**New updated version**
Before we go anywhere, I wanted to share an exciting update! This music notation library has been around for a while now and I decided it was time for a refresh. All in all, 95 new elements (maybe more – I lost count…) have been added to this new version. I’ve included a list of the new elements below.
If you have already downloaded the library in the past and would like these new elements, please simply download the complete library again using the download button at the bottom of this post. – Katie
Images, Images, Images!
When creating resources for workshops and online courses I find myself constantly in need of images, images….and more images.
First, there’s a need for images of music instruments, or composers, or snippets of scores, and there’s often a need for notation images. And I can be fussy when it comes to notation images: I really like the notes to be clear, crisp at the edges when enlarged and preferably with a transparent background (which means they can be easily placed on top of a stave without blocking out half of the staves lines).
So I decided to make some myself. More on that below…
More about the notation library… it started simple
I thought that I would just do the common rhythmic elements: crotchet, quaver, minim, semibreve and the equivalent rests. And then I thought I had better add in some clefs, staves lines and a few different bar lines. Then perhaps headless versions of the rhythmic values. And before you know it, I ended up with a whole collection.
A library even. Of more than 150 music notation images.
And then I decided that I may as well share it with everyone.
A few examples of use
8 Ways to use your notation images
1. To create worksheets
2. To create posters for your music classroom
3. In your interactive whiteboard software
4. In Powerpoint or Keynote presentations
5. To make flashcards
6. To make your own digital or printable music games
7. To use in screencasting/whiteboard apps on the iPad
8. When creating quizzes using a free tool like Kahoot
Related: Learn Just 5 Tips To Create Your Own Awesome Music Resources
What’s new in the notation library?
- 56 notes in Boomwhacker colors – all with transparent backgrounds (a variety of rhythmic values, plus stemless noteheads)
- 8 headless notes and rhythmic note groups (stems only!) for stick notation, or to make your own custom notes
- 12 rhythmic note groups for compound time
- 2 glissando elements
- ornaments including 2 mordents, a trill sign, and a turn
- articulation including accent, tenuto and staccato
- 8va and 8vb
- pedal off marking (to go with the Pedal on element)
- 3/8 time signature
- hairpin crescendo and decrescendo
- slur
- tie
Can I use these images for commercial purposes?
Download the music notation library
If you have already downloaded the library in the past and would like these new elements, please simply download the complete library again using the download button below.
Please note: the music notation library is in a ZIP file. It is best to download and unzip the file on your laptop or desktop computer (ie. not your iPad) before using it.
I hope you find them useful! If you’ve used them to create your own resources, let me know how in the comments below.
Guitar and Ukulele chord images
Update: I’ve now also created a collection of 36 Free Guitar Chord Images and a collection of 22 Ukelele Chord Images.
Looking for More Resources for Music Teachers?
Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my businessMidnight Music.
I’m a qualified teacher but no, I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through my online professional development space – theMidnight Music Community– where there are tutorial videos, courses, links and downloadable resources.
I like to focus oneasyways to incorporate technology intowhat you are already doing in your music curriculumthrough a range of creative projects. I also run live workshops and have presented at countless conferences and other music education events.
If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside theMidnight Music Community.
162 Comments
Outstanding! I am always looking for notation that i can use in my presentations.
You are the best.
Thank you
Art G
@ArtTG
Thanks Art!
Thank you for sharing these files! They will be so useful. Thanks!
Thanks Liz!
WOW Katie.
As usual – fantastically useful resource!
Debbie
Thanks Debbie!
These are great for me. I love them! Thank you.
You’re welcome Barb 🙂
Hello Katie.
I have just retired after 32 years of music teaching. I am not sure what tomorrow brings, but would like to continue receiving your emails…so am now giving my personal email, as I soon will not receive district email.
Thank you.
Hi Joan,
Thanks – I’ve updated your email address. I wish you all the best for a relaxing retirement! – Katie
These are great – they will look fantastic in my whiteboard presentations. Thanks.
Thanks Kees – they do work well in IWB files. I’ve been using them quite a bit!
Thank you Katie. What an amazingly useful resource. You are a star
Thanks Jandy 🙂
Thanks Katie for such a terrific set of images and your generosity in sharing them. Fantastic. Ruth
Thanks Ruth – glad you like them.
Yes, Katie, another terrific resource to use! Thanks for sharing it with us!
You’re welcome Julie!
Does anybody had any problem to download and open with Dropbox? helppppp…..
Hi Celeste – I’ve sent you an email. It might be the un-zipping of the files that’s a problem – ?
