Ligature (music)
The ligature is a special notation to clarify the connection of two or more notes in square , modal and mensural notation .
In the new notation , several tones that belong to a syllable were usually represented with a continuous line. After the introduction of staves in the 11th century, the line-shaped neumes continued to be written on the staves. From the 12th century onwards, however, scribes increasingly emphasized the position of the notes in the notation system by using the broad side of the pen; the square notation was born. Now the individual noteheads were clearly visible, but the note groups were still written together. Ligatures with notes below one another are to be sung from bottom to top, and those standing next to one another simply from left to right in the direction of reading.
With the note forms of square notation, polyphonic music was also recorded from the late 12th century, for which the rules of modal notation developed in the 13th century. Certain combinations of ligatures of different lengths indicated the rhythm in which a section should be performed.
Ligatures also belong to the mensural notation. There are numerous ligature variants, all of which have a different rhythm. However, they were already becoming rarer in the 16th century; On the one hand, this may be due to the fact that ligatures are more difficult to display than individual notes when printing notes; on the other hand, shorter note values that cannot be displayed as ligatures are now used more frequently. Ligatures no longer have a place in modern musical notation, which emerged around 1600.
In modern musical notation , the term “ligature” is also used synonymously for ties in legato and appoggiatura .