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Glite Dictionary
notehead

notehead

1 6.7
The oval part of written music that shows how high and long a sound is
  • noun
  • /ˈnoʊtˌhɛd/
  • Specialized
: cabeza de nota
  • The teacher explained that the notehead indicates the pitch of the musical note.

Examples

  • Numbers by each notehead indicate which finger to use.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Multicolored noteheads can be created for elementary school use.

    Academic text (2010)

  • These lines then can turn into noteheads.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Instead of noteheads, numbers show which frets to press.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Flags, beams, and noteheads are abstract symbols.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Italicized letters by each notehead show which finger will strum the string: p for the thumb, i for the index finger, m for the middle finger, and a for the ring finger.

    Academic text (2010)

  • So I think what I'm going to do is finish writing it all out this laborious way, and then transfer all the notes by hand, as stemless noteheads, into proportional notation.

    Blog text (17)

  • The piece can all be written in stemless noteheads, and should be, so that the performer isn't lulled into observing some underlying pulse that isn't there.

    Blog text (17)

  • In the sheet music, each notehead represents a different sound to be played.

  • Musicians often color their noteheads to help beginners understand the notes better.

Surface Forms

notehead singular
noteheads plural

Morphology

notehead = note + head (transparent) = note + head

The compound literally denotes the 'head' (part) of a musical 'note', so learners who know 'note' and 'head' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Notehead joins note 'a musical sound or its written sign' and head 'the top or main part', so it literally means the round or oval 'head' of a written musical note. That's why the notehead is the part that shows a note's pitch and how long it lasts.