music dictionary : musical symbols

home products.. services.. events.. resources.. useful links.. information.. about us.. world news.. related sites.. site map search comments? dictionary 1-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z symbols composers If any detail is incorrect or incomplete please advise us, using our dictionary amendment form.

If you would like to support our work writing and maintaining the teaching resources on this site please click on the donate button and follow the online instructions - thank you for your contribution. We have prepared a printable version of this web page in pdf format: Musical Symbols - print or save locally. We have included symbols that might be found on a musical score, including a number that are not strictly musical (i.e. copyright symbol, etc.) 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,etc. I,II,II,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,i,ii,iii,iv,v,vi,vii,viii see 1-9 reference below 1-9

staff, stave or pentagram: a framework of five lines on which musical notation is written such that the higher the note-sign the staff the higher its pitch

system: notation of a line of music including all the parts and voices involved, presented in a group of two or more staves w are joined together on the left hand side by a vertical bar (ca systemic barline) and a brace (the brace is not shown in this image)

barline: a vertical line (or lines) drawn across a staff (or if the many lines, across a number of staves) to mark off measures bars) of a particular length, i.e. containing a number of notes and/or rests whose total time value is given by the time signa bars & bar lines

dashed, dotted or auxiliary barline: used to mark divisions wi bar (measure), i.e. between two solid barlines, or to show th barline is not necessarily marking periodic agogic accents in th music (as where unbarred polyphonic music is edited with bar or the work employs mixed metres)

music start: barline placed at the beginning of a section of a p of music music end: barline denoting the end of a piece of music

brace: used with a line to joining multiple staves, for example found in piano music

bracket: used with a perpendicular line joining multiple staves example, as found in piano music

clef: graphical symbol placed on the left of the stave which establishes the relationship between particular note names a their position on the staff lines and spaces (i.e. tells us which "class" that stave belongs to). treble (G2) G-clef bass (F4) F-clef alto (C3) C-clef soprano (C1) and mezzosoprano (C2) C-clef tenor (C4) C-clef baritone (C5) C-clef, baritone (F3) F-clef and subbass (F5) French violin or French (G1) G-clef percussion or indefinite pitch clef - not shown At the suggestion of Nick Meiners, we show the relative pitch positions of the commonly used clefs G-clef (e.g. treble clef) marks G above middle C C-clef (e.g. alto clef) marks middle C F-clef (e.g. bass clef) marks F below middle C old C-clef sign, i.e. old alto, tenor, soprano, baritone and

old C-clef sign, i.e. old alto, tenor, soprano, baritone and mezzosoprano clef sign

a G-clef sign found in the score of La Bohme by Giacomo Pucc (1858-1924) published by Ricordi: a G-clef used for the tenor (for this reason it is called the tenor G clef), where the note s one octave lower than written had the clef been the standard treble G clef [image provided by John Garside]

a C-clef sign found in the score of Sankey and Stebbins - The M Chorus, 'for use in Gospel Meetings, Christian Associations an other Religious Services' which marks middle C as being on th second space from the top of four. The clef is equivalent to an octave G clef called the tenor G clef where that space would b occupied by a C one octave above middle C but the note soun one octave lower [image provided by Dick Adams] G-clef ottava alta octave clefs G-clef ottava bassa

octave clefs

F-clef ottava alta octave clefs F-clef ottava bassa octave clefs alternative percussion clef, indefinite pitch clef or neutral clef percussion or indefinite pitch clef

the main elements of a musical score

common time: equivalent to a time signature of 4/4, namely fo crotchets (quarter notes) to a bar (measure)

common time, alla breve/cut time, alla cappella time

alla breve: also called 'cut time' or 'alla cappella time'; marked a large C with a vertical line through it, used for quick duple t which the minim or half note is given one beat instead of two (occasionally written with two parallel vertical lines through a C) common time and alla breve/cut time

anatomy of a note, a single sound of a particular pitch and len which is notated with a symbol made up of a notehead (in all cases), a stem (in some cases) and a flag (in some cases), an which with notes bearing flags are grouped together using a sprechgesang stem

sprechgesang: speech-song, a term used by Arnold Schnberg (1874-1951) to describe a voice delivery midway between so and speech, although he preferred the terms sprechstimme speaking voice (which was used by Humperdinck in Knigskin [1910]), sprechmelodic (speech melody) or rezitation (recitatio Note Sign number equal English to 1 semibreve breve or brevis

