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Exploring Alternative Music Notation Systems

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Avique Notation
by Anne and Bill Collins, 1974

Chromatic scale from C to C. C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

The staff has a 7-5 line pattern with each line representing one of the seven notes of the C major scale (the white keys on the piano: A, B, C, D, E, F, G). The five other notes (the black keys on the piano) are then placed in the spaces between the lines.  As there is no black key on the piano between E and F or between B and C, there is no space on the staff for notes between the E and F lines or the B and C lines. These two pairs of lines are closer together.  The ledger line in the middle of the single octave staff represents D. Traditional rhythmic notation is used.

The Avique staff can be considered an inverse of the Mirck staff: where one has lines, the other has spaces, and vice versa.

Earliest documentation: 1974

Source: Directory of Music Notation Proposals, section/page: 10/9, 11/5, 13/19

Manuscript Paper: Discontinuous Staves  Continuous Staves

→ Next Two Notation Systems →

Chromatic scale from C to C in 0-5-7 Notation by Richard Parncutt C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

0-5-7 Notation by Richard Parncutt

← Previous Two Notation Systems ←

Chromatic scale from C to C in Tonnetz-Based 4x3 Notation by Joe Austin C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

ChromaTonnetz by Joe Austin

Chromatic scale from C to C in Keyboard (7-5) Trigram Notation by Richard Parncutt C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

Keyboard (7-5) Trigram Notation by Richard Parncutt

Notation System Groups

  • Lines a Whole Step Apart, 5 Lines per Octave
  • Lines a Whole Step Apart, 4 or 3 Lines per Octave
  • Lines a Whole Step Apart, 6 Lines per Octave
  • Lines a Whole Step and Major 3rd Apart, 4 per Octave
  • Lines a Minor 3rd Apart, 3 or 4 Lines per Octave
  • Lines a Major 3rd Apart, 3 Lines per Octave
  • Lines a Major 3rd Apart, 2 Lines per Octave
  • Lines a Major 3rd Apart, 2 per Octave, Compact Staff
  • Lines a Tritone Apart, 2 per Octave, or 1 Line per Octave
  • 7-5 Line Pattern, 3, 5, or 6 Lines per Octave
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