document_title: Musical notation

question_text: in writing music pitches are notated vertically on the lines or between the lines of a

text: Musical notation

text: History[edit]

text: Ancient Near East[edit]

text: The earliest form of musical notation can be found in a cuneiform tablet that was created at Nippur, in Sumer (today's Iraq), in about 2000 BC. The tablet represents fragmentary instructions for performing music, that the music was composed in harmonies of thirds, and that it was written using a diatonic scale.[2] A tablet from about 1250 BC shows a more developed form of notation.[3] Although the interpretation of the notation system is still controversial, it is clear that the notation indicates the names of strings on a lyre, the tuning of which is described in other tablets.[4] Although they are fragmentary, these tablets represent the earliest notated melodies found anywhere in the world.[5]

text: Ancient Greece[edit]

text: Ancient Greek musical notation was in use from at least the 6th century BC until approximately the 4th century AD; several complete compositions and fragments of compositions using this notation survive. The notation consists of symbols placed above text syllables. An example of a complete composition is the Seikilos epitaph, which has been variously dated between the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD.

text: Three hymns by Mesomedes of Crete exist in manuscript. The Delphic Hymns, dated to the 2nd century BC, also use this notation, but they are not completely preserved. Ancient Greek notation appears to have fallen out of use around the time of the Decline of the Roman Empire.

text: Byzantine Empire[edit]

text: Byzantine music has mainly survived as music for court ceremonies, including vocal religious music. It is not known if it is based on the monodic modal singing and instrumental music of Ancient Greece. Greek theoretical categories played a key role to understand and transmit Byzantine music, especially the tradition of Damascus had a strong impact on the pre-Islamic Near East comparable to Persian music and its music theoretical transfer in Sanskrit.

text: Unlike Western notation Byzantine neumes always indicate modal steps in relation to a clef or modal key (modal signatures which had been in use since papyrus fragments dating back to the 6th century). Originally this key or the incipit of a common melody was enough to indicate a certain melodic model given within the echos, despite ekphonetic notation further early melodic notation developed not earlier than between the 9th and the 10th century.[6] Like the Greek alphabet notational signs are ordered left to right (though the direction could be adapted like in certain Syriac manuscripts), the question of rhythm was entirely based on cheironomia, well-known melodical phrases given by gestures of the choirleaders which existed once as part of an oral tradition.

text: Today the main difference between Western and Eastern neumes is that Eastern notation symbols are differential rather than absolute, i.e. they indicate pitch steps (rising, falling or at the same step), and the musicians know to deduce correctly, from the score and the note they are singing presently, which correct interval is meant. These step symbols themselves, or better "phonic neumes", resemble brush strokes and are colloquially called gántzoi ("hooks") in Modern Greek.

text: Notes as pitch classes or modal keys (usually memorised by modal signatures) are represented in written form only between these neumes (in manuscripts usually written in red ink). In modern notation they simply serve as an optional reminder and modal and tempo directions have been added, if necessary. In Papadic notation medial signatures usually meant a temporary change into another echos.

text: The so-called "great signs" were once related to cheironomic signs, according to modern interpretations they are understood as embellishments and microtonal attractions (pitch changes smaller than a semitone), both essential in Byzantine chant.[7]

text: Since Chrysanthos of Madytos there are seven standard note names used for "solfège" (parallagē) pá, vú, ghá, dhē, ké, zō, nē, while the older practice still used the four enechemata or intonation formulas of the four echoi given by the modal signatures, the authentic or "kyrioi" in ascending direction, and the plagal or "plagioi" in descending direction (Papadic Octoechos).[8] With exception of vú and zō they do roughly correspond to Western solmization syllables as re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do. Byzantine music uses the eight natural, non-tempered scales whose elements were identified by Ēkhoi, "sounds", exclusively, and therefore the absolute pitch of each note may slightly vary each time, depending on the particular Ēkhos used. Byzantine notation is still used in many Orthodox Churches. Sometimes cantors also use transcriptions into Western or Kievan staff notation while adding non-notatable embellishment material from memory and "sliding" into the natural scales from experience, but even concerning modern neume editions since the reform of Chrysanthos a lot of details are only known from an oral tradition related to traditional masters and their experience.

text: 13th-century Near East[edit]

text: In 1252, Safi al-Din al-Urmawi developed a form of musical notation, where rhythms were represented by geometric representation. Many subsequent scholars of rhythm have sought to develop graphical geometrical notations. For example, a similar geometric system was published in 1987 by Kjell Gustafson, whose method represents a rhythm as a two-dimensional graph.[9]

text: Early Europe[edit]

text: Scholar and music theorist Isidore of Seville, writing in the early 7th century, considered that "unless sounds are held by the memory of man, they perish, because they cannot be written down."[10] By the middle of the 9th century, however, a form of neumatic notation began to develop in monasteries in Europe as a mnemonic device for Gregorian chant, using symbols known as neumes; the earliest surviving musical notation of this type is in the Musica disciplina of Aurelian of Réôme, from about 850. There are scattered survivals from the Iberian Peninsula before this time, of a type of notation known as Visigothic neumes, but its few surviving fragments have not yet been deciphered.[11] The problem with this notation was that it only showed melodic contours and consequently the music could not be read by someone who did not know the music already.

text: Notation had developed far enough to notate melody, but there was still no system for notating rhythm. A mid-13th-century treatise, De Mensurabili Musica, explains a set of six rhythmic modes that were in use at the time,[12] although it is not clear how they were formed. These rhythmic modes were all in triple time and rather limited rhythm in chant to six different repeating patterns. This was a flaw seen by German music theorist Franco of Cologne and summarised as part of his treatise Ars cantus mensurabilis (the art of measured chant, or mensural notation). He suggested that individual notes could have their own rhythms represented by the shape of the note. Not until the 14th century did something like the present system of fixed note lengths arise.[citation needed] The use of regular measures (bars) became commonplace by the end of the 17th century.[citation needed]

text: The founder of what is now considered the standard music stave was Guido d'Arezzo,[13] an Italian Benedictine monk who lived from about 991 until after 1033. He taught the use of solmization syllables based on a hymn to Saint John the Baptist, which begins Ut Queant Laxis and was written by the Lombard historian Paul the Deacon. The first stanza is:

text:
Ut queant laxis
resonare fibris,
Mira gestorum
famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti
labii reatum,
Sancte Iohannes.

text: Guido used the first syllable of each line, Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si, to read notated music in terms of hexachords; they were not note names, and each could, depending on context, be applied to any note. In the 17th century, Ut was changed in most countries except France to the easily singable, "open" syllable Do, said to have been taken from the name of the Italian theorist Giovanni Battista Doni, but rather Do have been taken from the word "Dominus" in Latin with the meaning " the Lord" [14]

text: Modern staff notation[edit]

text: Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church,[15] and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music, and its many derivatives. The Baroque style, which encompassed music, art, and architecture, was particularly encouraged by the post-Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor.[16] Modern music notation is now used by musicians of many different genres throughout the world. The staff acts as a framework upon which pitches are indicated by placing round notes on the staff lines or between the lines. The pitch of the round musical notes can be modified by accidentals. The duration (note length) is shown with different note values, which can be indicated by the note being just a circle (a whole note) or using stems to indicate quarter notes and other subdivisions, and additional symbols such as dots and ties which lengthen the duration of a note. Notation is read from left to right, which makes setting music for right-to-left scripts difficult.

text: A staff (or stave, in British English) of written music generally begins with a clef, which indicates the position of one particular note on the staff. The treble clef or G clef was originally a letter G and it identifies the second line up on the five line staff as the note G above middle C. The bass clef or F clef shows the position of the note F below middle C. While the treble and bass clef are the most widely used clefs, other clefs are used, such as the alto clef (used for viola music) and the tenor clef (used for some cello and double bass music). Notes representing a pitch outside of the scope of the five line staff can be represented using ledger lines, which provide a single note with additional lines and spaces. Some instruments use mainly one clef, such as violin and flute, which use treble clef and double bass and tuba, which use bass clef. Some instruments regularly use both clefs, such as piano and pipe organ.

