Standard notation
The five-line staff system of written music, in which pitch is shown by vertical position and rhythm by note shape.
Standard notation encodes pitch, duration, articulation and dynamics in one system, which is why it remains the common language of orchestras, publishers and jazz bands. For guitar it carries one complication: the instrument sounds an octave lower than written, so guitar music is notated in the treble clef but sounds an octave below it. Players coming from tab often find that the fretboard suddenly becomes visible as a set of relationships rather than a set of memorised shapes.
Example: A classical guitar piece printed with note heads, stems and dynamic marks, rather than fret numbers, is written in standard notation.
See also
Related
- PageStaff
- PageTreble clef
- PageAccidental
- PageBar
- PageBend notation
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley
- PageAd-Rock