This is great, Katie! One-stop for all I need. THANKS!!! I can think of a worksheet I’ve been trying to create and when I used music fonts they are so quirky with spacing — not allowing me to line things up the way I wanted. This will take care of that problem. Really appreciate it!
You’re welcome Martie!
Wow, thank you!
Thanks Joanna
Thanks Katie.
You’re welcome Lynda
WOW! Absolutely fabulous!! Thank you. Katie. So comprehensive & neatly organised – do you know how much time this will save ?! I’ll bless you every time I use these (which will be often!!)
Thanks Celine – you’re lovely!
Thank you for sharing – although not a muso, a PE teacher needing ideas for dance and creating music for specific purposes always comes in handy. Thanks for the app ideas
Thanks Margaret-Mary!
Thank you Katie. I am always forgetting to save/file my images in the same place so end up in recreating them all the time. Now you have them all filed neatly for me. Maybe I will be able to find them now when I want them!!
I’m happy to help Jenny – enjoy!
Hi Katie,
Just the thing to get me started using the white board and the Interwrite Workspace program which is available on my work laptop and of course the other uses you have suggested.
Thanks so much for sharing
Ros B
Your generosity is fantastic. As were your sessions in Maryborough!
Thanks so much Katie
Thanks Julie. Maryborough was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to the 2015 event!
– Katie
Thanks so much for sharing this Katie. I’m still getting my head around all the info you gave us at the Mackay workshop but I’ll get there 🙂
Thank you Katie, those downloads will be very useful…see you Monday, cheers, Margaret
Wow!! Thanks so much Katie! I’m looking forward to making myself some awesome new resources for my primary music teaching. 🙂
Thanks you for posting these notes. They are very helpful.
Katie, thanks for the terrific products. Would you be willing to add the natural sign to the sharp and flat file? It is the sign my young students most often forget.
The best to you! Sincerely, Wendy Thatcher Hall Appleton Village School, Appleton, Me.
Hi Wendy – thanks! Good idea. I’ll create the natural sign and add it into the bundle (I’ll try to remember to email you directly to let you know as well!). – Katie
These are amazing. I have been trying to piece together a collection out of “spare parts” but these all match! Any chance you’d add a set of dynamic markings?
Thanks Jenn! Yes – I’ve been thinking of adding a few extra bits and pieces (I think I forgot the natural sign in the original collection!). I’d be happy to add dynamics as well. – Katie
Did the dynamics ever develop?
Thanks for helping me get our teachers ready for school! These are wonderful!
Thanks Mitzi – and you’re welcome! – Katie
Hi, Im creating music notation software in my bachelor work on VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. It will help me a lot. Thx.
These are brilliant. I am a visiting music teacher and your symbols will change my life. I have copied the ones I need into a word doc and will use them for white board teaching and worksheets. Thank you so much for putting them out there.
You’re welcome Jan!
– Katie
Yet another very useful resource Katie. I did have some notation graphics on my studio computer but needed something in a hurry for a lesson observation today and this really did the trick. Thanks again for the great work you do and your generous nature in sharing with fellow educators.
Hi Phil – thanks so much for the kind words. I’m glad it was a help.
– Katie
Great resource, thank you! would you consider letting someone use the images on something they might sell?
Hi Patrick – sorry for the delay in replying! Yes, I’m more than happy for you to use the images on items you or someone else sells. A mention of my website and a link back would be appreciated 🙂
– Katie
Wow, what a nice gift gift you’re giving us. I teach elementary music K-4 in a public school. Teachers have so little time to make, plan, do and follow through…I’m looking forward to your download. The work you’ve done was very precise and will help greatly.
Thank you Nancy! Happy to help 🙂
– Katie
Thank you so much for the images! I want to be sure of how to find them later when I want to use them. I have downloaded them to my MacBook. Where is the best place to put the folders of images? (I’m not exactly tech savvy, but I’m trying to be) Thank you again!
Hi Sandy – it’s up to you really, but I would probably set up a folder called “music resources” or something similar inside my Documents folder. If you like, you can then open the Finder, locate the Music Resources folder and then drag it to your sidebar in the Finder (the list of folder and locations down the left side) so that it’s really easy to find when you need it. I do that with all of my frequently used folders on my Mac. My other tip would be to make use of the Spotlight search function – it makes it very easy to find anything on your Mac. Just type a word or two like “notation library” and the folder should pop up in the list.
– Katie
Hi Katie,
Thank you for the libraries. On a PC (Windows 10), would I create a folder to put them in, open the library on a split or 2nd screen, open MS Word, then drag an icon onto the Word document?