text: Following the clef, the key signature on a staff indicates the key of the piece or song by specifying that certain notes are flat or sharp throughout the piece, unless otherwise indicated with accidentals added before certain notes. When a sharp is placed before a note, this makes that note one semitone higher. When a flat is placed before a note, this makes that note one semitone lower. Double sharps and double flats are less common, but they are used. A double sharp is placed before a note to make it two semitones higher. A double flat is placed before a note to make it two semitones lower. A natural sign placed before a note renders that note in its "natural" form, which means that any sharps or flats applying to that note from the key signature or from accidentals are cancelled. Sometimes a courtesy accidental is used in music where it is not technically required, to remind the musician of what pitch the key signature requires.

text: Following the key signature is the time signature. The time signature typically consists of two numbers, with one of the most common being "4/4". The top "4" indicates that there are four beats per measure (also called bar). The bottom "4" indicates that each of those beats are quarter notes. Measures divide the piece into groups of beats, and the time signatures specify those groupings. "4/4" is used so often that it is also called "common time", and it may be indicated with a "C" rather than numbers. Other common time signatures are "3/4" (three beats per bar, with each beat being a quarter note); "2/4" (two beats per bar, with each beat being a quarter note); "6/8" (six beats per bar, with each beat being an eighth note) and "12/8" (twelve beats per bar, with each beat being an eighth note; in practice, the eighth notes are typically put into four groups of three eighth notes. "12/8" is a compound time type of time signature). Many other time signatures exist, such as "3/8", "5/8", "5/4", "7/4", "9/8", and so on.

text: Many short classical music pieces from the classical era and songs from traditional music and popular music are in one time signature for much or all of the piece. Music from the Romantic music era and later, particularly contemporary classical music and rock music genres such as progressive rock and the hardcore punk subgenre mathcore are among the genres which use mixed meter; that is, songs or pieces change from one meter to another (e.g., a song could alternate between bars of "5/4" and "7/8").

text: Directions to the player regarding matters such as tempo (e.g., Allegro, Andante, Largo, etc.), dynamics (loudness and softness) appear above or below the staff. Terms indicating the musical expression or "feel" to a song or piece are indicated at the beginning of the piece and at any points where the mood changes (e.g., "Slow March", "Fast Swing", "Medium Blues", etc.) For vocal music, lyrics are written near the pitches of the melody. For short pauses (breaths), retakes (retakes are indicated with a ' mark) are added.

text: In music for ensembles, a "score" shows music for all players together, with the staves for the different instruments and/or voices stacked vertically. The conductor uses the score while she leads an orchestra, concert band, choir or other large ensemble. Individual performers in an ensemble play from "parts" which contain only the music played by an individual musician. A score can be constructed from a complete set of parts and vice versa. The process was laborious and time consuming when parts were hand-copied from the score, but since the development of scorewriter computer software in the 1980s, a score stored electronically can have parts automatically prepared by the program and quickly and inexpensively printed out using a computer printer.

text: Specialized notation conventions[edit]

text:
Percussion notation conventions are varied because of the wide range of percussion instruments. Percussion instruments are generally grouped into two categories: pitched (e.g., glockenspiel or tubular bells) and non-pitched (e.g., bass drum and snare drum). The notation of non-pitched percussion instruments is less standardized. Pitched instruments use standard Western classical notation for the pitches and rhythms. In general, notation for unpitched percussion uses the five line staff, with different lines and spaces representing different drum kit instruments. Standard Western rhythmic notation is used to indicate the rhythm.
Figured bass notation originated in Baroque basso continuo parts. It is also used extensively in accordion notation. The bass notes of the music are conventionally notated, along with numbers and other signs that determine which chords the harpsichordist, organist or lutenist should improvise. It does not, however, specify the exact pitches of the harmony, leaving that for the performer to improvise.
A lead sheet specifies only the melody, lyrics and harmony, using one staff with chord symbols placed above and lyrics below. It is used to capture the essential elements of a popular song without specifying how the song should be arranged or performed.
A chord chart or "chart" contains little or no melodic information at all but provides detailed harmonic information about the chord progression. Some chord charts also contain rhythmic information, indicated using slash notation for full beats and rhythmic notation for rhythms. This is the most common kind of written music used by professional session musicians playing jazz or other forms of popular music and is intended primarily for the rhythm section (usually containing piano, guitar, bass and drums).
Simpler chord charts for songs may contain only the chord changes, placed above the lyrics where they occur. Such charts depend on prior knowledge of the melody, and are used as reminders in performance or informal group singing. Some chord charts intended for rhythm section accompanists contain only the chord progression.
The shape note system is found in some church hymnals, sheet music, and song books, especially in the Southern United States. Instead of the customary elliptical note head, note heads of various shapes are used to show the position of the note on the major scale. Sacred Harp is one of the most popular tune books using shape notes.

text: In various countries[edit]

text: Korea[edit]

text: Jeongganbo is a unique traditional musical notation system created during the time of Sejong the Great that was the first East Asian system to represent rhythm, pitch, and time.[17][18] Among various kinds of Korean traditional music, Jeong-gan-bo targets a particular genre, Jeong-ak (정악, 正樂).

text: Jeong-gan-bo tells the pitch by writing the pitch's name down in a box called 'jeong-gan' (this is where the name comes from). One jeong-gan is one beat each, and it can be split into two, three or more to hold half beats and quarter beats, and more. This makes it easy for the reader to figure out the beat.

text: Also, there are lots of markings indicating things such as ornaments. Most of these were later created by Ki-su Kim.

text: India[edit]

text: The Indian scholar and musical theorist Pingala (c. 200 BC), in his Chanda Sutra, used marks indicating long and short syllables to indicate meters in Sanskrit poetry.

text: In the notation of Indian rāga, a solfege-like system called sargam is used. As in Western solfege, there are names for the seven basic pitches of a major scale (Shadja, Rishabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Pancham, Dhaivat and Nishad, usually shortened Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni). The tonic of any scale is named Sa, and the dominant Pa. Sa is fixed in any scale, and Pa is fixed at a fifth above it (a Pythagorean fifth rather than an equal-tempered fifth). These two notes are known as achala swar ('fixed notes').

text: Each of the other five notes, Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni, can take a 'regular' (shuddha) pitch, which is equivalent to its pitch in a standard major scale (thus, shuddha Re, the second degree of the scale, is a whole-step higher than Sa), or an altered pitch, either a half-step above or half-step below the shuddha pitch. Re, Ga, Dha and Ni all have altered partners that are a half-step lower (Komal-"flat") (thus, komal Re is a half-step higher than Sa).

text: Ma has an altered partner that is a half-step higher (teevra-"sharp") (thus, tivra Ma is an augmented fourth above Sa). Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni are called vikrut swar ('movable notes'). In the written system of Indian notation devised by Ravi Shankar, the pitches are represented by Western letters. Capital letters are used for the achala swar, and for the higher variety of all the vikrut swar. Lowercase letters are used for the lower variety of the vikrut swar.

text: Other systems exist for non-twelve-tone equal temperament and non-Western music, such as the Indian Swaralipi.

text: Russia[edit]

text: Znamenny Chant is a singing tradition used in the Russian Orthodox Church which uses a "hook and banner" notation. Znamenny Chant is unison, melismatic liturgical singing that has its own specific notation, called the stolp notation. The symbols used in the stolp notation are called kryuki (Russian: крюки, 'hooks') or znamena (Russian: знамёна, 'signs'). Often the names of the signs are used to refer to the stolp notation. Znamenny melodies are part of a system, consisting of Eight Modes (intonation structures; called glasy); the melodies are characterized by fluency and well-balancedness.(Kholopov 2003, 192) There exist several types of Znamenny Chant: the so-called Stolpovoy, Malyj (Little) and Bolshoy (Great) Znamenny Chant. Ruthenian Chant (Prostopinije) is sometimes considered a sub-division of the Znamenny Chant tradition, with the Muscovite Chant (Znamenny Chant proper) being the second branch of the same musical continuum.

text: Znamenny Chants are not written with notes (the so-called linear notation), but with special signs, called Znamëna (Russian for "marks", "banners") or Kryuki ("hooks"), as some shapes of these signs resemble hooks. Each sign may include the following components: a large black hook or a black stroke, several smaller black 'points' and 'commas' and lines near the hook or crossing the hook. Some signs may mean only one note, some 2 to 4 notes, and some a whole melody of more than 10 notes with a complicated rhythmic structure. The stolp notation was developed in Kievan Rus' as an East Slavic refinement of the Byzantine neumatic musical notation.

