Music Notation Systems: Gallery
Each image below shows a chromatic scale from C to C in a particular alternative music notation system. For a general introduction see the Guided Tour. Click the button below for controls that let you select which systems are displayed and change how they are sorted. For example, deselect a checkbox to filter out all the systems that have that particular characteristic.
Re-Sort and Filter the Notation Systems
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
As an educational and informational resource, we seek to present these
music notation systems in a fair and even-handed way. Unless otherwise
noted, they each meet all of our desirable criteria for alternative music notation systems. A number of additional systems
that take different approaches are listed on our More Notation Systems page. If you have designed a music notation system, and would like us to
consider adding it to our site, see For Notation Designers.