Is there a way to add the icons to the special characters in Word?
Yes- you could use the method you describe. I usually just drag images like these from the Windows Explorer straight on to a document. You can also go to Insert > Image in your app (Word) and locate the folder where you’ve saved the images. You might find you’re better off using something other than Word to create resources though – there’s a lot more flexibility (and less frustration) if you use Powerpoint or Google Slides or similar. I don’t believe you can add them to the special characters in Word in their current format.
I’m your latest fan — all the way down in Brazil, where I’m teaching young children. With Acrobat and your symbol images, I’m easily able to create some large-sized staff examples for the kids to work with.
Bravo, and thanks!
Thank you Frank-from-Brazil! Good to hear from you 🙂
– Katie
Thank you very much for this ressource! It’s exactly what I need.
Hi Katie,
Thank you very much for your sharing these useful images! I used them in an iPhone/iPad app, ‘Sight Singing’, and mentioned your website and put a link to it in the app’s description. (It is found at https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/sight-singing/id966765346 if you are interested in it.) I really appreciate your valuable resources!
Thanks,
Satoru
Thanks for letting me know Satoru! I’ll take a look at the app.
All the best
Katie
Thank you for posting these music resources. It helped me a lot especially in my music class. God bless you all. I hope you will post more.
Thanks Dolly!
Great resources! Very appreciated!!
I’ll share your website with my music teachers colleagues.
Thanks for your generosity!
Thanks Ernesto!
Nice to find something for music teachers that is actually “free”. I scoured the internet for notation symbols, and these are the best available!
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much Chris! I’m happy you like them. There was a little trial and error in getting them to look good 🙂
Thanks for sharing. The music notations are especially helpful in creating my SLO tests for band students.
You’re welcome Karen. Glad they helped!
This has created a WONDERFUL addition to my lessons! These images are AMAZING!!!!!
Thanks for making these so GREAT!!!!
You’re welcome Missy! I’m happy you found them useful 🙂
From a first year studio teacher, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’m in the process of turning a plain and boring studio into a place where my students WANT to learn and grow!
Happy Holidays! 🙂
Kristen Basore
You’re very welcome Kristen!! Happy holidays to you too 🙂
Comment…great thanks Katie was stranded on how to get these resources be blessd
You’re welcome Nancy. I’m happy they helped
It won’t download onto my tablet. Any ideas?
Hi Chris – are you using an Android tablet? Or something else? It’s possible that it’s because it’s a ZIP file. It’s best to download on to a desktop or laptop computer, unzip the file and then transfer the unzipped files to your tablet. There are many separate image files in the download, so zipping them was the best way to share them. – Katie
Thank you so so much, Katie. I am using it in my classes in Port Elizabeth, South Africa! You are a gem.
Thanks Lyndi! I love hearing where people are located 🙂
Thanks Katie!! I know it’s awful to be asking MORE once you’ve done so much…(!) but any chance of one for articulation?! staccato, gliss, a few notes slurred, trill, grace notes, accents, tenuto?!
Thanks for all your amazing work. Very useful!
Jenn
They will have to wait until the next update! Slurs and glissandos – not really possible because they need to extend between notes and the contour or length changes completely depending on the piece of music. You might be better off making your own versions of that for the specific examples you have in mind 🙂
[…] More than 150 music notation images – free download | Midnight Music. Images, Images, Images When creating resources for workshops and online courses I find myself constantly in need of images, images….and more images. First, there’s a need for images of music instruments, or composers, or snippets of scores, and there’s often a need for notation images. […]
[…] More than 150 music notation images – free download | Midnight Music. Images, Images, Images When creating resources for workshops and online courses I find myself constantly in need of images, images….and more images. First, there’s a need for images of music instruments, or composers, or snippets of scores, and there’s often a need for notation images. And I can be fussy when it comes to notation images: I really like the notes to be clear, crisp at the edges when enlarged and preferably with a transparent background (which means they can be easily placed on top of a stave without blocking out half of the staves lines). […]
[…] More than 150 music notation images – free download | Midnight Music. […]
[…] More than 150 music notation images – free download | Midnight Music. Images, Images, Images When creating resources for workshops and online courses I find myself constantly in need of images, images….and more images. First, there’s a need for images of music instruments, or composers, or snippets of scores, and there’s often a need for notation images. And I can be fussy when it comes to notation images: I really like the notes to be clear, crisp at the edges when enlarged and preferably with a transparent background (which means they can be easily placed on top of a stave without blocking out half of the staves lines). So I decided to make some myself. Well, it started simple I thought that I would just do the common rhythmic elements: crotchet, quaver, minim, semibreve and the equivalent rests. […]
[…] More than 150 music notation images – free download | Midnight Music. Images, Images, Images When creating resources for workshops and online courses I find myself constantly in need of images, images….and more images. First, there’s a need for images of music instruments, or composers, or snippets of scores, and there’s often a need for notation images. And I can be fussy when it comes to notation images: I really like the notes to be clear, crisp at the edges when enlarged and preferably with a transparent background (which means they can be easily placed on top of a stave without blocking out half of the staves lines). […]
Katie, thanks for taking the time to make and share these!