American

Italian

French carre or brevis or double-ronde (meaning square) semi-brve or ronde (meaning round) blanche

German

Spanish cuadrada or breve or doble redonda redonda or semibreve blanca or

1/ 2

double-whole note

breve

Doppeltakt(note) or Brevis

semibreve

whole note

semibreve

ganze Takt(note)

minim

half note

minima or

Halbe(note) or

minim

half note

or bianca semiminima or nera croma

blanche (meaning white) noire (meaning black) croche (meaning hook) double croche (meaning double hook) triple croche (meaning triple hook) quadruple croche (meaning quadruple hook) cent-vingt-huitime or quintuple croche

or halbe Takt(note) Viertel(note)

or mnima negra corchea or croma semicorchea

crotchet

quarter note

quaver

eighth note

Achtel(note)

16

semiquaver

sixteenth note

semicroma

Sechzehntel(note)

32

demisemiquaver

thirty-second note

biscroma

Zweiunddreissigstel(note)

fusa

64

hemidemisemiquaver

sixty-fourth note

semibiscroma

Vierundsechzigstel(note)

semifusa

semihemidemisemiquaver one hundred and twenty128 or eighth note quasihemidemisemiquaver Rest number equal to 1 semibreve

centoventottavo (nota)

garrapatea Hundertundachtundzwanzigstel(note) or cuartifusa

English

American

Italian

French

German

Spanish silencio de cuadrada or pausa de cuadrada or silencio de breve or pausa de breve silencio de redonda or pausa de redonda or silencio de semibreve or pausa de semibreve media pausa or silencio de blanca or pausa de blanca silencio de negra or pausa de negra or silencio de semiminima or pausa de semiminima silencio de corchea or pausa de corchea silencio de semicorchea or pausa de semicorchea silencio de fusa or pausa de fusa silencio de semifusa or pausa de semifusa

Catalan

1/ 2

breve rest

double-whole rest

pausa di breve

bton or pause de brve or silence de brve

doppel Pause

doble paus or pausa de quadrada

semibreve rest

whole rest

pausa di semibreve

pause

ganze Pause

pausa (f.) or pausa de rodona (f.)

minim rest

half rest

pausa di minima

demi-pause

halbe Pause

mitja paus or pausa de blanca (f.)

or

crotchet rest

quarter rest

pausa di semiminima

soupir

Viertelpause

quart de p (m.) or pausa de n (f.)

quaver rest

eighth rest

pausa di croma

demi-soupir

Achtelpause

vuit de pa (m.) or pausa de corxera (f.

16

semiquaver rest

sixteenth rest

pausa di semicroma

quart de soupir

Sechzehntelpause

setz de p (m.) or pausa de semicorxer

32

demisemiquaver rest

thirty-second rest

pausa di biscroma huitime de soupir

Zweiunddreiigstelpause

trenta-dos pausa (m.) or pausa de f (f.)

64

hemidemisemiquaver rest sixty-fourth rest

pausa di semibiscroma

seizime de soupir

Vierundsechzigstelpause

seixantaquatr de pausa (m.) or pausa de semifusa (

128

semihemidemisemiquaver one hundred and twenty- pausa di rest eighth rest centoventottavo

cent-vingt-huitime de soupir

silencio de garrapatea Hundertundachtundzwanzigstelpause or pausa de garrapatea

multi-rest or multiple measure rest: where a number of bars contain only rests, in instrumental parts (and sometimes in sc

contain only rests, in instrumental parts (and sometimes in sc the bars are 'collected' together and shown as a single bar co a rest together with the number of consecutive bars given by large number placed centrally above the staff over the single

various note heads listed left to right: top row: plus, circle x, square white, square black, triangle up white, triangle up black, triangle left up white, triangle left up black, triangle right up white middle row: triangle right up black, triangle down white, trian down black, triangle right down white, triangle right down bla moon white, moon black, triangle-round down white, triangle round down black bottom row: parenthesis, white, black, cluster white, cluster croix, x

certain note heads have specific meaning, for example: diamond: special playing modes or notes such as: half-valve, tablature for string harmonics, falsetto voice, silent depressio keys, held keys X: indeterminate pitches, spoken voice and unvoiced sounds, release of certain held notes, noises, ... round pierced by stems: sounds of air blown through an instrument vertical arrow: highest or lowest pitches possible on an instrument triangular : for triangles

as a notehead: indeterminate pitches, spoken voice and unvo sounds, release of certain held notes, noises, ...

