The Staff

Author:

Catherine Schmidt-Jones

Subject:

Arts

Institution:

Connexions

Collection:

Connexions

Level:

Post-secondary

Abstract:

Western music is usually written on a staff. People were talking long before they invented writing. People were also making music long before anyone wrote any music down. Some musicians still play "by ear" (without written music), and some music traditions rely more on improvisation and/or "by ear" learning. But written music is very useful, for many of the same reasons that written words are useful. Music is easier to study and share if it is written down. Western music specializes in long, complex pieces for large groups of musicians singing or playing parts exactly as a composer intended. Without written music, this would be too difficult. Many different types of music notation have been invented, and some, such as tablature, are still in use. By far the most widespread way to write music, however, is on a staff. In fact, this type of written music is so ubiquitous that it is called common notation.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Language:

English

Material Type:

Readings, Syllabi

Media Format:

Text/HTML

Conditions of Use:

Creative Commons Attribution 1.0