ledger line

Notes in ledger lines above the staff. The right lines might be considered too far above the staff and written, instead, in 8va notation.

A ledger line or leger line is musical notation to inscribe notes outside the lines and spaces of the regular musical staffs. A line slightly longer than the note is drawn parallel to the staff, above or below, spaced at the same distances as the notes within the staff (see Figure 1).

Notes more than three or four ledger lines above or below the staffs are usually considered too hard to read. When there are several measures of notes outside the regular musical staffs it is usually preferable to switch clef or use 8va notation, even though the note placement is not uniform across clefs. Some transposing instruments, such as the piccolo, double bass, guitar, and the tenor voice, transpose at the octave to avoid ledger lines.

Players of certain instruments prefer ledger lines to clef changes or 8va notation. Clarinetists, for example, would rather read ledger lines in the chalumeau register than read bass clef notes. Flute players would rather read ledger lines for notes in the third octave than read 8va notation because higher flute notes require different fingerings. Tuba, trombone, and euphonium players in the instruments' lower register generally prefer ledger lines below the bass staff to 8vb notation or an octave-lowered bass clef for similar reasons.

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