text: The most notable feature of this notation system is that it records transitions of the melody, rather than notes. The signs also represent a mood and a gradation of how this part of melody is to be sung (tempo, strength, devotion, meekness, etc.) Every sign has its own name and also features as a spiritual symbol. For example, there is a specific sign, called "little dove" (Russian: голубчик (golubchik)), which represents two rising sounds, but which is also a symbol of the Holy Ghost. Gradually the system became more and more complicated. This system was also ambiguous, so that almost no one, except the most trained and educated singers, could sing an unknown melody at sight. The signs only helped to reproduce the melody, not coding it in an unambiguous way. (See Byzantine Empire)

text: China[edit]

text: The earliest known examples of text referring to music in China are inscriptions on musical instruments found in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (d. 433 B.C.). Sets of 41 chimestones and 65 bells bore lengthy inscriptions concerning pitches, scales, and transposition. The bells still sound the pitches that their inscriptions refer to. Although no notated musical compositions were found, the inscriptions indicate that the system was sufficiently advanced to allow for musical notation. Two systems of pitch nomenclature existed, one for relative pitch and one for absolute pitch. For relative pitch, a solmization system was used.[19]

text: Gongche notation used Chinese characters for the names of the scale.

text: Japan[edit]

text: Japanese music is highly diversified, and therefore requires various systems of notation. In Japanese shakuhachi music, for example, glissandos and timbres are often more significant than distinct pitches, whereas taiko notation focuses on discrete strokes.

text: Ryukyuan sanshin music uses kunkunshi, a notation system of kanji with each character corresponding to a finger position on a particular string.

text: Indonesia[edit]

text: Notation plays a relatively minor role in the oral traditions of Indonesia. However, in Java and Bali, several systems were devised beginning at the end of the 19th century, initially for archival purposes. Today the most widespread are cipher notations ("not angka" in the broadest sense) in which the pitches are represented with some subset of the numbers 1 to 7, with 1 corresponding to either highest note of a particular octave, as in Sundanese gamelan, or lowest, as in the kepatihan notation of Javanese gamelan.

text: Notes in the ranges outside the central octave are represented with one or more dots above or below the each number. For the most part, these cipher notations are mainly used to notate the skeletal melody (the balungan) and vocal parts (gerongan), although transcriptions of the elaborating instrument variations are sometimes used for analysis and teaching. Drum parts are notated with a system of symbols largely based on letters representing the vocables used to learn and remember drumming patterns; these symbols are typically laid out in a grid underneath the skeletal melody for a specific or generic piece.

text: The symbols used for drum notation (as well as the vocables represented) are highly variable from place to place and performer to performer. In addition to these current systems, two older notations used a kind of staff: the Solonese script could capture the flexible rhythms of the pesinden with a squiggle on a horizontal staff, while in Yogyakarta a ladder-like vertical staff allowed notation of the balungan by dots and also included important drum strokes. In Bali, there are a few books published of Gamelan gender wayang pieces, employing alphabetical notation in the old Balinese script.

text: Composers and scholars both Indonesian and foreign have also mapped the slendro and pelog tuning systems of gamelan onto the western staff, with and without various symbols for microtones. The Dutch composer Ton de Leeuw also invented a three line staff for his composition Gending. However, these systems do not enjoy widespread use.

text: In the second half of the twentieth century, Indonesian musicians and scholars extended cipher notation to other oral traditions, and a diatonic scale cipher notation has become common for notating western-related genres (church hymns, popular songs, and so forth). Unlike the cipher notation for gamelan music, which uses a "fixed Do" (that is, 1 always corresponds to the same pitch, within the natural variability of gamelan tuning), Indonesian diatonic cipher notation is "moveable-Do" notation, so scores must indicate which pitch corresponds to the number 1 (for example, "1=C").

text:
A short melody in slendro notated using the Surakarta method.[20]

The same notated using the Yogyakarta method or 'chequered notation'.[20]

The same notated using Kepatihan notation.[20]

The same approximated using Western notation.[20]  Play (help·info)

text: Other systems and practices[edit]

text: Cipher notation[edit]

text: Cipher notation systems assigning Arabic numerals to the major scale degrees have been used at least since the Iberian organ tablatures of the 16th-century and include such exotic adaptations as Siffernotskrift. The one most widely in use today is the Chinese Jianpu, discussed in the main article. Numerals can of course also be assigned to different scale systems, as in the Javanese kepatihan notation described above.

text: Solfège[edit]

text: Solfège is a way of assigning syllables to names of the musical scale. In order, they are today: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do' (for the octave). The classic variation is: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si Do'. The first Western system of functional names for the musical notes was introduced by Guido of Arezzo (c. 991 – after 1033), using the beginning syllables of the first six musical lines of the Latin hymn Ut queant laxis. The original sequence was Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La, where each verse started a scale note higher. "Ut" later became "Do". The equivalent syllables used in Indian music are: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni. See also: solfège, sargam, Kodály hand signs.

text: Tonic sol-fa is a type of notation using the initial letters of solfège.

text: Letter notation[edit]

text: The notes of the 12-tone scale can be written by their letter names A–G, possibly with a trailing sharp or flat symbol, such as A♯ or B♭.

text: Tablature[edit]

text: Tablature was first used in the Middle Ages for organ music and later in the Renaissance for lute music.[21] In most lute tablatures, a staff is used, but instead of pitch values, the lines of the staff represent the strings of the instrument. The frets to finger are written on each line, indicated by letters or numbers. Rhythm is written separately with one or another variation of standard note values indicating the duration of the fastest moving part. Few seem to have remarked on the fact that tablature combines in one notation system both the physical and technical requirements of play (the lines and symbols on them and in relation to each other representing the actual performance actions) with the unfolding of the music itself (the lines of tablature taken horizontally represent the actual temporal unfolding of the music). In later periods, lute and guitar music was written with standard notation. Tablature caught interest again in the late 20th century for popular guitar music and other fretted instruments, being easy to transcribe and share over the internet in ASCII format. Websites like OLGA[22] have archives of text-based popular music tablature.

text: Klavar notation[edit]

text: Klavarskribo (sometimes shortened to klavar) is a music notation system that was introduced in 1931 by the Dutchman Cornelis Pot. The name means "keyboard writing" in Esperanto. It differs from conventional music notation in a number of ways and is intended to be easily readable. Many klavar readers are from the Netherlands.

text: Piano-roll-based notations[edit]

text: Some chromatic systems have been created taking advantage of the layout of black and white keys of the standard piano keyboard. The "staff" is most widely referred to as "piano roll", created by extending the black and white piano keys.

text: Chromatic staff notations[edit]

text: Over the past three centuries, hundreds of music notation systems have been proposed as alternatives to traditional western music notation. Many of these systems seek to improve upon traditional notation by using a "chromatic staff" in which each of the 12 pitch classes has its own unique place on the staff. Examples are the Ailler-Brennink notation, Jacques-Daniel Rochat's Dodeka[23] system, Tom Reed's Twinline notation, Russell Ambrose's Ambrose Piano Tabs,[24] Paul Morris' Clairnote,[25] John Keller's Express Stave, and José A. Sotorrio's Bilinear Music Notation. These notation systems do not require the use of standard key signatures, accidentals, or clef signs. They also represent interval relationships more consistently and accurately than traditional notation. The Music Notation Project (formerly known as the Music Notation Modernization Association) has a website with information on many of these notation systems.[26]

text: Graphic notation[edit]

text: The term 'graphic notation' refers to the contemporary use of non-traditional symbols and text to convey information about the performance of a piece of music. Practitioners include Christian Wolff, Earle Brown, Anthony Braxton, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Krzysztof Penderecki, Cornelius Cardew, and Roger Reynolds. See Notations, edited by John Cage and Alison Knowles, ISBN 0-685-14864-5.

text: Simplified music notation[edit]

text: Simplified Music Notation is an alternative form of musical notation designed to make sight-reading easier. It is based on classical staff notation, but incorporates sharps and flats into the shape of the note heads. Notes such as double sharps and double flats are written at the pitch they are actually played at, but preceded by symbols called history signs that show they have been transposed.

text: Modified stave notation[edit]

text: Modified Stave Notation (MSN) is an alternative way of notating music for people who cannot easily read ordinary musical notation even if it is enlarged.

