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Exploring Alternative Music Notation Systems

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Chromatic Twinline
by Leo de Vries, 1986

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

A 2-line staff is used, with the lower line representing E.  Above and below the staff a ledger line is used to represent C.  Between any two adjacent lines there are three elevations on which notes can be placed.  These elevations are made easier to distinguish because the notehead is given a semicircular shape when it rests against a line.  Rhythmic notation is mostly traditional.

In Chromatic Twinline the notehead color alternates in a 6-6 pattern, with the semicircles black and the ovals white. (In Diatonic Twinline the notehead color corresponds to the 7-5 pattern of the piano key color.)

Earliest documentation: 1986

Source: Directory of Music Notation Proposals, section/page: 10/11, 11/2, 13/25

Manuscript paper: Discontinuous Staves  Continuous Staves

→ Next Two Notation Systems →

Chromatic scale from C to C in Diatonic Twinline by Leo de Vries C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

Diatonic Twinline by Leo de Vries

Chromatic scale from C to C in Twinline Notation by Thomas Reed C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

Twinline Notation by Thomas Reed

← Previous Two Notation Systems ←

Chromatic scale from C to C in Chromatic Lyre Notation by Jan Braunstein C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

Chromatic Lyre Notation by Jan Braunstein

Chromatic scale from C to C in Chromatic scale from C to C in AxLoMaFi by Jai Park C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

AxLoMaFi by Jai Park

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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