Staff (music)

A grading system (including staves or staves ) is a group of horizontal, equidistant and parallel lines, which provides a grid for the notation of pitch available in Western notation of music. The central characters are placed on a line or in a line space. Through a clef every line and space of the grading system is assigned a certain tone. Outside the Lines marks will be recorded by means of auxiliary lines.

Historical development

Used or use partially notation systems which do not use staves (see ancient and non-European musical notation ) Historical and non-European musical cultures. Staves are used in the notation of Western music since the 10th century. With their help, could the previously used without specifying exactly recognizable pitch ( adiastematic ) neumes be detected accurately in their pitch ( diastematic neumes ). After initially only one or two lines were in use, have been working since Guido of Arezzo's extension to three and four lines in the third interval to 1025 gradually the system in use today with five lines through. The chorale notation used for monophonic tones since the 12th century with four lines is even today still occasionally used.

For stringed instruments and tablatures ( tablatures ) are in use since the 14th century, in which the number of lines in a staff to the number of strings corresponds to and is listed on the lines of the place for the gripping hand.

Recent Developments

In the middle of the 20th century saw another line systems that attempt to portray either oriented to the position of the black and white keys on the piano ( Klavarskribo ) or a continuous pitch system. However, this line systems have not been successful as a general standard itself. Contemporary use scores as needed, occasionally, from fünflinigen system different systems.

Also one to vierlinige systems are used for the notation of percussion or rhythm instruments. Even with the one-line can be listed above and below the line, along with various note heads which is sufficient for some purposes.

Accolade

Several simultaneously sounding staves are listed above each other that all simultaneously sounding notes on the same horizontal position are stacked vertically. Such a group of staves is called system or by the French term for the brace Accolade.

Occasionally, the term refers to the totality Accolade not simultaneously sounding Descending systems, but only connected by brackets instrument groups of a score.

The square bracket

The staves of an instrument cluster (such as strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion) are joined to each other by square brackets ( [ ). The thus-connected instruments received from top to bottom staff system the group solid bar lines. Voices are also connected with a square bracket. As is noted below and between the staves text, but they are not continuous barlines.

The square bracket is also choir clamp or bar clamp called because engraver stabbed with a gouge used for beams. It has therefore traditionally the same line width as bars.

The brace

A brace ({, The Accolade in a narrow sense ) summarizes several staves, which are to be played by a single instrument (eg piano, harp or accordion). In the organ as the two systems are connected for the manuals, but generally not the system to the pedals. Also, a group of the same instruments (eg horn I to IV in an orchestral score ) are connected by a brace. This is then left of the entire instrument cluster summary brackets. Connected by a bracket systems receive continuous barlines.