in jazz notation for wind instruments or string instruments, a 'ghost note' is indicated by using an 'x' for the notehead rath than the usual oval. A ghost note is one that is to be played l strongly than the notes around it, the effect is also called 'an accent'

hauptstimme, (German) principal part or voice

nebenstimme, (German) subsiduary or secondary voice or line

ottava alta, play notes under this sign one octave higher than written

ottava bassa, play notes under this sign one octave lower tha written [entry corrected by Charles Whitman]

quindicesima alta, play notes under this sign two octaves high than written [entry suggested by Charles Whitman] quindicesima bassa, play notes under this sign two octaves lo than written [entry suggested by Charles Whitman]

the barline that marks the beginning of a passage that is to b repeated, also called 'open repeat', 'begin-repeat' or 'repeat

the barline that marks the end of a passage that is to be repeated, also called 'close repeat', 'end-repeat' or 'repeat en

repeat: the 'repetition' signs indicates that a section of a piec music is to be played a second time - where this is the first se of the piece the left hand sign may be absent - however, whe the repeat is of a later section, the left and right hand signs m the extent of the section repeated sections

an example of volta brackets, also called 'first ending' and 'se ending': in this case, a section performed only the first time it reached otherwise the performer plays a later section usually marked in a similar way but with a 2. and with no vertical line the end of the section

tremolo: one of a number of abbreviations used in musical notation, in this case for repeated notes, which can be marke individuals or marked as chords

(note the angled line or lines, also called slashes, passing thr the note stems)

sometimes a horizontal array of dots may be placed over the (instead or or additional to the slashes confirming the numbe notes to be played through the duration of each 'slashed' not

Note: in drum or timpani parts, notes with their stems crosse diagonally by two or, more commonly three, lines usually indic roll tremolo or alternations: repeated sequence of two notes a particular interval apart (note the angled line or lines lying between pairs of notes)

do not confuse with the caesura the lines of which pass throu the top line of the staff and are steeper

Note: where the two principal notes have stems, and there is

likelihood of confusion, the beams may actually connect to the

likelihood of confusion, the beams may actually connect to the see bar 2, bass staff, in the example below

simile marks, used to show repeated groups or bars (see immediately below for more information) repeated passage using simile marks

do not confuse with the caesura the lines of which pass throu the top line of the staff

repeated bars using simile marks

D.C.

(Italian: from the beginning) an abbreviation of da capo that the player should start from or go back to the beginning piece of music the sign or segno (Italian: sign)

D.S.

(Italian: from the sign) an abbreviation of dal segno, term indi a place from which a section of a piece is to be played, that p marked with a segno dal segno, D.S. (abbrev.): (Italian) from the sign da capo

D.C. al Fine

(Italian: from the beginning to the end) an abbreviation of al fine, indicting that the player should go back to the beginni and then end at the fine mark

Fine

(Italian: the end) a term placed where a piece or a section of piece of music is to end 'jump to coda' sign: a circle or oval with a cross inside it

the 'jump to coda' sign directs the player to jump from that po a section marked coda

fermata (It.), Fermate (Ger.): a musical symbol placed over a n or rest to be extended beyond its normal duration, and occasionally printed above rests or barlines, indicating a paus indefinite duration

caesura (sing.), caesurae (pl.), fetura, 'tramlines', or 'railroad tr usually placed on or above the top line of a staff or stave (no be confused with the 'simile' mark). A term derived from poetr caesura is a silent pause somewhere in the middle of a piece music crescendo: (Italian, literally 'growing') increasingly louder crescendo from silence: starting from silence, the note should become increasingly louder [information provided by Adam Glynn]

decrescendo, decresciuto, diminuendo: (Italian) increasingly sof

swell, closed hairpins (over a phrase) or closed accent (over a single note): to increase volume and then die away in the du of a single note or short phrase also called messa di voce (Italian) or mise de voix (French)

