Notation Tips

The links below open Adobe Acrobat PDF files. To view the Tip Sheet, simply click the link. To download a Tip Sheet so you can read it off-line, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As" (or your browser's equivalent).

Common Notation Errors—Rest Errors

Part 1
This Tip Sheet looks at the "correct" way to select and use rests when the music is in a simple time meter. It presents some easy-to-follow rules that will make the notated music more readable (241kb). Intermediate

Part 2
This Tip Sheet concludes the discussion on the placement of rests by looking at compound time and odd meters (234kb). Intermediate

Common Notation Errors—Slur Errors

Part 1
This sheet looks at the correct placement of slurs based on the direction of the stems (232kb). Beginner/Intermediate

Part 2

This Tip Sheet continues looking at slur placement, specifically looking at the alignment of slurs to note heads (237kb). Beginner/Intermediate

Part 3
The slope of a slur is also important; this Tip Sheet shows you how to get this right (189kb). Beginner/Intermediate

Part 4
Slurs are easily confused with ties. This Tip Sheet provides some ideas on how to avoid potentially confusing your readers (234kb). Beginner/Intermediate

Part 5
This Tip Sheet concludes this series by looking at some special situations where slurs are used: chords, articulations and multi-voice parts (275kb). Beginner/Intermediate

 

Printing Our Tip Sheets

To closely approximate the hard-copy version of our Tip Sheets, we recommend that your print these using the "high-quality" setting of your printer. If your printer is capable of borderless printing, you should turn this feature on.

You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to print these, and you can download it from the Adobe site.