Ledger_lines

Ledger lines above the staff, using eighth notes. The lines on the right would usually be considered too far off the staff and would be written with 8va notation.

A ledger line or leger line is a tool of musical notation to express notes that do not fall on the regular lines or spaces of the musical staff. A short line (slightly longer than the note) is drawn parallel to the lines on the staff (above or below as appropriate), corresponding to where the staff line would be if the note were in range (see Figure 1).

Notes that are more than three or four ledger lines above or below the staff are usually considered too hard to read, and if there are several measures of them, it is usually preferable to switch clef or use 8va notation, even though the note placement is not uniform across clefs. Some transposing instruments (such as the piccolo, the double bass), the guitar, and the tenor voice transpose at the octave in order to avoid ledger lines.

Players of certain instruments, however, prefer ledger lines to clef changes or 8va notation. Clarinetists, for example, would rather read ledger lines in the chalumeau register than read bass clef notes, and flute players would rather read ledger lines for notes in the third octave than read 8va notation because higher flute notes require different fingerings. Tuba players, as well as trombone and euphonium players in their lower register, generally prefer leger lines below the bass staff to 8vb notation or an octave-lowered bass clef for similar reasons.

v • d • e Musical notation and Development
Staff	Bar line · Clef  · Key signature · Ledger line · Musical mode · Musical scale · Rehearsal letter · Time signature · Transposition · Transposing instrument
Notes	Pitch · Accidental · Dotted note · Flat · Grace Note · Natural sign · Note value · Rest · Letter notation · Sharp · Slur · Tie
Expression marks	Articulation · Dynamics · Octaves  · Ornaments · Ossia · Tempo
Development	Coda · Development · Exposition · Harmony · Melody · Motif · Recapitulation · Theme
Related	Chord chart · Figured bass · Graphic notation · Lead sheet · Eye music  · Modern musical symbols · Neume · Tablature

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