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Exploring Alternative Music Notation Systems

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Diatonic 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 Diatonic Twinline the notehead color corresponds to the 7-5 pitch pattern, the black and white color pattern of the piano keys.  De Vries intended for Diatonic Twinline to be a temporary, transitional system for those moving from traditional notation to Chromatic Twinline (in which the semicircles are black and the ovals are white, a 6-6 pitch pattern).

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 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

Chromatic scale from C to C in Black Triangle Twinline by Doug Keislar C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Ab B C

Black Triangle Twinline by Doug Keislar

← Previous Two Notation Systems ←

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

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

Chromatic Twinline by Leo de Vries

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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