in Rossini, the typical markings of the 'closed accent' and the 'closed hairpins' appear frequently but they were also commo used by his contemporaries. They signify, in the case of the 'c accent', a more marked and longer accent than the norm; in t case of the 'closed crescendo', a crescendo that ends abruptly sforzato emphasis; in the case of the 'closed diminuendo', a sforzato that immediately trails off into a diminuendo

in nineteenth-century German non-vocal music the < > sign ca represent a stress or accent as opposed to a crescendo by a decrescendo music. In such a case, the marking apparent indicates a kind of "warm", not too powerful, accent with implication of vibrato where appropriate [we thank Ron Evans for bringing the reference Signs as Acce Markings to our attention. We have drawn our information fro that reference] notation English double sharp sharp natural, French double dise dise bcarre, German Doppelkreuz Kreuz Auflsungszeichen, Quadrat Italian doppio diesis diesis bequadro Spanish doble sostenido, elevacin de dos semitonos sostenido, elevacin de un semitono becuadro Catalan doble diesi, elevaci de dos semitons diesi, sostingut becaire

natural, natural sign flat double flat

bcarre, naturel bmol double bmol

Auflsungszeichen, Quadrat B, Be Doppel-B, Doppel-Be

bequadro bemolle doppio bemolle

becuadro bemol, bajada de un semitono doble bemol, bajada de dos semitonos

becaire bemoll, disminuci dun semit doble bemoll, disminuci de dos semitons

A note about notating accidentals in ornaments: if any of the auxiliary notes in an ornament include accidentals, for instance a C sharp in the key of G major, this is shown by writing a accidental, in this case a sharp sign, above or below the ornament sign. In the case of an F natural in the key of G major, the sign would be a natural. The convention is that if the inflection applies to a note lying above the principal note then the accidental is written above the sign for the ornament and if the inflected auxiliary note lies below the principal note, acidental sign also lies below the sign for the ornament. Obviously, if the principal note itself is inflected then the accidental is placed to the immediate left of the note head and not w the sign for the ornament a double accidental that completely cancels the effect of a do sharp or double flat sign

a double accidental that restores a double flatted note to a s flatted note (and sometimes to change a sharp to a flat)

a double accidental that restores a double sharped note to a single sharped note (and sometimes to change a flat to a sha

microtonal 'flat up' sign

microtonal 'flat down' sign

microtonal 'natural up' sign

microtonal 'natural down' sign

microtonal 'sharp up' sign

microtonal 'sharp down' sign

quartertone accidental signs (there are other sign conventions) 3/4 tone flat 1/4 tone flat 1/4 tone sharp 3/4 tone sharp

quarter tone sharp sign, a sign to show that a note should be raised one quarter tone in pitch quarter tone flat sign, a sign to show that a note should be lowered one quarter tone in pitch

Bach's own table of ornaments. The use of ornament symbols never standardised. Please refer to Chapter 23 - Music Theo Online for more information on the use of and notation of 18t century ornaments

acciaccatura: (Italian) 'crushed' note, grace note (written with diagonal line through the note stem) grace notes

appoggiatura: (Italian) 'leaning' note, ornamental note (written without a diagonal line through the note stem)

appoggiatura turn: musical ornament

turn

a symbol found above note heads in The Bird Fancyer's Deligh which is explained in the original publication thus: "The marks rules for graceing are these Viz. a close shake thus ="

the turn-with-a-line-through-it is a mystery ornament that occ Haydn's piano music. He once called it a 'half mordent' but did explain the way it was to be played. Adding to the confusion fact that he was inconsistent in using it so that in parallel pla he sometimes substitutes the normal turn as a symbol or writ out. Pianists now play it as a normal turn or as a mordent sin is often indistinguishable from a mordent in his manuscript. Yo read about this strange ornament in the preface of the Weine Urtext Edition of Haydn's Piano Sonatas trill: musical ornament

trill

mordent: musical ornament

mordent

arpge (Fr.), arpeggio (It.), arpeggi (It. plural): (Italian, meaning the manner of a harp') a spread chord played from the top do from the bottom up indicated by a vertical wavy line, a vertica square bracket or a curved bracket (the latter two signs are n uncommon) arpeggio

tie: also called a 'bind', a sign that indicates that the note bei played or sung sustained, unbroken, through the total time v of the notes under the tie

slur: a mark used to show where a group of notes are played either under a single bow stroke, or on a wind instrument wit retonguing or when singing, in one breath, so that the notes smoothly one to the other with no perceptible break

