Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music

This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style.

It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

Shortcuts

Music articles vary in their intended audience. Some articles are written for the widest audience of general readers. Others, especially those on technical subjects (e.g., Metric modulation) are intended for readers with specialized knowledge. Whenever possible, aim for a broad audience.

See WikiProject Music terminology for details of terminology.

Equivalent terms in different varieties of English

An article in Wikipedia should use one national variety of English consistently. This principle applies to music terminology: use musical terms from the variety of English in which the article is written. Consider showing alternative terms from other English varieties in parentheses on their first appearance. Example: "The first crotchet (quarter note) in the bar is loudest." See Manual of Style: National varieties of English.

Accidentals

Use either the {{music}} template flat {{music|flat}} (♭) and sharp {{music|sharp}} (♯) symbols or the words flat and sharp. According to The Unicode Standard 5.0, chapter 15.11, these are distinct from b (the lowercase letter b) or # (the number sign), hence b and # should not be used to indicate "flat" or "sharp". This template has the advantage of working in Microsoft Internet Explorer; see Template:Music for details. Examples:

Key signature:
- Right: "E-flat major"
- Right: "E♭ major"
- Wrong: "Eb major"
D major triad:
- Right: "D, F♯, A"
- Right: "D, F sharp, A"
- Wrong: "D, F#, A"
D♯ major triad:
- Right: "D♯, F, A♯"
- Right: "D sharp, F double-sharp, A sharp"
- Wrong: "D#, FX, A#"
- Wrong: "D#, F##, A#"
- Wrong: "D♯, F♯♯, A♯"

The {{music}} template is recommended for the natural sign, {{music|natural}} produces ♮, and for double sharps and flats, {{music|doublesharp}} and {{music|doubleflat}} produce and . Either {{music|flat stroke}} or {{music|halfflat}} may be used instead of ♭ for a half flat, while {{music|halfsharp}} may be used for a half sharp. Double sharps, double flats and quarter-tone accidentals use SVG in order to display correctly.

Chords, progressions, and figured bass

Conventional chords are indicated through the use of upper and lowercase roman numerals, or letters with a key signature provided, indicating root and quality, for example:

ii-V-I
in C: d-G-C

Numbers (Nashville notation) and letters (diatonic function) indicating function should be avoided:

~~2-5-1~~
~~Sp-D-T~~

When part of a chord progression, chords should be spaced equally if they take an equal portion of the progression's duration. Vertical lines may indicate bar divisions:

iii⁷-VI⁷ | ii⁷-V⁷ | I   ||

or, in C:

e⁷-A⁷ | d⁷-G⁷ | C   ||

Rather than lowercase letters to indicate minor, uppercase letters followed by a lowercase "m" may be used:

in C: Dm-G-C

The degree sign ("°") indicates a diminished chord. It can be produced by typing °, &#176, or (on Windows PCs) Alt+0176 on the numeric pad / (Mac) Option+Shift+8. A superscript lower case "^o" (o) may be used instead. The slashed o, "^ø", which may not display correctly for all readers, is produced by superscripting the character produced by typing ø, ø, or Alt+0248. For both of these there is an application of {{music}}: {{music|dim}} becomes ^o and {{music|dimslash}} becomes ^ø (eg C^o and C^ø).

For inversions and the degree sign superscript and subscript may be done thus:

viio , I6 .

which looks like:

vii^o, I₆.

Superscript and subscript may be combined, as in figured bass, in math markup, <math>C_4^6</math> = $C_{4}^{6}$ , see Wikipedia:TeX markup or m:Help:Formula.

Italian music terms

Many musical terms that are commonly used in English are Italian in origin. These terms should should not be italicized. For example:

attacca
aria
divisi

However, bear in mind that not all readers will understand the terms. If in doubt, provide a hyperlink to Italian musical terms used in English. For example:

The second section is marked as Adagio

There is no hard rule on plurals of Italian terms being anglicized.

cellos
concertos or concerti
tempi or tempos
timpani

However, use a consistent scheme within a single article.

Major and minor

Treat "major" and "minor" as regular words; i.e., the first letter should be lower-case, unless it starts a sentence. Abbreviated key signatures and chord spellings (such as "Cm" and "B♭M", or "c" and "B♭") should be avoided in prose.

Classical music titles

Generic titles are those that are not specific to one musical work, e.g., the names of musical forms such as concerto, overture, quartet, sonata, suite, symphony. Titles of liturgical works (such as agnus dei, kyrie, mass, requiem, etc.) are considered generic titles, as well. Generic titles are in roman face.

