line/TL02j18r">ledger line</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Piano/lRI60lQK">piano</a> or harp, the upper staff is normally played with the right hand and the lower staff with the left hand. In music intended for <a href="/facts/Organ_(music)/QjxVlXU5">organ</a> with <a href="/facts/Pedal_keyboard/BC3MTcrJ">pedalboard</a>, a grand staff normally comprises three staves, one for each hand on the manuals and one for the feet on the pedalboard. </p> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Early Western medieval notation was written with <a href="/facts/Neume/h4TmmF5d">neumes</a>, 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. </p><p>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 <a href="/facts/Note_(music)/spIQyV4T">note names</a> 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. </p><p>The treatise <i><a href="/facts/Musica_enchiriadis/tFotJPJa">Musica enchiriadis</a></i> (c. 900) uses <a href="/facts/Daseian/j1Wz72XY">Daseian</a> notation for indicating specific pitches, but the modern use of staff lines is attributed to <a href="/facts/Guido_d%2527Arezzo/DMj1d2Yu">Guido d'Arezzo</a> (990–1050), whose four-line staff is still used (though without the red and yellow coloring he recommended) in <a href="/facts/Liber_usualis/XINMKaUR">Gregorian chant publications</a> today. Five-line staves appeared in Italy in the 13th century and it was promoted by <a href="/facts/Ugolino_da_Forl%25C3%25AC/h86sCWM7">Ugolino da Forlì</a>; staves with four, five, and six lines were used as late as 1600.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Tablature/KXvC4llx">Tablature</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sight_reading/wY81jVFS">Sight reading</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Rastrum/NWwVDbKA">Rastrum</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Haines, John (2008). "The Origins of the Musical Staff". <i><a href="/facts/The_Musical_Quarterly/RaQFBhwf">The Musical Quarterly</a></i>. 91 (3/4). <a href="/facts/Oxford_University_Press/CYyTzzWG">Oxford University Press</a>: 327–378. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmusqtl%2Fgdp002">10.1093/musqtl/gdp002</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20534535">20534535</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.dolmetsch.com/manuscriptpaper.htm">Dolmetsch Online</a>: Printable <a href="/facts/PDF/C9Mn1vYL">PDF</a> files of musical staff (A4 size)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090418154531/http://www.audiograffiti.com.au/dwn_ms.htm">Audio Graffiti Free Manuscript Paper</a>: Printable <a href="/facts/PDF/C9Mn1vYL">PDF</a> files of musical staff (A4 and Letter size; standard, TAB and more; with or without clefs)</li> <li><a href="http://www.people.virginia.edu/~pdr4h/musicpaper">Printable files of musical staff</a> in <a href="/facts/PDF/C9Mn1vYL">PDF</a> and <a href="/facts/PostScript/h2XwbcmC">PostScript</a> formats provided by Perry Roland of Alderman Library at The University of Virginia</li> <li><a href="http://www.williamburnson.com/engraving/staff-paper.html">Customizable Manuscript Paper</a>: Customizable staff paper in varying dimensions, staff heights, thicknesses, and margins in PDF format</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"staff" in the Collins English Dictionary: "in British English: also called: stave; plural: staffs or staves" <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/staff" target="_blank">https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/staff</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"staff" in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staff" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staff</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"stave Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 17 March 2018. <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stave" target="_blank">https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stave</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"staff" in the Collins English Dictionary: "in British English: also called: stave; plural: staffs or staves" <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/staff" target="_blank">https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/staff</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Antunes, Ines P.; Rosa, Carlos; Almeida, Flávio (2024). "Information Design and Semiology: A Visual Study on Deconstructing Musical Notation for Improving First-Grade Children's Learning". In Martins, Nuno; Brandão, Daniel (eds.). Advances in Design and Digital Communication IV. Springer Series in Design and Innovation. Vol. 35. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. pp. 639–650. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-47281-7_53. ISBN 978-3-031-47281-7. <a href="978-3-031-47281-7" target="_blank">978-3-031-47281-7</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Dolmetsch Online - Chart of Musical Symbols". www.dolmetsch.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03. <a href="https://www.dolmetsch.com/musicalsymbols.htm" target="_blank">https://www.dolmetsch.com/musicalsymbols.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"How To Read The Notes On The Pentagram » The Art Of Playing". 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2023-12-03. <a href="https://www.theartofplaying.net/en/read-notes-pentagram-easy-and-fast/" target="_blank">https://www.theartofplaying.net/en/read-notes-pentagram-easy-and-fast/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Ngram Viewer <a href="https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=music+staff%2Cmusic+stave&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=29&smoothing=3" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=music+staff%2Cmusic+stave&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=29&smoothing=3</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, p. 514. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"staff" in the Collins English Dictionary: "in British English: also called: stave; plural: staffs or staves" <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/staff" target="_blank">https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/staff</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"staff" in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staff" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staff</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>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. <a href="978-1-57467-049-3" target="_blank">978-1-57467-049-3</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>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. <a href="978-0-486-26350-2" target="_blank">978-0-486-26350-2</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>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. <a href="978-1-57467-049-3" target="_blank">978-1-57467-049-3</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Strauss, Richard (1904). Eine Alpensinfonie; and, Symphonia domestica. Courier Dover Publications. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-486-27725-7. Retrieved 18 October 2011. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) <a href="978-0-486-27725-7" target="_blank">978-0-486-27725-7</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>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. <a href="978-1-56159-239-5" target="_blank">978-1-56159-239-5</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>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. <a href="978-1-56159-239-5" target="_blank">978-1-56159-239-5</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>description in the German language Wikipedia[circular reference] <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notensystem_(Musik)#Akkolade" target="_blank">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notensystem_(Musik)#Akkolade</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Harvard Dictionary of Music (2nd edition, 1972): Neume, Staff <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>