Staff (music)
A set of lines and spaces representing musical pitch and time.
The staff (UK usually stave; plural: staves), also occasionally referred to as a pentagram, is a set of horizontal lines (usually five) with spaces between them, each representing a different musical pitch. In Western musical notation, appropriate music symbols are placed on the staff, with vertical position showing pitch, percussion instrument, or string, and horizontal position showing approximate location in time. The staff is analogous to a mathematical graph of pitch with respect to time, though the number of semitones per vertical step depends on the key, and exact timing is encoded by note symbols and tempo.
- field
- Music notation
- known_for
- Set of horizontal lines (usually five) representing musical pitch
- alternative_names
- Stave, pentagram
- number_of_lines
- Usually five; for percussion, one to five or more; for guitar tab, up to six or more
- clef_example
- Treble clef (G clef) placed on second line fixes that line as G above middle C
Lore & Background
Early Western medieval notation used neumes, which indicated only the shape of melodies without exact pitches. During the 9th through 11th centuries, systems such as diastematic neumes (whose height on the page corresponded to absolute pitch) and digraphic notation (using letter names with neumes) appeared. The treatise Musica enchiriadis (c.
Reader's Guide
The staff is fundamental to Western musical notation, providing a visual framework for pitch and time. Its vertical axis represents pitch (higher notes placed higher), while horizontal position indicates approximate timing, with exact timing encoded by note symbols and tempo. The absolute pitch of each line is fixed by a clef placed at the left, such as the treble clef (G clef) on the second line. Key signatures and accidentals modify the notes represented. For percussion, a clefless staff may be used, with each line representing a different instrument. Systems, braces, and brackets join multiple staves to indicate simultaneous performance or instrument groupings. The grand staff (or great stave) joins two staves with a brace, typically using treble and bass clefs, with middle C centered between them. The staff's historical development from neumes to the five-line standard reflects a gradual refinement in specifying pitch and rhythm, enabling complex musical compositions to be preserved and reproduced accurately.
Did You Know?
- The staff is also occasionally referred to as a pentagram.
- In guitar tab, there may be up to six (or perhaps more) lines denoting different strings.
- 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 interval between adjacent staff positions is one step in the diatonic scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a staff in music notation?
A staff (or stave) is a set of horizontal lines, typically five, with spaces between them, where each line and space corresponds to a specific musical pitch. In Western notation, symbols are placed on the staff so that vertical position encodes pitch and horizontal position encodes approximate timing.
How many lines does a standard staff have, and can that number change?
The standard staff has five lines, but the count varies by instrument: percussion staves may use one to five or more lines, and guitar tablature can extend to six or more. The five-line format is the most common in classical and popular Western music.
What do the vertical and horizontal positions on a staff represent?
Vertically, a symbol's position indicates pitch, a specific percussion instrument, or a particular string on a plucked instrument. Horizontally, it marks the approximate moment in time when the note or event occurs, functioning much like a pitch-versus-time graph.
How does a clef work on the staff?
A clef anchors a specific pitch to a particular line or space, giving the reader a reference point for all other notes. For example, a treble (G) clef placed on the second line from the bottom designates that line as G above middle C.
What are the alternative names for a staff?
In British English it is commonly called a stave, and it is occasionally referred to as a pentagram. Both terms refer to the same five-line framework used in Western musical notation.
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