Sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Arabic, or other languages – the medium of sheet music typically is paper. However, access to musical notation since the 1980s has included the presentation of scores on computer screens and the development of scorewriter computer programs that can notate a song or piece electronically, and, in some cases, "play back" the notated music using a synthesizer or virtual instruments.
The use of the term sheet is intended to differentiate written or printed forms of music from sound recordings, radio or TV broadcasts or recorded live performances, which may capture film or video footage of the performance as well as the audio component. In everyday use, sheet music can refer to the print publication of commercial sheet music in conjunction with the release of a new film, TV show, record album, or other unique or popular event which involves music. The first printed sheet music made with a printing press was made in 1473.
Sheet music is the basic form in which Western classical music is notated so that it can be learned and performed by solo singers, instrumentalists or musical ensembles. Many forms of traditional and popular Western music are commonly learned by singers and musicians "by ear", rather than by using sheet music.
The term score is a common alternative term for sheet music, and there are several types of scores, as discussed below. The term score can also refer to theatre music, orchestral music or songs written for a play, musical, opera or ballet, or to music or songs written for a television programme or film; for the last of these, see Film score.
Elements
Title and credit
Sheet music from the 20th and 21st century typically indicates the title of the song or composition on a title page, cover, or at the top of the first page when no separate title page exists. If the song or piece is from a movie, Broadway musical, or opera, the title of the main work from which the song/piece is taken may be indicated.If the songwriter or composer is known, their name is typically indicated along with the title. The sheet music may also indicate the name of the lyric-writer, if the lyrics are by a person other than one of the songwriters or composers. It may also include the name of the arranger, if the song or piece has been arranged for the publication. No songwriter or composer name may be indicated for old folk music, traditional songs in genres such as blues and bluegrass, and very old traditional hymns and spirituals, because for this music, the authors are often unknown; in such cases, the word "traditional" is often placed where the composer's name would ordinarily go.
Title pages for songs may have a picture illustrating the characters, setting, or events from the lyrics. Title pages from instrumental works may omit an illustration, unless the work is program music which has, by its title or section names, associations with a setting, characters, or story.
Musical notation
The type of musical notation varies a great deal by genre or style of music. In most classical music, the melody and accompaniment parts are notated on the lines of a staff using round note heads. In classical sheet music, the staff typically contains:File:DwtkII-as-dur-fuga.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Page from the autograph score of Fugue No. 17 in A major from J. S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier
- a clef, such as bass clef or treble clef
- a key signature indicating the key—for instance, a key signature with three sharps is typically used for the key of either A major or F minor
- a time signature, which typically has two numbers aligned vertically with the bottom number indicating the note value that represents one beat and the top number indicating how many beats are in a bar—for instance, a time signature of indicates that there are two quarter notes per bar.
These conventions of classical music notation, and in particular the use of English tempo instructions, are also used for sheet music versions of 20th and 21st century popular music songs. Popular music songs often indicate both the tempo and genre: slow blues or uptempo rock. Pop songs often contain chord names above the staff using letter names, so that an acoustic guitarist or pianist can improvise a chordal accompaniment.
In other styles of music, different musical notation methods may be used. In jazz, for example, while most professional performers can read "classical"-style notation, many jazz tunes are notated using chord charts, which indicate the chord progression of a song and its form. Members of a jazz rhythm section use the chord chart to guide their improvised accompaniment parts, while the lead instruments in a jazz group, such as a saxophone player or trumpeter, use the chord changes to guide their solo improvisation. Like popular music songs, jazz tunes often indicate both the tempo and genre: slow blues or fast bop.
Professional country music session musicians typically use music notated in the Nashville Number System, which indicates the chord progression using numbers. Chord charts using letter names, numbers, or Roman numerals are also widely used for notating music by blues, R&B, rock music and heavy metal musicians. Some chord charts do not provide any rhythmic information, but others use slashes to indicate beats of a bar and rhythm notation to indicate syncopated "hits" that the songwriter wants all of the band to play together. Many guitar players and electric bass players learn songs and note tunes using tablature, which is a graphic representation of which frets and strings the performer should play. "Tab" is widely used by rock music and heavy metal guitarists and bassists. Singers in many popular music styles learn a song using only a lyrics sheet, learning the melody and rhythm "by ear" from the recording.
Purpose and use
Sheet music can be used as a record of, a guide to, or a means to perform, a song or piece of music. Sheet music enables instrumental performers who are able to read music notation or singers to perform a song or piece. Music students use sheet music to learn about different styles and genres of music. The intended purpose of an edition of sheet music affects its design and layout. If sheet music is intended for study purposes, as in a music history class, the notes and staff can be made smaller and the editor does not have to be worried about page turns. For a performance score, however, the notes have to be readable from a music stand and the editor has to avoid excessive page turns and ensure that any page turns are placed after a rest or pause. Also, a score or part in a thick bound book will not stay open, so a performance score or part needs to be in a thinner binding or use a binding format which will lie open on a music stand.In classical music, authoritative musical information about a piece can be gained by studying the written sketches and early versions of compositions that the composer might have retained, as well as the final autograph score and personal markings on proofs and printed scores.
Comprehending sheet music requires a special form of literacy: the ability to read music notation. An ability to read or write music is not a requirement to compose music. There have been a number of composers and songwriters who have been capable of producing music without the capacity themselves to read or write in musical notation, as long as an amanuensis of some sort is available to write down the melodies they think of. Examples include the blind 18th-century composer John Stanley and the 20th-century songwriters Lionel Bart, Irving Berlin and Paul McCartney. As well, in traditional music styles such as the blues and folk music, there are many prolific songwriters who could not read music, and instead played and sang music "by ear".
The skill of sight reading is the ability of a musician to perform an unfamiliar work of music upon viewing the sheet music for the first time. Sight reading ability is expected of professional musicians and serious amateurs who play classical music, jazz and related forms. An even more refined skill is the ability to look at a new piece of music and hear most or all of the sounds in one's head without having to play the piece or hear it played or sung. Skilled composers and conductors have this ability, with Beethoven being a noted historical example.
File:Full score.jpg|thumb|A conductor's score and baton|left
Classical musicians playing orchestral works, chamber music, sonatas and singing choral works ordinarily have the sheet music in front of them on a music stand when performing, with the exception of solo instrumental performances of solo pieces, concertos, or solo vocal pieces, where memorization is expected. In jazz, which is mostly improvised, sheet music is used to give basic indications of melodies, chord changes, and arrangements. Even when a jazz band has a lead sheet, chord chart or arranged music, many elements of a performance are improvised.
Handwritten or printed music is less important in other traditions of musical practice. However, in genres such as traditional music and folk music, singers and instrumentalists typically learn songs "by ear" or from having a song or tune taught to them by another person. Although much popular music is published in notation of some sort, it is quite common for people to learn a song by ear. This is also the case in most forms of Western folk music, where songs and dances are passed down by oral – and aural – tradition. Music of other cultures, both folk and classical, is often transmitted orally, though some non-Western cultures developed their own forms of musical notation and sheet music as well.
Although sheet music is often thought of as being a platform for new music and an aid to composition, it can also serve as a visual record of music that already exists. Scholars and others have made transcriptions to render Western and non-Western music in readable form for study, analysis and re-creative performance. This has been done not only with folk or traditional music, but also with sound recordings of improvisations by musicians and performances that may only partially be based on notation. An exhaustive example of the latter in recent times is the collection The Beatles: Complete Scores, which seeks to transcribe into staves and tablature all the songs as recorded by the Beatles in instrumental and vocal detail.