text: Parsons code[edit]

text: Parsons code is used to encode music so that it can be easily searched.

text: Braille music[edit]

text: Braille music is a complete, well developed, and internationally accepted musical notation system that has symbols and notational conventions quite independent of print music notation. It is linear in nature, similar to a printed language and different from the two-dimensional nature of standard printed music notation. To a degree Braille music resembles musical markup languages[27] such as MusicXML[28] or NIFF.

text: Integer notation[edit]

text: In integer notation, or the integer model of pitch, all pitch classes and intervals between pitch classes are designated using the numbers 0 through 11.

text: Rap notation[edit]

text: The standard form of rap notation is the "flow diagram", where rappers line up their lyrics underneath "beat numbers".[29] Hip-hop scholars also make use of the same flow diagrams that rappers use: the books How to Rap and How to Rap 2 extensively use the diagrams to explain rap's triplets, flams, rests, rhyme schemes, runs of rhyme, and breaking rhyme patterns, among other techniques.[30] Similar systems are used by musicologists Adam Krims in his book Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity[31] and Kyle Adams in his work on rap's flow.[32] As rap revolves around a strong 4/4 beat,[33] with certain syllables aligned to the beat, all the notational systems have a similar structure: they all have four beat numbers at the top of the diagram, so that syllables can be written in-line with the beat.[33]

text: Music notation on computer[edit]

text: Many computer programs have been developed for creating music notation (called scorewriters or music notation software). Music may also be stored in various digital file formats for purposes other than graphic notation output.

text: Perspectives of musical notation in composition and musical performance[edit]

text: According to Philip Tagg and Richard Middleton, musicology and to a degree European-influenced musical practice suffer from a 'notational centricity', a methodology slanted by the characteristics of notation.[34]

text: Patents[edit]

text: In some countries, new musical notations can be patented. In the United States, for example, about 90 patents have been issued for new notation systems. The earliest patent, U.S. Patent 1,383 was published in 1839.


document_title: Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

question_text: what is the highest enlisted rank in the marine corps

root

text: Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

text: History[edit]

text: In the U.S. Marine Corps, sergeant major is the ninth and highest enlisted rank, just above first sergeant, and equal in grade to master gunnery sergeant, although the two have different responsibilities. A sergeant major typically serves as the unit commander's senior enlisted adviser and to handle matters of discipline and morale among the enlisted Marines. The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is chosen by the Commandant of the Marine Corps to serve as his adviser and is the preeminent and highest ranking enlisted Marine with an order of precedence of a lieutenant general.[3]

tag: p

text: Although not officially considered a Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, when Archibald Sommers was appointed to the grade of Sergeant Major January 1, 1801, it was a solitary post, similar to the modern billet of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. In 1833, an act of legislation made the rank of sergeant major permanent for the Marine Corps and by 1899 five Marines held the rank of sergeant major. This continued until 1946, when the rank was abolished, only to be re-introduced in 1954 as part of the Marine Corps rank structure.[4]

text: The post of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was established in 1957 from the order of Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel at Headquarters Marine Corps, Brigadier general James P. Berkeley, as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps,[4] the first such post in any of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces.[5] In 1970, the rank insignia of the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was authorized (which features three stripes, the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor flanked by two five-point stars in the center, and four rockers) as opposed to the standard Sergeant Major rank insignia (which features three stripes, one five-point star in the center, and four rockers), which was used for the rank from the post's creation in 1957 to 1970. While "Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps" is the full wording of the rank, the verbal address for this is commonly Sergeant Major.

text: The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps and typically serves a four-year term, though his service is at the discretion of the Commandant.[5] Since Sergeant Major Wilbur Bestwick was appointed the first Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps in 1957, 17 different Marines have filled this post.[6]

text: On January 20, 2015, Commandant Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. announced that Sergeant Major Ronald L. Green would relieve Sergeant Major Micheal P. Barrett and serve as the 18th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps on February 20, 2015.[7]

text: Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps[edit]

text:
#
Picture
Name
Tenure from
Tenure to

1

Bestwick Wilbur Bestwick[8]
000000001957-05-23-0000May 23, 1957
000000001959-09-01-0000September 1, 1959

2

Rauber Francis D. Rauber[9]
000000001959-09-01-0000September 1, 1959
000000001962-06-29-0000June 29, 1962

3

McHugh Thomas J. McHugh[10]
000000001962-06-29-0000June 29, 1962
000000001965-07-17-0000July 17, 1965

4

Sweet Herbert J. Sweet[11]
000000001965-07-17-0000July 17, 1965
000000001969-08-01-0000August 1, 1969

5

Dailey Joseph W. Dailey[12]
000000001969-08-01-0000August 1, 1969
000000001973-02-01-0000February 1, 1973

6

Puckett Clinton A. Puckett[13]
000000001973-02-01-0000February 1, 1973
000000001975-06-01-0000June 1, 1975

7

Black Henry H. Black[14]
000000001975-06-01-0000June 1, 1975
000000001977-04-01-0000April 1, 1977

8

Massaro John R. Massaro[15]
000000001977-04-01-0000April 1, 1977
000000001979-08-16-0000August 16, 1979

9

Crawford Leland D. Crawford[16]
000000001979-08-16-0000August 16, 1979
000000001983-06-28-0000June 28, 1983

10

Cleary Robert E. Cleary[17]
000000001983-06-28-0000June 28, 1983
000000001987-06-27-0000June 27, 1987

11

Sommers David W. Sommers[18]
000000001987-06-27-0000June 27, 1987
000000001991-06-28-0000June 28, 1991

12

Overstreet Harold G. Overstreet[19]
000000001991-06-28-0000June 28, 1991
000000001995-06-30-0000June 30, 1995

13

Lee Lewis G. Lee[20]
000000001995-06-30-0000June 30, 1995
000000001999-06-29-0000June 29, 1999

14

McMichael Alford L. McMichael[21]
000000001999-06-29-0000June 29, 1999
000000002003-06-26-0000June 26, 2003

15

Estrada John L. Estrada[22]
000000002003-06-26-0000June 26, 2003
000000002007-04-25-0000April 25, 2007

16

Kent Carlton W. Kent[23]
000000002007-04-25-0000April 25, 2007
000000002011-06-09-0000June 9, 2011

17

Barrett Micheal P. Barrett[24]
000000002011-06-09-0000June 9, 2011
000000002015-02-20-0000February 20, 2015

18

Green Ronald L. Green[25]
000000002015-02-20-0000February 20, 2015
Incumbent

tag: table

text: Timeline[edit]


document_title: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry

question_text: who has more la liga titles messi or ronaldo

text: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry

text: History[edit]

text:
It's only the media, the press, who wants us to be at loggerheads but I've never fought with Cristiano.
—Messi addresses his perceived rivalry with Ronaldo[27]

tag: div

text:
I like to see all good players, and Messi is one of them. He is a player, I really enjoy seeing him on the pitch, and all the great players.
—Ronaldo talks about Messi in an interview with Fox Sports Argentina[28]

text: In 2007, Ronaldo and Messi finished as runners-up to A.C. Milan's Kaká in both the Ballon d'Or, an award rewarded to the player voted as the best in the world by an international panel of sports journalists; and the FIFA World Player of the Year, an award voted for by coaches and captains of international teams. In an interview that year, Messi was quoted as saying "Cristiano Ronaldo is an extraordinary player and it would be brilliant to be in the same team as him".[29][30]

text: They first played in a game together when Manchester United were drawn to play Barcelona in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League semi-finals and were immediately pitted as major rivals.[31][32][33] Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first leg,[34] but United eventually advanced to the final via a Paul Scholes goal.[35] At the end of the year, Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d'Or and vowed that he would win the award again.[36][37]

text: The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was contested between Manchester United and Barcelona on 27 May 2009 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match, described as a "dream clash",[38] was again hyped as the latest battle between the two, this time to settle who was the best player in the world;[39][40] Ronaldo claimed he was the better of the two[41] while Messi's club-mate Xavi sided with him.[42] United manager Alex Ferguson was more diplomatic, praising both players as being amongst the world's elite talents.[43][44] Messi, playing in a central role he was unaccustomed to so he would avoid a direct battle with United left-back Patrice Evra,[45] scored Barcelona's second in a 2–0 victory with a header in the 70th minute.[46] Meanwhile, Ronaldo was subdued for much of the game despite some early chances to score and his frustration eventually showed when he was booked for a rash tackle on Carles Puyol.[47][48]

