Skip to main content
staff

staff

14 5.1
Five lines and four spaces for writing musical notes
  • noun
  • /stæf/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pentagrama
  • In addition, the placement of the notes on the staff shows this student had little or no prior music instruction.
  • notes on the staff
  • staff lines
  • staff notation

Examples

  • "The top of the staff is 'the roof'; the bottom of the staff is 'the basement.'

    Academic text (1996)
  • Many music stores have staff with a good understanding of which keyboards are available for your needs.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The next step is to transcribe the draft copy onto the staff in order to make a final copy.

    Academic text (1996)
  • French tablature begins with six horizontal lines that look like a modern musical staff with an additional line.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Figure 5 shows a printout of music notated with both staff lines and horizontal proportional spaces.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The more creative group used keyboards with earphones to compose melodies, notating them on staff paper.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Nonetheless, the fixed system is generally known for promoting staff-notation recognition, while the movable system emphasizes pitch-relationship reinforcement.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Auditory students created melodies on keyboards with earphones and notated their compositions on staff paper.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The notes are written on the staff to indicate how they should be played on an instrument.

  • In music class, we learned how to read the notes that are placed on the staff.

Synonyms

stave
vsstaff
  • UK
1 7.8

Five horizontal lines and four spaces where musical notes are written

is the identical musical notation expressed as an alternative form

Compounds

172 5.2

A senior military officer who leads a branch and manages its operations and administration

90 1.5

A person who works for an organization

A group of top military leaders who advise the President of the United States

staff sergeant
  • Specialized
14 3.5

A military rank in the United States Army, Marines, or Air Force above corporal and below sergeant first class

A senior doctor who leads the hospital doctors and makes sure medical care is safe

half-staff
  • Formal
7 7.1

A position partway down a flagpole where a flag flies to show respect after a death

A group of employees who protect people, property and information from theft and damage

5 1.1

People who work in an office doing jobs like answering phones and filing papers

4 2.5

People who work for a company and sell its products or services

general staff
  • Specialized
3 4.4

A group of senior officers who help a leader plan and run military operations

People who work on studies and experiments at a university or lab

staff officer
  • Specialized
3 6.1

A person in the military who helps a commander plan and manage operations

People who work at a place doing cleaning, fixing and helping customers

staff of life
  • Archaic
2 3.7

A basic bread people eat as a main food

A group of workers who fix and look after buildings and equipment

People in the military who work in the main military office to plan and manage activities

staff office
  • Formal
1 3.1

A department that hires, trains, and manages employees

7.8

People who answer users' questions and fix computer problems for them

Jacob's staff
  • Specialized
9.9

A desert shrub with thin spiny branches and bright red flowers after rain

treble staff
  • Specialized
7.4

Five lines that show musical notes above middle C, used for violin or right-hand piano

staff line
  • Specialized
5.8

A horizontal line in written music that shows how high or low a note is

staff tree
  • Specialized
9.9

A small climbing tree with bright berries that wraps around fences

staff vine
  • Specialized
9.9

A climbing shrub with yellow seed pods that show bright red seeds

staff-tree family
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of trees, shrubs, and vines with bright-colored fruits

Surface Forms

staff singular
staffs plural

Etymology

The musical staff comes from an old word for a stick, because the five lines look like 'sticks' that hold the notes, so the staff shows different musical pitches.