List of musical symbols

Musical symbols are marks and symbols in musical notation that indicate various aspects of how a piece of music is to be performed. There are symbols to communicate information about many musical elements, including pitch, duration, dynamics, or articulation of musical notes; tempo, metre, form, and details about specific playing techniques.

Lines

Clefs

A clef assigns one particular pitch to one particular line of the staff on which it is placed. This also effectively defines the pitch range or tessitura of the music on that staff. A clef is usually the leftmost symbol on a staff, although a different clef may appear elsewhere to indicate a change in register. Historically, clefs could be placed on any line on a staff, but modern notation almost exclusively uses treble, bass, alto, and tenor clef.

	G clef The spiral of a G clef shows where the G above middle C is located on the staff. A G clef with the spiral centered on the second line of the staff is called treble clef. The treble clef is the most commonly encountered clef in modern notation.
Alto clef	C clef The center of a C clef points to the line representing middle C. The first illustration here is centered on the third line on the staff, making that line middle C. When placed there, the clef is called alto clef, mainly used for the viola but sometimes used for other instruments. The second illustration shows the clef centered on the fourth line—called tenor clef. Tenor clef is used for bassoon, cello, trombone, and double bass when the notes get very high, avoiding the use of excessive ledger lines. Until the classical era, C clefs were frequently seen pointing to other lines, mostly in vocal music, but this has been supplanted by the universal use of the treble and bass clefs. Modern editions of music from such periods generally rewrite the original C-clef parts to either treble, octave treble, or bass clef. The C clef was sometimes placed on the third space of the staff but this usage is unusual since all other modern clefs are placed on lines.
Tenor clef	C clef The center of a C clef points to the line representing middle C. The first illustration here is centered on the third line on the staff, making that line middle C. When placed there, the clef is called alto clef, mainly used for the viola but sometimes used for other instruments. The second illustration shows the clef centered on the fourth line—called tenor clef. Tenor clef is used for bassoon, cello, trombone, and double bass when the notes get very high, avoiding the use of excessive ledger lines. Until the classical era, C clefs were frequently seen pointing to other lines, mostly in vocal music, but this has been supplanted by the universal use of the treble and bass clefs. Modern editions of music from such periods generally rewrite the original C-clef parts to either treble, octave treble, or bass clef. The C clef was sometimes placed on the third space of the staff but this usage is unusual since all other modern clefs are placed on lines.
	F clef An F clef places the F below middle C on the line between the dots. When placing the F below middle C on the fourth line, as shown here, it is called bass clef, which is by far its most common usage. Bass clef appears nearly as often as treble clef in modern music notation. In older notation, particularly for vocal music, F clefs were sometimes centered on the third line but this usage has essentially become obsolete.
	Octave clef Treble and bass clefs can be modified by octave numbers. An "8" below the clef indicates that pitches will sound an octave lower than they would with the unmodified clef. A "15" below indicates a two-octave shift. These numbers may also be used above the clef to indicate pitches one or two octaves higher. A treble clef with an eight below is the most common version, typically used in music for guitar or tenor voice. Sometimes a shift of one octave up is indicated by drawing two clefs instead of one.
	Octave clef Treble and bass clefs can be modified by octave numbers. An "8" below the clef indicates that pitches will sound an octave lower than they would with the unmodified clef. A "15" below indicates a two-octave shift. These numbers may also be used above the clef to indicate pitches one or two octaves higher. A treble clef with an eight below is the most common version, typically used in music for guitar or tenor voice. Sometimes a shift of one octave up is indicated by drawing two clefs instead of one.
	Octave clef Treble and bass clefs can be modified by octave numbers. An "8" below the clef indicates that pitches will sound an octave lower than they would with the unmodified clef. A "15" below indicates a two-octave shift. These numbers may also be used above the clef to indicate pitches one or two octaves higher. A treble clef with an eight below is the most common version, typically used in music for guitar or tenor voice. Sometimes a shift of one octave up is indicated by drawing two clefs instead of one.
	Octave clef Treble and bass clefs can be modified by octave numbers. An "8" below the clef indicates that pitches will sound an octave lower than they would with the unmodified clef. A "15" below indicates a two-octave shift. These numbers may also be used above the clef to indicate pitches one or two octaves higher. A treble clef with an eight below is the most common version, typically used in music for guitar or tenor voice. Sometimes a shift of one octave up is indicated by drawing two clefs instead of one.
	Octave clef Treble and bass clefs can be modified by octave numbers. An "8" below the clef indicates that pitches will sound an octave lower than they would with the unmodified clef. A "15" below indicates a two-octave shift. These numbers may also be used above the clef to indicate pitches one or two octaves higher. A treble clef with an eight below is the most common version, typically used in music for guitar or tenor voice. Sometimes a shift of one octave up is indicated by drawing two clefs instead of one.
On a 5-line staff	Neutral clef Used for pitchless instruments, such as percussion instruments. Not a true clef—the lines and spaces do not indicate pitches—but it occupies the position of a clef. In this case, the lines and spaces indicate specific instruments, such as the different individual instruments in a drum set. It may also be drawn on a single-line staff for single percussion instruments.
On a single-line staff	Neutral clef Used for pitchless instruments, such as percussion instruments. Not a true clef—the lines and spaces do not indicate pitches—but it occupies the position of a clef. In this case, the lines and spaces indicate specific instruments, such as the different individual instruments in a drum set. It may also be drawn on a single-line staff for single percussion instruments.
	Tablature Used in place of ordinary staff notation for some string instruments, such as the guitar. Not a true clef—the lines and spaces do not represent pitches. The lines represent the strings of an instrument. Numbers on the lines show which fret to use. Because the lines represent strings rather than pitches, the spaces between the lines are never used.

Rhythmic values of notes and rests

In American usage, musical note and rest values have names that indicate their length relative to a whole note. A half note is half the length of a whole note, a quarter note is one quarter the length, etc.

Note	British name / American name	Rest
	Large / Octuple whole note
	Long / Quadruple whole note
	Breve / Double whole note
	Semibreve / Whole note
	Minim / Half note
	Crotchet / Quarter note
	Quaver / Eighth note For notes of this length and shorter, the note has the same number of flags as the rest has branches.
	Semiquaver / Sixteenth note
	Demisemiquaver / Thirty-second note
	Hemidemisemiquaver / Sixty-fourth note
	Semihemidemisemiquaver / Quasihemidemisemiquaver / Hundred twenty-eighth note
	Demisemihemidemisemiquaver / Two hundred fifty-sixth note

Breaks

Accidentals and key signatures

Common accidentals

modify the pitch of the notes that follow them on the same staff position within a measure, unless cancelled by an additional accidental.

	Flat The flat symbol lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone.
	Sharp The sharp symbol raises the pitch of a note by one semitone.
	Natural A natural cancels a sharp or flat. This sharp or flat may have been indicated as an accidental or defined by the key signature.
	Double flat A double flat lowers the pitch of a note by two semitones.
	Double sharp A double sharp raises the pitch of a note by two semitones.

Key signatures

s indicate which notes are to be played as sharps or flats in the music that follows, showing up to seven sharps or flats. Notes that are shown as sharp or flat in a key signature will be played that way in every octave—e.g., a key signature with a B indicates that every B is played as a B. A key signature indicates the prevailing key of the music and eliminates the need to use accidentals for the notes that are always flat or sharp in that key. A key signature with no flats or sharps generally indicates the key of C major or A minor, but can also indicate that pitches will be notated with accidentals as required. The key signature examples shown here are as they would appear in treble clef.
Flat key signatures
'''Sharp key signatures'''