Music Notation

The notehead is the oval or round part of a note that indicates its pitch.

Staff lines are the horizontal lines on a staff that indicate specific pitches.

The stem is the vertical line that extends from the notehead and indicates the duration of the note.

A dot placed after a notehead indicates that the note should be played half again as long as its written value.

A fermata is a symbol that indicates that a note should be held for a longer duration than its written value.

A trill is a symbol that indicates that a note should be played rapidly alternating with the note above it.

A mordent is a symbol that indicates that a note should be played rapidly alternating with the note below it.

A key signature is a set of sharps or flats that indicates the key of a piece of music.

A time signature is a symbol that indicates the number of beats in a measure and the value of each beat.

A meter signature is a symbol that indicates the number of beats in a measure and the type of beat (e.g., duple, triple, quadruple).

A final bar line is a thick double line that indicates the end of a piece of music.

A repeat sign is a symbol that indicates that a section of music should be repeated.

A coda sign is a symbol that indicates that a section of music should be played as a coda, or ending.

A staccato mark is a dot placed above or below a notehead that indicates that the note should be played short and detached.

A tenuto mark is a horizontal line placed above or below a notehead that indicates that the note should be played held for its full value.