"in keyboard playing, and, to a large extent, in wind playing t use of a slur usually seems to have meant simply that the no should be less distinctly separated (though in wind playing th may also have been implications for breathing). In string play the slur is specifically a bowing instruction, but the end effect much the same. Where (accent markings) appear over succes notes under a slur, however, their function is as much articula as accent..." Brown [we thank Ron Evans for bringing the reference Signs as Acce Markings to our attention. We have drawn our information fro that reference]

sometimes an extended slur mark may have less extended sl marks within its scope. In such a situation the less extended is a slur while the more extended is called a 'phrase mark' or 'phrasing'. A phrase mark indicates the 'shape' of the musical not that all the notes below it should be slurred. Sometimes, context of the marking may be the only way to tell these two marks apart

optional slur: the performer is free to choose whether to obse the slur mark or not

hemiola, triplet: a group of three notes of equal time value performed in the time of two of them, however, (i) one or two the notes may be rests of equivalent value, and (ii) a consecu pair may be replaced by a note of double value

glissando, portamento: (Italian) a continuous movement in pitc from the lower to the higher note

left hand sign shows a rising glissando - the right hand sign s a falling glissando placed over or under a note-head, accent in a part for a drummer, indicates a medium stroke

also called the accent hairpin ( > ), together with the was one of the earliest musical signs to be used, Italian comp G.A. Piani and F. Veracini having proposed something like this several decades before it first appeared in the 1760s. composers used it until the late-eighteenth and early-ninetee centuries but then as synonyms for sf or fz or to indicate something more subtle [we thank Ron Evans for bringing the reference Signs as Acce Markings to our attention. We have drawn our information fro that reference] variety of accents

placed over or under a note-head, staccato: (Italian) note sustained for half the written length, the remaining half silent

the staccato mark was the first sign to come into common use usually appearing as a stroke, dot or wedge. Initially it would appear that the sign was intended to indicated accent as we separation, but by the late nineteenth-century the mark was to show a lightening as well as separation [we thank Ron Evans for bringing the reference Signs as Acce Markings to our attention. We have drawn our information fro that reference] variety of accents

placed after a note, a dot indicates that the note is to be held longer - for details see 'dot' in the music dictionary

placed over or under the note-head, staccatissimo: (Italian) n sustained for quarter the written length, the remaining three quarters silent - also called a 'wedge' variety of accents

placed above or below the note-head, marcato: (Italian) mark marked, accented in a part for a drummer, marcato denotes a heavy stroke variety of accents placed above or below the note-head, marcato/staccato duro: (Italian) more forceful marking, more forcefully variety of accents placed above or below the note-head, accented staccato variety of accents

the caret, when used as an accent or stress mark, also called petit chapeau. In the eighteenth-century this mark was used t denote expressive stress and for such purpose the sign conti to be used into the nineteenth-century. There is good eviden that in terms of its strength le petit chapeau lies between the + and the heavier sf and sfz. By the middle of the nineteenthcentury le petit chapeau was used synonymously with > or eve indicate a somewhat heavier stress than > [we thank Ron Evans for bringing the reference Signs as Acce Markings to our attention. We have drawn our information fro that reference]

small triangle lying above or below the note-head, stongly accented then immediate diminuendo [Rossini example (Overture to Il Signor Bruschino) supplied by David Bellugi]

placed above or below the note-head, tenuto: (Italian) note h to its written length, i.e. not detached

to its written length, i.e. not detached in a part for a drummer, the tenuto indicates a light stroke variety of accents

the horizontal line ( ) sign, with or without a dot above or b the line, was rarely used before the mid-nineteenth-century although some earlier instruction books refer to its use. dot, the horizontal line mark in piano music indicates that the keys must be struck with more than the usual emphasis, and notes must be held for almost more than their usual value" (Czerny). Most nineteenth-century commentators follow this definition, with Wagner suggesting, where applicable, the use discrete vibrato [we thank Ron Evans for bringing the reference Signs as Acce Markings to our attention. We have drawn our information fro that reference]

