What are ADDITIONAL LINES in music

Image: Music language class

In order to communicate we need a language and this means that we must learn the symbols and the rules of language to be able to use it fully. As in all languages ​​and their writing, music also has these characteristics. Music is also a language, since we use it to express emotions and abstract things. So if we want to communicate our ideas well, we must learn the correct way to write and read music, so that it works and lasts. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about one of these elements of musical writing and we will discover the definition of additional lines in music so you know what they are.

Index

1. What is the pentagram
2. What is the musical key
3. What are additional lines in music
4. Examples of additional lines

Before talking about the additional lines we must make sure that we know the most basic concepts well. The staff is the foundation of musical writing, is where the notes are placed. As its name implies,

Both the lines and the spaces of the staff are used to place notes and these are identified depending on their height on the staff. The higher the note, the higher sounds. On the contrary, the lower it is on the staff, the lower it is.

The lines and spaces are numbered from bottom to top, so the bottom line is line number 1 and the top line is line number 5. Same with spaces.

There is another element that tells us how to name the notes: the musical key.

The musical clef is the reference symbol that is written at the beginning of a staff to mark what name will we give to the notes. The clef symbol indicates a specific line on the staff that will indicate a starting point. The rest of the notes will change their name in relation to this one.

As you may know, the notes we use are 7: Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la y si, in this order. So for example, in the treble clef the second line of the staff is marked. This means that the note on the second line will be "Sun" and that in the next space up it will be "The". The space below will be "Fa" and the first line will be "Me"... and so on.

Image: Jimdo

Once the concepts are known, we will now talk about the definition of additional lines in music. In a composition, the notes can have a very large range (a lot of distance between the lowest note and the highest) and on those occasions the 5 lines and spaces of the staff they do not reach us to write all the notes. It is then that we resort to using the additional or auxiliary lines.

These lines they are shorter than the lines of the staff, and are written only in the space covered by the note we are placing. When the note that needs it is lower than the first line or higher than the fifth line of the staff, we place that little extra line to write the desired note. It is important to remember that when we write additional lines, we also create additional spaces, so these are also used.

What are extra lines used for in music?

Additional lines we only write them when we need them, so if the 5 lines of the staff are enough for the notes we want to use, it is not necessary to write more from the beginning.

When naming them, we call the additional lines depending on how many we have written per height. If we have only written one above the fifth line of the staff, we call this "First additional line", to the next "Second additional line" and the same for the rest and for the additional lines below the first line of the staff.

There is no specific limit for writing additional lines, however sometimes an instrument can produce very high and very low notes and reading with so many extra lines can become hard. In this case and depending on the instrument, the musical key is changed within the same work or song. It is also for this reason that in some instruments the staff is read in different musical keys, such as the double bass for example, which uses the bass clef.

Let's get to know better what are additional lines in music with an example. If we are reading a pentagram in treble clef:

• First additional line high: The
• First additional high space: Yes
• Second additional line high: C
• First additional low line: Do
• First additional low space: Yes
• Second additional low line: The

Since you've gotten closer to the language of music with this lesson, you can now expand the range of notes to create or read more complex music. Again remember that music is a language and as such, we must practice to be able to speak and read it fluently. It may take your effort, but the result can be a lot of fun and enriching.

Image: DosLourdes

If you want to read more articles similar to Additional lines in music: definition, we recommend that you enter our category of Musical language.