n.

1. 1. A system of figures or symbols used in a specialized field to represent numbers, quantities, tones, or values: musical notation.
   2. The act or process of using such a system.
2. A brief note; an annotation: marginal notations.

[Latin notātiō, notātiōn-, from notātus, past participle of notāre, to note, from nota, note. See note.]

notational no·ta'tion·al adj.

noun

A brief record written as an aid to the memory: memorandum, note. Informal memo. See words.

A visual analogue of musical sound, intended either as a record of sound heard or imagined, or as a set of visual instructions for performers.

The earliest known forms of notation seem to have been through hand signs (see Chironomy). The first alphabetical system is Greek and probably existed by 500 bc. The Chinese had a system by the 3rd century bc. A system of Ekphonetic notation existed for Hebrew biblical texts by the 6th century ad. But the first substantial neume system in the West dates from the 9th century, from St Gall, Switzerland. Two centuries later, neumes were in use in the Eastern church; in the West, the staff, the Guidonian hand (a type of cheironomy) and Solmization syllables had been invented by Guido of Arezzo. His system of staff notation was widely copied in western Europe, existing for a time alongside neumatic notations.

In the 13th century, Franco of Cologne codified a rhythmic system (see Mensuration). Franco also codified the Ligature system. Rhythmic notation was further modified by Philip de Vitry early in the 14th century; other modifications involving varied subdivisions of the breve/double whole-note, introduced by Petrus de Cruce, were used in Italy, leading to a complex system (‘mannered notation’). During the 15th, the system of notation with black note-heads gradually gave way to one where white note-heads were used, basically as they are today. The rhythmic notation of the mensuration system used a system of circles and broken circles (like the letters O and C), sometimes with a dot in the middle, to indicate to the performer the triple or duple relationship between successive note values. A system of proportional signs, in the form of vertical strokes through the circles, or using figures, could indicate a change in note values. For example, a diminution of note values in the ratio 2:3 would be shown as the fraction 3/2; for the particular case of halving, a vertical stroke through the mensuration sign was used. The modern system of time signatures could arise only when music came to be regularly barred; here the rhythmic structure is shown by two figures, the lower signifying the unit of measurement (4 is a crotchet or a quarter-note, 8 a quaver or eighth-note), the upper the number of such units in the bar. Thus 3/2 represents a bar with three minims or half-notes; 4/4 represents one with four crotchets or quarter-notes. Where the upper numeral is a multiple of three, the time is ‘compound’ and the notes of the unit defined by the lower number are grouped in threes; thus 6/8 represents a bar of six quavers or eighth-notes, divided into two dotted-crotchet (dotted quarter-note) beats.

Void or white notation, with duple relationships for the most part between successive note values, and dots (when used for rhythmic purposes) serving only to augment by half the value of the notes they follow, was widely adopted by the early 16th century for both vocal and instrumental music, apart from tablatures. Printers also adopted it, as it was suitable for printing from movable type. Black note-heads, besides being used for the lesser note values, occasionally signified particular kinds of rhythmic change (such as Helmiola rhythms in 3/2 time). In certain special contexts, void notation for shorter notes remained in use. In 15th-century music, note-heads were generally lozenge-shaped; later, rounded note shapes replaced them.

Void notation was developed mainly for singing; for instruments, particularly plucked string instruments like the lute, and to some extent keyboard instruments, systems of Tablature were preferred, showing how the performer obtained a particular note rather than the note itself. Tablatures for the lute and guitar have remained in use; those for the keyboard fell out of use in the ensuing centuries. Instrumental features adopted during the 16th and 17th centuries included the bar-line, the beam (linking a group of notes of like length) and the slur, and clefs became standardized, facilitating reading. The demisemiquaver (32nd-note) and the hemidemisemiquaver (64th-note) were added to note values between the 16th and the 18th centuries, and keyboard notation used a score layout (sometimes with more than two staves to the system). In the 19th century, the vocabulary of signs for dynamics, accents and articulation was greatly extended.

There are many other aspects of notation that are imprecise: the system of ornaments, where small signs (akin to neumes) indicate how particular groups of notes are to be performed; tempo (though time signatures have a certain if ill-defined significance); volume, where dynamic marks cannot indicate precise levels; and rhythmic alteration, where music was not intended to be played exactly as notated (e.g. in the 18th-century French overture). Nor can articulation be precisely conveyed by notation. In some experimental 20th-century music, music is not notated in conventional terms and the player may be left to improvise on the basis of musical patterns, verbal instructions or even the impressions he receives from a picture or a few lines of prose.

---

Dance notation is the system of recording movement through writing it down in figures and symbols. There have been many different kinds of notation through the centuries. The most prevalent today are Benesh notation and Labanotation.

Written music indicating pitch and rhythm.

IN BRIEF: n. - The activity of representing something by a special system of marks or characters; A comment or instruction (usually added).

A good notation has a subtlety and suggestiveness which at times make it almost seem like a live teacher. — Bertrand Russell, Source: J. R. Newman (ed.) The World of Mathematics, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - tegnsystem, nodesystem, note, notat

Nederlands (Dutch)
notatie, notering

Français (French)
n. - (Mus, Math) notation, (système) de notation, note

Deutsch (German)
n. - Notation, Notierung, Anmerkung, Aufzeichnung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μουσ.) παρασημαντική, σημειογραφία

Italiano (Italian)
annotazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - anotação (f)

Русский (Russian)
система записи

Español (Spanish)
n. - anotación

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - beteckningssystem), teckensystem, notation, skriftsystem, notskrift, notering

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
标记法, 乐谱, 记号, 标志, 棋谱符号

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 標記法, 樂譜, 記號, 標誌, 棋譜符號

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 표시법, 주석

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 表記法, 表記, 注釈, 記録, 記法, 楽譜

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ملاحظه, مجموعه رموز‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮רישום בסמלים או בתווים, סימול, סימון, מערכת סמלים, הערה, רשומה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.

hewlett packard hp s calculator engineer surveyor rpn reverse polish notation