Piano Concerto No. 5
Sixth Symphony
Requiem

True titles are titles specific to a single work. These are titles given by the composer, much as an author would title a novel. True titles are italicized, irrespective of which language they are in.

From me flows what you call time
Pelléas et Mélisande

When true titles are mixed with generic titles, as is often the case in overtures and suites, only the true title is italicized. The generic portion of the title remains in roman type, and should always be in English even if the true portion of the title is in a foreign language.

Overture to The Bartered Bride
L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1

There are a few rare instances where a work has what appears to be a generic title but is actually a true title. Generally, if a symphony is referred to by name and not also numbered, the title is actually a true title given by the composer. These should be in italics as well.

Symphonie fantastique
Copland's Dance Symphony
Beethoven's Battle Symphony

Often, works whose official title is generic are also known by a nickname or common title. There are five acceptable methods for specifying the nickname after the generic title:

In parentheses and quotation marks. For example: Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World")
In parentheses and italics. For example: Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)
In parentheses. For example: Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)
In quotation marks set off by a comma. For example: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"
In italics set off by a comma. For example: Symphony No. 9, From the New World

There are three acceptable methods for referring to a work by nickname alone:

In quotation marks. For example: "New World" Symphony
In italics. For example: New World Symphony (note that Symphony remains in roman type)
In roman type. For example: New World Symphony

Any of these methods may be used; however, usage should be consistent within an article.

Song titles are enclosed in quotes. True titles of song cycles are italicized. Foreign language song titles remain in roman type.

"Wenn ich in deine Augen seh' " from Dichterliebe

Generic movement titles (such as tempo markings or terms like minuet and trio) are capitalized with a single initial capital – that is, only the first word is capitalized – and in roman type. Often, movements are described by multiple tempo markings. In this case, the tempo markings should be separated by en dashes set off by spaces, and the first letter of each tempo marking should be capitalized. True movement titles are enclosed in quotation marks. Once again, foreign language titles remain in roman type.

Un poco sostenuto – Allegro from Brahms's First Symphony
"Von der Wissenschaft" from Also sprach Zarathustra
Kyrie from Mozart's Requiem

The formal title of a work from the classical repertoire includes its genre or performing force, key, and index number. For modern works, the key and/or index number may not exist, but the genre or performing force should always be specified. There is no requirement to use formal titles on Wikipedia. However, in an article about a single composition of classical music, all the information one would get from a formal title should be included in the lead. Often, using the formal title to introduce the work is the most elegant way to convey this information.

Popular music

In popular music, album titles should be in italics, and song and single titles should be in quotes: The Beatles' song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", comes from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Avoid referring to an artist's second album or single as "sophomore", as this term is not widely understood outside North America. Just use the word "second".

Images

Music-related images on Wikipedia include icons, examples, and illustrations. Icons include Image:Musical note nicu bucule 01.svg as displayed on Portal:Music.

Small images giving examples should be displayed in text, without framing. For example, an image accompanying the mention of "bass clef" in a different article is displayed well this way.

Medium images giving examples should be displayed in thumbnails to the right (or stagger right and left if frequent). For example, most images of chords should be displayed this way, while their motivic elaborations should be displayed as illustrations.

Large images giving segments of music or depicting features of music should be displayed in thumbnails on the left or center of the page at 550px for visibility. For example, most melodies and scales should be displayed this way, while chords and simultaneities should be displayed to the right as small as reasonably visible.

Images of chords should generally not include octave repetitions. Images of scales must include the repetition of the octave to indicate octave equivalency.

Sections of music should follow Wikipedia:Uploading images including the use of Wikipedia:Image copyright tags and copyrights. See also: Wikipedia:No original research.

Stringed instrument tunings

For details, examples, and rationale, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style (Stringed instrument tunings)

In articles on stringed instruments and related topics, information on the tuning of the strings is very often included. The formatting of this information needs careful thought as the conventions used by major critics, encylopedias, and journals are not consistent with each other on all points.

When describing the tuning of a stringed instrument:

Always list the closest (normally bass) string first, so a guitar is E–A–D–G–B–E.
Always number the furthest (normally treble) string as "one", so the second string of a guitar is the B string.
In other matters, be consistent within the article.

Citing sources

See also Wikipedia:Verifiability.

Basic information pertaining to notated published compositions, such as key signature or length, should refer to and cite the score, except when challenged, unclear, or open to interpretation, in which case the various interpretations should be cited to reliable sources.

Only basic information pertaining to a piece, such as track length or stereo placement, may be left to an editor or editors' ears, except when challenged, unclear, or open to interpretation.

Information accompanying a recording or live performance, including liner and program notes, may and should be cited if from a reliable source.