text: Relationship between Messi and Ronaldo[edit]

text: In a 2015 interview, Ronaldo commented on the rivalry by saying that "I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high"[49] while Ronaldo's manager during his time at Manchester United Alex Ferguson opined that "I don't think the rivalry against each other bothers them. I think they have their own personal pride in terms of wanting to be the best".[50] Messi has denied any rivalry, saying that it was "only the media, the press, who wants us to be at loggerheads but I've never fought with Cristiano".[51]

text: However, it is widely argued and documented that there's an atmosphere of tension between the duo, with Guillem Balagué claiming in Messi that Ronaldo refers to the Argentine counterpart as "motherfucker" behind his back,[52][53] and Luca Caioli saying in his book, Ronaldo: The Obsession for Perfection, that according to his sources, Ronaldo heats up when watching Messi play.[54] In response to claims that he and Messi do not get on well on a personal level, Ronaldo commented: "We don't have a relationship outside the world of football, just as we don't with a lot of other players", before adding that in years to come he hopes they can laugh about it together, stating: "We have to look on this rivalry with a positive spirit, because it's a good thing".[55] On 13 November 2014, Ronaldo also threatened to take legal action over the remarks made by Balagué.[56]

text: Awards and records[edit]

text: Throughout the existence of the rivalry, the pair have dominated awards ceremonies and broken a multitude of goalscoring records for both club and country, feats which have been described as "incredible", "ridiculous" and "remarkable".[57][58][59] The rivalry itself has been described as one about records and reputation of the players, rather than one based in loathing.[60][61]

text: Ronaldo is the UEFA Champions League all-time top goalscorer while Messi is second. The two had broken each other's record over the course of 2015 after Messi surpassed the previous record holder Raúl in November 2014.[62] Ronaldo opened a gap in the 2015–16 season when he became the first player to score double figures in the group stage of the Champions League, setting the record at 11 goals.[63] They are the first two players to score 100 goals in UEFA Champions League history.[64]

text: Player statistics[edit]

text:
Lionel Messi

Season
League
Cup
Europe
Other
Total

Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals

2004–05
7
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
9
1

2005–06
17
6
2
1
6
1
0
0
25
8

2006–07
26
14
2
2
5
1
3
0
36
17

2007–08
28
10
3
0
9
6
0
0
40
16

2008–09
31
23
8
6
12
9
0
0
51
38

2009–10
35
34
3
1
11
8
4
4
53
47

2010–11
33
31
7
7
13
12
2
3
55
53

2011–12
37
50
7
3
11
14
5
6
60
73

2012–13
32
46
5
4
11
8
2
2
50
60

2013–14
31
28
6
5
7
8
2
0
46
41

2014–15
38
43
6
5
13
10
0
0
57
58

2015–16
33
26
5
5
7
6
4
4
49
41

2016–17
34
37
7
5
9
11
2
1
52
54

2017–18
36
34
6
4
10
6
2
1
54
45

Total

418
383
68
48
125
100
26
21
637
552

Cristiano Ronaldo

Season
League
Cup
Europe
Other
Total

Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals

2002–03
25
3
3
2
3
0
0
0
31
5

2003–04
29
4
6
2
5
0
0
0
40
6

2004–05
33
5
9
4
8
0
0
0
50
9

2005–06
33
9
6
2
8
1
0
0
47
12

2006–07
34
17
8
3
11
3
0
0
53
23

2007–08
34
31
3
3
11
8
1
0
49
42

2008–09
33
18
6
3
12
4
2
1
53
26

2009–10
29
26
0
0
6
7
0
0
35
33

2010–11
34
40
8
7
12
6
0
0
54
53

2011–12
38
46
5
3
10
10
2
1
55
60

2012–13
34
34
7
7
12
12
2
2
55
55

2013–14
30
31
6
3
11
17
0
0
47
51

2014–15
35
48
2
1
12
10
5
2
54
61

2015–16
36
35
0
0
12
16
0
0
48
51

2016–17
29
25
2
1
13
12
2
4
46
42

2017–18
27
26
0
0
13
15
4
3
44
44

Total

513
398
71
41
159
121
18
13
761
573

text:
Lionel Messi[65]

Season
Tournament
Qualifiers
Friendlies
Total

Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals

2005–06
3
1
3
0
4
1
10
2

2006–07
6
2
0
0
4
2
10
4

2007–08
0
0
6
2
4
1
10
3

2008–09
0
0
8
2
1
1
9
3

2009–10
5
0
4
0
2
1
11
1

2010–11
4
0
0
0
7
4
11
4

2011–12
0
0
4
3
5
7
9
9

2012–13
0
0
8
5
4
4
12
9

2013–14
7
4
1
2
3
1
11
7

2014–15
6
1
0
0
4
3
10
4

2015–16
5
5
2
1
3
3
10
9

2016–17
0
0
4
3
1
0
5
3

2017–18
4
1
5
3
0
0
9
4

Total

36
13
44
21
42
27
128
65

Cristiano Ronaldo[66]

Season
Tournament
Qualifiers
Friendlies
Total

Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals

2003–04
6
2
0
0
7
0
13
2

2004–05
0
0
8
7
2
0
10
7

2005–06
6
1
4
0
5
2
15
3

2006–07
0
0
6
5
2
0
8
5

2007–08
3
1
7
3
2
0
12
4

2008–09
0
0
4
0
3
1
7
1

2009–10
4
1
3
0
4
0
11
1

2010–11
0
0
3
2
2
1
5
3

2011–12
5
3
5
5
4
1
14
9

2012–13
0
0
6
1
3
3
9
4

2013–14
3
1
4
7
3
3
10
11

2014–15
0
0
4
5
2
0
6
5

2015–16
7
3
2
0
4
3
13
6

2016–17
4
2
5
11
1
1
10
14

2017–18
4
4
4
4
2
2
10
10

Total

38
14
65
50
46
17
154
85

text: Head-to-head[edit]

text: In recent years, it has been said that the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been "encapsulated" by the individual rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi,[67][68] with neither player ever participating in a goalless El Clásico.[69]

text:
Legend

Final

Semi-final

text:
No.
Date
Competition
Home team
Away team
Score
Goals scored by the duo

1

23 April 2008

Champions League

Barcelona

Manchester United

0–0

2

29 April 2008

Champions League

Manchester United

Barcelona

1–0

3

27 May 2009

Champions League

Barcelona

Manchester United

2-0

Messi ( 70')

4

29 November 2009

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

1–0

5

10 April 2010

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

0–2

Messi ( 33')

6

29 November 2010

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

5–0

7

9 February 2011

Friendly

Argentina

Portugal

2–1

Ronaldo ( 53'), Messi ( 83' (pen.))

8

16 April 2011

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

1–1

Messi ( 51' (pen.)), Ronaldo ( 81' (pen.))

9

20 April 2011

Copa del Rey

Real Madrid

Barcelona

1–0 (a.e.t.)

Ronaldo ( 103')

10

27 April 2011

Champions League

Real Madrid

Barcelona

0–2

Messi ( 76', 87')

11

3 May 2011

Champions League

Barcelona

Real Madrid

1–1

12

14 August 2011

Supercopa de España

Real Madrid

Barcelona

2–2

Messi ( 45')

13

17 August 2011

Supercopa de España

Barcelona

Real Madrid

3–2

Ronaldo ( 20'), Messi ( 53', 88')

14

10 December 2011

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

1–3

15

18 January 2012

Copa del Rey

Real Madrid

Barcelona

1–2

Ronaldo ( 11')

16

25 January 2012

Copa del Rey

Barcelona

Real Madrid

2–2

Ronaldo ( 68')

17

21 April 2012

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

1–2

Ronaldo ( 73')

18

23 August 2012

Supercopa de España

Barcelona

Real Madrid

3–2

Ronaldo ( 55'), Messi ( 70' (pen.))

19

29 August 2012

Supercopa de España

Real Madrid

Barcelona

2–1

Ronaldo ( 19'), Messi ( 45')

20

7 October 2012

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

2–2

Ronaldo ( 23', 66'), Messi ( 31', 61')

21

30 January 2013

Copa del Rey

Real Madrid

Barcelona

1–1

22

26 February 2013

Copa del Rey

Barcelona

Real Madrid

1–3

Ronaldo ( 12', 57')

23

2 March 2013

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

2–1

Messi ( 18')

24

26 October 2013

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

2–1

25

23 March 2014

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

3–4

Messi ( 42', 65' (pen.), 84' (pen.)), Ronaldo ( 55' (pen.))