placed above or below the note-head, lour: in string playing bow motion is legato, but with slight separation of the notes. performed with several notes in one bow direction, each note receiving a gentle push to separate it variety of accents

placed above or below the note head, martellato: (Italian) str marked, hammered variety of accents

on a bowed instrument: down-bow, as when the bow, held b the hand, is pulled across the string on a member of the violin family, or conversely, as when the bow, held above the hand pushed across the string on a member of the viol family; the reverse manoeuvre is called the 'up-bow'

on the guitar: down-stroke, the string is plucked with the han moving downwards

on a bowed instrument: up-bow, as when the bow, held belo hand, is pushed across the string on a member of the violin fa or conversely, as when the bow, held above the hand, is pull across the string on a member of the viol family; the reverse manoeuvre is called 'down-bow' on the guitar: up-stroke, the string is plucked with the hand moving upwards

in string parts: written over or under the note-head, meaning a natural harmonic

referring to percussion notation the Percussion Information Homepage - Problems page author writes: "one very annoyin side effect of different setups, is the fact the most method bo that indicate which hand to use for a certain passage, are dif to use for players who are learning the other way! So, my ad to publishers and writers: Never indicate hands. And if you ha to, use symbols like an open and closed small circle or square above the notes. In that way we just have to change the def of the symbols and explain that to the student. But it is very unnatural to have to play a note with your L-hand when ther big R above or below it. Especially when these very letters me the same hands in another language!"

in string parts: written over or under the note-head, meaning a natural harmonic.

Note: the position of the diamond-shaped notehead indicates where the finger in placed, and not the sounding note. sounding note is also given it would be placed above the diam shaped notehead, in cue size and in parentheses. See also 'artificial harmonics'

for string parts: snap pizzicato

for string parts: use the mute

for string parts: written under a note to indicate the string to used (in this case string number 2)

in string parts: written in combination with pizz. over or unde note-head, meaning: play a left hand pizzicato

applied to chord names or numbers: A, Aug. or +: an augmen interval

in percussion parts: a dead stroke, achieved by holding the m on the instrument after the attack to dampen the vibration. D strokes are commonly notated with a plus sign (+) over the n Ringing notes in a passage with dead strokes can be indicate with a circle (o) over them; this is not necessary but can help clarify. D.S. or staccato dots are other common indications f dead stroke. These notations are not standard and should be explained at the top of the score and part +

in early music, particularly that for wind-instruments: the 'plus indicates a musical ornament, usually a trill Trills

in French horn parts: a '+' above notes to be stopped, followe a 'o' above notes that are open for longer stopped passages the word is just written out: English stopped open

English German Italian French

stopped gestopft chiuso bouch

open offen aperto ouvert

applied to chord names or numbers: d, dim. or o: a diminishe interval

applied to chord names or numbers: a half-diminished interva

applied to chord names or numbers: indicates a triad, for exa the notes G, B, D. G7 means a G major 7th chord. While is usually not needed with the triad chord, with the 7th chord it indicates that the complete triad should be included in the 7th chord

applied to chord names or numbers: indicates a minor triad, f example the notes C, Eb, G. C-7 means a C minor 7th chord for wind parts: double tongue for wind parts: triple tongue

flutter tonguing, flatterzunge (German), trmolo dental trmolo en roulant la langue (French): extremely rapid, tongue articulation on a wind instrument use the fingernails

damp

damp all

extension: a horizontal line placed immediately to the right of lyric syllable, to show that a syllable must be held during the following note or notes

breath mark: a mark placed above the stave where the comp requests that the performer break the musical line and breath producing the desired phrase shape

metronome mark: an indication of the speed at which a piece be played, in this case 60 crotchet (quarter notes) per minute

metronome marks

the historical convention: the duration of the note symbol on left (as applied in the section to follow) is the same as the du of the note symbol on the right (as applied in the section just finished) i.e. new time value = old time value

However, today it is more common to read this the other way round, i.e. old time value = new time value

