Infographic: Take a Quick Trip Through The History of Sheet Music

Just like any language, musical notation has evolved over time. The stave, clefs, notes, accidentals, dynamics and other building blocks that we today recognize as notation didn’t always exist. Similarly, it wasn’t always as easy as downloading the sheet music you want in the key you need from anywhere. (Yes, those were dark times, indeed.)

From stone to sheets to iPads, the portability of sheet music certainly has improved in the past 5000 years or so. Take a look at other ways notation, sheet music and sheet music publishing have advanced from ancient Mesopotamian beginnings to today.

Click here for a printable PDF version. Click here to view the infographic on a mobile device.

🎼 And now it’s time for you to get your own sheet music! Head to Musicnotes.com to find all of your favorite arrangements.

Published on April 11, 2022