26

25 October 2014

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

3–1

Ronaldo ( 35' (pen.))

27

18 November 2014

Friendly

Argentina

Portugal

0–1

28

22 March 2015

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

2–1

Ronaldo ( 31')

29

21 November 2015

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

0–4

30

2 April 2016

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

1–2

Ronaldo ( 85')

31

3 December 2016

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

1–1

32

23 April 2017

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

2–3

Messi ( 33', 90+2')

33

13 August 2017

Supercopa de España

Barcelona

Real Madrid

1–3

Messi ( 77' (pen.)), Ronaldo ( 80')

34

23 December 2017

La Liga

Real Madrid

Barcelona

0–3

Messi ( 64' (pen.))

35

6 May 2018

La Liga

Barcelona

Real Madrid

2–2

Ronaldo ( 14'), Messi ( 52')

text: Results[edit]

text:
Competition

Games played

Messi wins

Draws

Ronaldo wins

Messi goals

Ronaldo goals

La Liga

18
10
4
4
12
9

Champions League

5
2
2
1
3
0

Copa del Rey

5
1
2
2
0
5

Supercopa de España

5
2
1
2
6
4

Friendly

2
1
0
1
1
1

Total official matches
35
16
9
10
22
19

text: Last updated 6 May 2018


document_title: Slam dunk

question_text: who did the free throw line dunk first

question_tokens: who did the free throw line dunk first

text: Slam dunk

text: Introduction[edit]

text: During the 1940s and '50s, 7-foot center and Olympic Gold Medalist Bob Kurland was dunking regularly during games.[5] Yet defenders viewed the execution of a slam dunk as a personal affront that deserved retribution; thus defenders often intimidated offensive players and thwarted the move. Satch Sanders, a career Boston Celtic from 1960 to 1973, said:

text: "...in the old days, [defenders] would run under you when you were in the air... ...trying to take people out of games so they couldn't play. It was an unwritten rule..."[6]

text: Still, by the late 1950s and early '60's players such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain had incorporated the move into their offensive arsenal. The dunk became a fan-favorite, as offensive players began to aggressively intimidate defenders with the threat of vicious slams. Through the 1970s, the slam dunk was standard fare; David Thompson, Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins, and others wowed crowds with high-flying moves.

text: Dunk types[edit]

text: Dunk types reflect the various motions performed on the way to the basket. They start with the basic one- or two-hand forward-facing dunk and go on through various levels of athleticism and intricacy. Discrete dunk types can be modified by appending other moves; for example, a player who passes the ball off the backboard, catches it in the air, and executes a double-pump dunk would be said to have completed a "self-pass off the backboard, double pump".

text: Double Clutch[edit]

text: At the onset of the jump, the ball is controlled by either one or both hands and once in the air is typically brought to chest level. The player will then quickly thrust the ball downwards and fully extend their arms, bringing the ball below the waist. Finally the ball is brought above the head and dunked with one or both hands; and the double clutch appears as one fluid motion. As a demonstration of athletic prowess, the ball may be held in the below-the-waist position for milliseconds longer, thus showcasing the player's hang time (jumping ability).

text: Whether the result of a 180° spin or body angle at takeoff, the double clutch is generally performed with the player's back toward the rim. While this orientation is rather conducive to the double clutch motion, Spud Webb was known to perform the dunk while facing the basket. Additionally, Kenny "Sky" Walker, Tracy McGrady—in the 1989 and 2000 NBA Contests, respectively—and others, have performed 360° variation of the double clutch (McGrady completed a lob self-pass before the dunk). Circa 2007, independent slam dunker T-Dub performed the double clutch with a 540° spin which he concluded by hanging on the rim.[7]

text: Tomahawk[edit]

text: A Tomahawk dunk can be performed with one or two hands, and when two hands are used, it is called a backscratcher. During the jump, the ball is raised above, and often behind the player's head for a wind-up before slamming the ball down into the net at the apex of the jump. Due to the undemanding body mechanics involved in execution, the tomahawk is employed by players of all sizes and jumping abilities.[citation needed] Because of the ball-security provided by the use of both hands, the two-handed tomahawk is a staple of game situations—frequently employed in alley-oops and in offense-rebound put-back dunks.

text: In one common variation, a 360° spin may be completed prior to or simultaneously with the tomahawk. Circa 2009, independent slam dunker Troy McCray pioneered an especially complex variant of the dunk: once the tomahawk motion is complete, instead of slamming the ball in the rim, a windmill dunk (see below) is then performed.[8]

text: The two-hand backscratcher finish can exert tremendous force on the basket. In 1979, Darryl Dawkins twice shattered NBA backboards with tomahawk dunks leading to a quickly-enacted rule making it an offence to break the backboard.[citation needed] Technology has evolved to adapt to the increased strength and weight of players to withstand the force of such dunks, such as the breakaway rim (introduced to the NBA in 1981) changes to the material used for the backboards, and strengthening of the goal standards themselves.

text: Windmill[edit]

text: Before takeoff, or at the onset of the jump, the ball is brought to the abdomen and then the windmill motion is started by moving the ball below the waist according to the length of the player's fully extended arm. Then following the rotation of the outstretch arm, the ball is moved in a circular motion, typically moving from the front towards the back, and then slammed through the rim (from the profile view of a player facing the basket, the windmill motion most generally appears clockwise). Although, due to momentum, many players are unable to palm the ball through the entire windmill motion, the dunk is often completed with one-hand as centripetal force allows the player to guide the ball with only their dunking hand. In some instances sticky resins or powders may be applied to the palm, these are thought to improve grip and prevent loss of possession.[9] Amongst players, subtle variations in the direction of the windmill depend on bodily orientation at takeoff and also jumping style (one-foot or two-feet) in relation to dominant hand.

text: There are a number of variations on the windmill, the most common being the aforementioned one- or two-hand variants. In these cases, the windmill motion may be performed with the previously discussed one-arm technique and finished with one- or two-hands, or the player may control the ball with two hands, with both arms performing the windmill motion, finishing with one or both hands. Additionally, the ball may be cuffed between the hand and the forearm—generally with the dominant hand. The cuff technique provides better ball security, allowing for a faster windmill motion and increased force exerted on the basket at finish, with either one or both hands. Using the cuffing method, players are also afforded the opportunity of performing the windmill motion towards the front (counterclockwise), a technique exploited by French athlete Kadour Ziani when he pioneered his trademark double-windmill.

text: Occasionally in the game setting, the windmill is performed via alley-oop but is rarely seen in offense-rebound putback dunks due to the airtime required. Dominique Wilkins popularized powerful windmills—in games as well as in contests—including two-handed, self-pass, 360°, rim-hang, and combined variants thereof.

text: Between the Legs[edit]

text: For one-footed jumpers, the ball is generally transferred to the non-dominant hand just before or upon take-off; for two-footers, this transfer is often delayed for milliseconds as both hands control the ball to prevent dropping it. Once airborne, the dunker generally transfers the ball from non-dominant to dominant hand beneath a raised leg. Finally, the ball is brought upwards by the dominant hand and slammed through the rim.

text: The between-the-legs dunk was popularized by Isaiah Rider in the 1994 NBA slam dunk contest,[10] so much so that the dunk is often colloquially referred to as a "Rider dunk" — notwithstanding Orlando Woolridge's own such dunk in the NBA contest a decade earlier.[11] Since then, the under-the-leg has been attempted in the NBA contest by a number of participants, and has been a staple of other contests as well. Its difficulty — due to the required hand-eye coordination, flexibility, and hang-time — keeps it generally reserved for exhibitions and contests, not competitive games. Ricky Davis has managed to complete the dunk in an NBA game,[12] but both he[13] and Josh Smith[14] have botched at least one in-game attempt as well.