Fortunately, context tends to make clear which convention th editor, arranger or composer is following

sustain pedal on or engage (sustain) pedal: two versions of t symbol indicating when the sustaining pedal is to be depress [lower symbol supplied by Mark Crosby] Joseph Banowetz, in his book The Pianist's Guide to Pedaling writes that these symbols were in use from the late eighteen century to the early twentieth

sustain pedal off or release (sustain pedal): a symbol indicati when the sustaining pedal is to be released Joseph Banowetz, in his book The Pianist's Guide to Pedaling writes that this symbol was in use from the late eighteenth ce to the early twentieth half pedal mark, also called variable pedal mark

"The use of half pedal and flutter pedal is very effective in cre a variety of tonal colours. The pedal remember is a colouring device, it is not a sustaining device. People learn it as a susta device and most teachers do not teach that it is used to give shades and colours to your tonal palette. Just like an artist ha variety of shades of reds, blues and yellows, a pianist can us pedal to create these tones. Now this only works on an acou piano, not a digital keyboard because the digital instrument e it is slightly depressed tells the computer to "sustain notes". and flutter pedal can only be done on a real instrument. By lif up the dampers a touch part of the string vibrates, or possibl out of the 3 strings in the upper register and 1 out of 2 string vibrate and sustains in the middle. This type of pedaling is ve effective for all music! I tend to flutter pedal a lot in scale and running passages. I would never hold the pedal down becaus sound would blur, but using half pedal catches some tones an allows for a touch of harmonic colour while maintaining clarity the passage work." [Source provided by Charles Whiman: answers.yahoo.com

sustain pedal on and sustain pedal off marking: the pedal is depressed at the Ped. mark and kept pressed down until the

hand vertical line, unless a half pedal or variable pedal mark (

hand vertical line, unless a half pedal or variable pedal mark ( inverted V) appears between the two vertical lines sustain pedal on and sustain pedal off marking: the pedal is depressed at the left vertical line and kept pressed down unt right hand vertical line, unless a half pedal or variable pedal m (an inverted V) appears between the two vertical lines

releases of pedal with time between release and depression (reading from left: depress - hold down - release - time witho pedal - depress - hold down - release - time without pedal depress - hold down - release)

slow release of pedal over a period of time shown by the slop line (reading from left: depress - hold down - slow release)

flutter pedal, a constant up and down motion between two p of the damper pedal mechanism such as quarter to half depth sustain pedal on and sustain pedal off marking

a direction to use the sostentuo pedal (the middle pedal on a piano) which acts as a selective damper pedal by sustaining specifically chosen notes: the pedal is depressed where the t instruction is placed and held until the right hand vertical line

sustain pedal marking from a 1945 edition of 'The Raindrop' Prelude by Chopin. Composed between 1836 and 1839, published in 1839 and dedicated to Camille Pleyel, its nickname Raindrop was provide Hans von Bulow.

[image provided by Matthew B. Woodward]

part played on an organ pedal-board - use the toe (to indicat the right foot should be used, symbols are written above the to indicate that the left foot should be used, symbols are writ below the staff)

part played on an organ-pedal-board - use the heel (to indica that the right foot should be used, symbols are written above staff; to indicate that the left foot should be used, symbols ar written below the staff)

part played on an organ pedal-board - indicate a change of to and heel, the 2 symbols are placed next to each other, with a above or below them (to indicate that the right foot should be used, symbols are written above the staff; to indicate that th foot should be used, symbols are written below the staff)

part played on an organ-pedal-board - indicate a change of fo the 2 symbols are placed above and below the notes

symbol that means 'copyright' (not strictly a musical symbol, b frequently found on a musical score)

symbol called guida (Italian) or presa (Italian) employed to sho a canon or fugue the entry points of other parts, the start of subject or antecedent, and so on

symbol called custos (Latin), Wachte (German), guida guidon (French) or 'direct', placed at the end of a line to indica the pitch of the first note on the next line

a variety of symbols used to indicate which instrument a percussionist should be playing (most are self-explanatory)

a variety of symbols used to indicate when to use a particular mallet or the hands when playing any particular percussion instrument (most are self-explanatory)

UR L: http://www.dolm e tsch.com /m usicalsym bols.htm last modified: 26 Jan 2011 Dolm e tsch O rganisation 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011