ledger line
- noun
- /ˈlɛdʒər laɪn/
- Specialized
:
línea adicional
- The musician had to carefully read the ledger lines to hit the notes above the staff accurately.
Examples
-
However, some instrumentalists and vocalists may have extended ranges of three octaves or more, which forces them to read and interpret multiple clefs or multiple ledger lines.
Academic text (1997) -
I lined up all the notes with a ruler, and by coloring them in, I could readily identify them regardless of how many ledger lines I saw.
Academic text (1998) -
The beginning string player is not ready to tackle ledger lines in fifth position.
Academic text (2000) -
While this was a chore, it helped me learn the music without having to stop and recount ledger lines each time I played.
Academic text (1998) -
To play the higher notes correctly, the student learned how to use ledger lines in addition to the staff.
-
When notating music for the choir, the composer added ledger lines to clarify the notes beyond the standard range.
Synonyms
A short line written above or below the music staff to show notes outside its range
Surface Forms
Morphology
ledger + line
The compound refers to a specialised musical notation feature whose meaning (a short auxiliary staff line) is not derivable from the everyday senses of its parts: 'ledger' is not transparently related to this musical function and 'line' only gives a very general clue. Because the term is technical and idiomatic within music notation, a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would unlikely predict the correct meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Ledger line is the name for a short extra line drawn above or below the musical staff, like a tiny ledger or shelf that holds notes that are too 'high' or too 'low' for the normal lines. So, ledger line means a short line written above or below the staff to show those higher or lower notes.