text: Because of the possible combinations of starting and finishing hands, and raised-legs, there are many variations on the basic under-the-legs dunk—more so than any other.[15] For example, in a 1997 French Dunk contest, Dali Taamallah leapt with his right leg while controlling the ball with his left hand, and once airborne he transferred the ball from his left hand, underneath his right leg to his right hand before completing the dunk.[16] NBA star Jason Richardson has also pioneered several notable variations of the between-the-legs including a lob-pass to himself[17] and a pass off of the backboard to himself.[18] Independent athlete Shane 'Slam' Wise introduced a cuffed-cradle of the ball prior to initiating the under the leg transfer and finishing with two-hands.[19] While a number of players have finished the dunk using one- or two-hands with their backs to the rim, perhaps the most renowned variant of the dunk is the combination with a 360°, or simply stated: a 360-between-the-legs. Due to the athleticism and hang-time required, the dunk is a crowd favorite and is heralded by players as the preeminent of all dunks.[citation needed]

text: Elbow Hang[edit]

text: The player approaches the goal and leaps as they would for a generic dunk. Instead of simply dunking the ball with one or two hands, the player allows their forearm(s) to pass through the basket, hooking their elbow pit on the rim before hanging for a short period of time. Although the dunk was introduced by Vince Carter in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk contest, Kobe Bryant was filmed performing the dunk two years earlier at an exhibition in the Philippines.[20] Colloquially, the dunk has a variety of names including 'honey dip', 'cookie jar', and 'elbow hook'.

text: In the 2011 NBA contest, L.A. Clippers power-forward Blake Griffin completed a self-pass off of the backboard prior to elbow-hanging on the rim. A number of other variants of the elbow hang have been executed, including a lob self-pass, hanging by the arm pit,[21] a windmill,[22] and over a person.[23] Most notable are two variations which as of July 2012, have yet to be duplicated. In 2008, Canadian athlete Justin Darlington introduced an iteration aptly entitled a 'double-elbow hang', in which the player inserts both forearms through the rim and subsequently hangs on both elbows pits.[24] Circa 2009, French athlete Guy Dupuy demonstrated the ability to perform a between-the-legs elbow hang; however, Guy opted not to hang on the rim by his elbow, likely because the downward moment could have resulted in injury.[25]

text: Dunk Modifiers[edit]

text: Discussed in this module are activities which when applied, modify a given dunk type. Modifier-activities occur prior to leaping or while airborne. Modifiers performed prior to leaping pertain to the manner of approach (e.g., locomotion or standstill), angle of approach (e.g., from the baseline), distance of leap from the basket, the addition of a pass (e.g., alley-oop), or some combination thereof. Modifiers performed while airborne pertain to bodily rotation (e.g., 360°), obstruction of own vision (e.g., arm-over-the-eyes), other bodily movements superfluous of dunk type (e.g., voluntary kicking of the legs), or some combination thereof. Dunk types can also be modified with obstructions (e.g., leaping over a car or person) which influence activities both prior to leaping and while airborne.

text: Modifiers are inherent to in-game dunking and conduce toward successful dunking as a means to score points. Modifiers are important in the grading of slam dunk contests because dunk types are made more difficult when modified (i.e., successfully executed modified-dunks ostensibly yield high scores in contests).

text: For taxonomic purposes it is an important distinction, but the modifiers discussed below are often considered dunk types in common parlance. This misconception is perhaps attributable to the modifier being the most salient component of the dunk from the perspective of the observer. However, each dunk modifier requires a dunk type to be a successful dunk—albeit the most-basic dunk type.

text: Alley-oop[edit]

text: An alley-oop dunk, as it is colloquially known, is performed when a pass is caught in the air and then dunked. The application of an alley-oop to a slam dunk occurs in both games and contests. In games, when only fractions of a second remain on the game or shot clock, an alley-oop may be attempted on in-bound pass because neither clock resumes counting down until an in-bounds player touches the ball. The images to the right depict an interval spanning 1/5 of a second.

text: Baseline dunk[edit]

text: The baseline dunk is an approach-modifier of any dunk type in which the player approaches the basket along the court-boundary (baseline) which runs parallel with the backboard. In the game setting, the dunk often comes as the result of a pass, creating an assist opportunity for a teammate. In the contest, the baseline approach may be used as a means of convenience, facilitating a particular dunk type (e.g., passes bounced off the side of the backboard or its padding) or to increase the difficulty of a dunk type in hopes of meriting higher scores.

text: From a Distance[edit]

text: This is a dunk where the player takes off from a distance which is significantly further away from the basket than is considered typical. The free-throw line is most commonly constituted as the take-off point, an effect likely attributed to the easily observable span between the line and the basket in the view of the TV audience. In order to achieve the hang-time and altitude necessary, players will generally leap from one-foot to maximize the momentum generated from the half-court running start often required to complete the dunk. A cornerstone of dunk contests, dunks from a distance are also performed in games, most often on the fast break.

text: Free Throw Line[edit]

text: In the 1950s, Jim Pollard[26] and Wilt Chamberlain[27] had both dunked from the free throw line—15 feet from the basket. Chamberlain was able to dunk from the free-throw line without a running start, beginning his forward movement from within the top half of the free-throw circle.[27] This was the catalyst for the 1956 NCAA rule change which requires that a shooter maintain both feet behind the line during a free-throw attempt.[28]

text: In the 1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest, Julius Erving dunked after leaping from the free-throw line, with his heel on the line, and has since been credited with introducing the free-throw line dunk to the general public.

text: In the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Michael Jordan dunked from the free-throw line, in the same manner as Julius Erving, but parted his legs making his dunk more revolutionary than Erving's.

text: In the 1990 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Scottie Pippen dunked from the free throw line. This was in the first round and Pippen received a score of 47 out of 50 for his dunk. Pippen however didn't proceed to the next round and the contest was won by Dominique Wilkins.

text: In the 1996 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, winner Brent Barry dunked from the free-throw line. Barry received 49 (out of 50) for the dunk.[29]

text: In the 2011 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, Serge Ibaka dunked from behind the free-throw line, getting a score of 45 for the dunk, and finishing 4th.

text: In the 2016 NBL Pre-Season Challenge Slam Dunk Contest in Australia's National Basketball League, Adelaide 36ers 18 year old American import player Terrance Ferguson dunked from just in front of the free-throw-line.[30]

text: In the 2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Zach LaVine dunked from the free throw line on three occasions: One Hand, Windmill, and Between the Legs. All of the Dunks received a score of 50 for the dunk and won the Dunk contest.

text: Other[edit]

text: Other instances of dunks from a distance abound. James White in the 2006 NCAA Slam Dunk Contest successfully performed tomahawk and windmill variations of the foul-line dunk.[31] Though he was unable to complete a between-the-legs from the foul line at that contest, he has been known to execute it on other occasions.[32]

text: In the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Jamario Moon leaped from the foul-line then, using his non-dominant hand, caught and dunked a bounce-pass from teammate Jason Kapono.[33]

text: Independent 6'2" North American athlete Eric Bishop introduced a dunk entitled the 'Paint Job'. The title is in reference to the key on a basketball court, often known as 'paint' in common parlance.[34] Approaching along the baseline with a running dribble, Bishop jumped with one-foot at the border of the key, dunked with one-hand while gliding over the key and landed just beyond the border on the side opposite his take-off—a 16-foot flight.

text: Obstructions[edit]

text: The player approaches the basket and obstruction, and then leaps. During flight, some portion of the player's body is elevated above the obstruction. This may entail raising the legs or some portion thereof in-air to soar over the obstruction. In other instances, the trunk-moves over an obstruction as the legs pass around it. Common obstructions include: motor vehicles; crouched, seated or standing person(s); ball rack; or other available objects.

text: Perhaps the most popular obstruction-modified dunk is the Dubble-Up. Aptly eponymous of the its pioneer—T-Dub, an American dunker hailing from Minnesota—the Dubble-Up starts with a person standing before the basket, holding the ball above their head. The dunker approaches and leaps as though their groin would soar above just above the head and their legs around the stationary person. Just prior to clearing the person, the dunker will assume control of the ball with one or both hands, guide it under a raised leg, transferring it to the appropriate hand, clearing the ball-holder, raising the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and finally guiding it downward through the basket. While the Dubble-Up mimics a between-the-legs dunk, Kenny Dobbs and Justin Darlington have both performed an under-both-legs variant.

