Music
The symbols of written music, and what each one tells a player.
Written music uses its own set of symbols. In staff notation, where a note sits on a five-line staff gives its pitch and its shape gives its length, while other signs mark loudness, phrasing and repeats. The music symbols pages explain each one.
Music symbols 26 symbols
Notes, rests, clefs, accidentals, dynamics and the other marks of standard music notation, and what each one means.
Sources
- Music Notation and Terminology, Karl W. Gehrkens, 1914, A. S. Barnes Company (Project Gutenberg), Appendix A
- Primer of Facts about Music, M. G. Evans, 1909, Theodore Presser Co. (Internet Archive, University of Toronto), Q. 15
- Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom: Notation, Robert Hutchinson, section 1.2, University of Puget Sound, Section 1.2
Last reviewed September 25, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research