text: Other obstruction-dunks are worth noting: Haneef Munir performed a Dubble-Up, dunking with his right-hand and then caught and dunked a second ball with his left hand—a yet to be duplicated dunk pioneered by Jordan Kilganon on a lower, non-regulation rim. Jordan Kilganon, a Canadian athlete, approached from the baseline a person standing, holding the ball above their head. Kilganon leaped, controlled the ball in front of his torso and raised it above the horizontal plane of the rim before bringing the ball downward into the hoop and hooking both elbows on and hanging from the rim.

text: Effectiveness[edit]

text: A study was carried out in 2015 to show the effectiveness of different shot types, including slam dunks. The study was carried out across five different levels of basketball (NBA, EuroBasket, the Slovenian 1st Division, and two minor leagues). Overall the study showed that slam dunks were a very effective way of scoring in the game of basketball, particularly in the NBA which had the highest dunk percentage in the study. [35]

text: Notable Dunks[edit]

text: Wilt Chamberlain was known to have dunked on an experimental 12-foot basket set up by Phog Allen at the University of Kansas in the 1950s.[27]

text: Michael Wilson, a former Harlem Globetrotter and University of Memphis basketball player, matched this feat on April 1, 2000 albeit with an alley-oop.[citation needed]

text: Vince Carter dunked while leaping over 7-foot-2 (2.18 m) French center Frédéric Weis in the 2000 Summer Olympics. The French media dubbed it "le dunk de la mort" — "the dunk of death."

text: At least one player has performed a 720 degree dunk (that is, two full turns in the air): Taurian Fontenette also known as Air Up There during a Streetball game.[36]

text: In the NBA Slam Dunk Contest[edit]

text: Several notable and remarkable dunks have been performed by participants in the annual NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

text: Spud Webb at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) defeated 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Dominique Wilkins in the 1986 contest.

text: Michael Jordan popularized a dunk referred to by some fans as the "Leaner". This dunk was so called because Jordan's body was not perpendicular to the ground while performing the dunk. TNT viewers rated it "the best dunk of all time" over Vince Carter's between-the-legs slam.[citation needed]

text: In the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Carter used an elbow hang along with his reverse 360 windmill dunk and between-the-legs dunk. When performed, much of the audience was speechless, including the judges, because none had seen these types of dunks before (Carter's first round 360 windmill dunk is reminiscent of Kenny Walker's 360 windmill dunk in 1989 except that Carter spins clockwise, where as Walker spins counter-clockwise).

text: In the 2008 Sprite Rising Star's Slam Dunk Contest Dwight Howard performed the "Superman" dunk. He donned a Superman outfit as Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson tied a cape around his shoulders. Nelson alley-ooped the basketball as Howard jumped from within the key side of the free throw circle line, caught the ball, and threw it through the rim. This dunk is somewhat controversial, as his hand was not over as well as on a vertical plane to the rim. Some insist that it should in fact be considered a dunk because the ball was thrust downward into the basket, meeting the basic definition of the dunk.

text: During the 2009 NBA dunk contest, Howard had a separate goal brought onto the court, and the rim was noticeably significantly higher than a standard goal. Howard, after going into a 1950s-era telephone booth and again fashioning the Superman attire, caught a pass from Nelson and easily completed a two-handed dunk on the higher goal. While this was not performed for record-setting purposes, the dunk received a perfect score and a warm response from the crowd, in part because of its theatrics. Also in this contest, 5'9" guard Nate Robinson wore a green New York Knicks jersey and green sneakers to represent Kryptonite, playing on Howard's Superman theme. He used a green "Kryptonite" ball, and jumped over the 6'11" Howard prior to dunking. This dunk and the theatrics could have won the competition for Robinson, who was voted the winner by the NBA fans. Robinson then thanked Howard for graciously allowing him to dunk over him, asking the crowd to also give Howard a round of applause.

text: JaVale McGee currently holds the world record for Most Basketball Dunks in a Single Jump: three. While competing in the 2011 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, McGee jumped with two balls in his possession and dunked each prior to receiving and slamming an alley-oop pass from then teammate John Wall.[37]

text: Broken Backboards[edit]

text: In the past, it has been possible for players to dunk a basketball and pull the rim down so hard that the glass backboard shatters, either around the rim itself or, at times, shattering the entire backboard, or the entire goal standard fails. Reinforced backboards and breakaway rims have minimized this at the college and professional levels, but it still happens at lower levels.

text: All-star power forward Gus Johnson of the Baltimore Bullets was the first of the famous backboard breakers in the NBA, shattering three during his career in the 1960s and early 1970s.[38] Luke Jackson also shattered a backboard in 1968:

text: The game was delayed for nearly half an hour when Philadelphia's burly Luke Jackson shattered the glass backboard when he came down on the basket, ripping it from its moorings, on a driving stuff shot.[39]

text: Darryl Dawkins of the Philadelphia 76ers was notorious for two glass-shattering dunks in 1979 resulting in the league threatening to fine him and eventually installing breakaway rims.[40] Twice in his rookie season (1992–93) during games, center Shaquille O'Neal dunked so hard that he broke the hydraulic support of one goal standard (against the Phoenix Suns) and broke the welds holding up another goal standard, causing the basket to break off and fall to the floor (against the New Jersey Nets), although in neither case did the glass break. This resulted in reinforced backboard supports as well. During that same season, New Jersey's Chris Morris shattered a backboard in a game against the Chicago Bulls (the most recent shattered-backboard incident in the NBA to date). The NBA has made shattering the backboard a technical foul, although it will not count towards a player's count of seven that can draw a suspension, or two towards ejection from a game, and it counts towards a player's count of six personal fouls. This has assisted in deterring this action, as it can cost the team points.

text: In the ABA, Charlie Hentz broke two backboards in the same game on November 6, 1970 resulting in the game being called.[41] In the NCAA, Jerome Lane shattered a backboard while playing for Pitt in a 1988 regular-season game against Providence, and Darvin Ham did the same while playing for Texas Tech in a tournament game against North Carolina in 1996.

text: The Premier Basketball League has had two slam-dunks that have resulted in broken backboards. Both came consecutively in the 2008 and 2009 PBL Finals, and both were achieved by Sammy Monroe of the Rochester Razorsharks.

text: Dunking in women's play[edit]

text: Dunking is much less common in women's basketball than in men's play. Dunking is slightly more common during practice sessions, but many coaches advise against it in competitive play because of the risks of injury or failing to score.[42]

text: In 1984, Georgeann Wells, a 6'7" (201 cm) junior playing for West Virginia University, became the first woman to score a slam dunk in women's collegiate play, in a game against the University of Charleston on December 21.[43]

text: As of 2014, 11 dunks have been scored in WNBA play. The first and second were scored by Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks, on July 30, 2002 (against the Miami Sol), and July 9, 2005. Other WNBA dunks have been scored by Michelle Snow, Candace Parker (twice), and Sylvia Fowles.

text: The record for the most WNBA dunks belongs to Brittney Griner. As a high school senior, she dunked 52 times in 32 games and set a single-game record of seven dunks.[44] As a standout at Baylor University, Griner became the seventh player to dunk during a women's college basketball game[45] and the second woman to dunk twice in a single college game.[46] In her WNBA debut on May 27, 2013, Griner dunked twice, and as of 2014, has five WNBA dunks, including the first in a playoff game (August 25, 2014).

text: At the 2012 London Olympics, Liz Cambage of the Australian Opals became the first woman to dunk in the Olympics, scoring against Russia.[47]

text: Women in dunk contests[edit]

text: In 2004, as a high school senior, Candace Parker was invited to participate in the McDonald's All-American Game and accompanying festivities where she competed in and won the slam dunk contest.[48] In subsequent years other women have entered the contest; though Kelley Cain, Krystal Thomas, and Maya Moore were denied entry into the same contest in 2007.[49] Brittney Griner intended to participate in the 2009 McDonald's Dunk Contest but was unable to attend the event due to the attendance policy of her high school.[50] Breanna Stewart, at 6'3" (191 cm), Alexis Prince (6'2"; 188 cm), and Brittney Sykes (5'9"; 175 cm) competed in the 2012 contest; Prince and Sykes failed to complete their dunks, while Stewart landed two in the first round but missed her second two attempts in the final round.[51][52]

text: Use as a phrase[edit]

text: One of many sports idioms, the phrase "slam dunk" is often used outside of basketball to refer colloquially to something that has a certain outcome or guaranteed success (a "sure thing").[53]