You’re welcome Tim 🙂
[…] This Story, Choose Your Platform! More than 150 music notation images – free download | Midnight Music. Images, Images, Images When creating resources for workshops and online courses I find myself […]
THANK YOU SO MUCH. THIS IS A BLESSING AND A GOD SEND. 🙂 I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE HERE.
This is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with us!
You’re welcome Josiane!
Any chance of providing TAB graphics?
I’ve done a set of guitar chord graphics which you can find here, but no plans to do single-note TAB graphics at this stage.
Great resource, and not just for music teachers! I teach mobile phone programming and found these images allowed me to set exercises for my students that were more interesting than the ones they would find in their usual textbooks.
Thanks David – great to hear!
This is fantastic I’ve been looking for something like this everywhere. I couldn’t find anything near this comprehensive, consistent and with such high quality. It covers everything I need to make presentations. Thank you so much your great! 🙂
You’re welcome Ryan! Thanks for the lovely feedback 🙂
[…] The Big Free Music Notation Image Library […]
Thank you so much, Katie! I just got a Mimio board and have been looking for music notation to use in making lessons. this will be perfect!
Good to hear Blanca! I think you’ll enjoy making your own resources 🙂
This is so fantastic – I need this right now! It’s so difficult to find the right graphics sometimes – often without the correct resolution. This is perfect for all the worksheets I’m creating at the moment. Thanks a million!
I’m happy they’re useful Monica! That was the problem I found too – there wasn’t the right sort of images available. That’s why I ended up creating my own collection
Thank you so much for these. It is so generous of you to give them out for free and they are such good quality too! Can I ask what software you used to create these? Thanks!
You’re very welcome Ryan! I used Sibelius for the notation itself and then took a screenshot (and made the background transparent) with Snagit software. I zoomed in on each note first to make it large on the screen which gives a better image quality.
Thank you…been looking for something like this for a loooong time. Appreciate your willingness to share.
Piano teacher
You’re welcome 🙂 I’m glad it was useful!
Great idea but I can’t understand why mine look black on a black background with a thin white outline…… quite difficult to see them…. perhaps something has gone wrong ?
Nicole
The images have a transparent background, so once you drag them onto a white slide (or another colour) in Powerpoint, or onto a Word doc they will show up properly. I’m guessing that’s the issue anyway! They’ve been used by hundreds of people over the years so I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with the images as such. If you double-click on an image to open it your computer will choose a default software application to view it and it may not show you the best result if that makes sense…!
Thanks so much Katie! I’ve been using them for a worksheet for my students and realised there wasn’t a timka rhythm (ala Kodaly) and the reverse pattern, a semi followed by a dotted quaver. It would be fabulous if you could add those to your collection as well Even possibly a single semiquaver?
Thanks again,
Michelle.
Hi Michelle – I won’t be updating the library for some time yet but when I do I’ll add that to my list 🙂
Great, thank you!
[…] sheet music is defined as a form of music notation that has musical symbols to illustrate melodies, rhythms or chords of a […]
This was so needed! I’ve been searching, cutting and pasting for too long. I plan to use these symbols in creating Orff arrangements for my classes. Thanks!
You’re welcome Dottie! Happy to help 🙂
[…] The Big Free Music Notation Image Library […]
Oh my goodness! What a fantastic resource – thank you so much. Had sat down to try and create all the notes myself and then found yours so celebrating with pain au chocolat and coffee over the hours you have saved me. Thank you. I would be more than willing to make a donation for the hours of work you have put in and your kindness in letting everyone use them. woohoo!
Liz
Thanks Liz! Sounds like a perfect way to celebrate 🙂 No need for a donation. You could just share my website with any friends or colleagues – that would be thanks enough.
[…] Big Free Music Notation Image Library […]
Thanks for this!!! So helpful! I’m trying to create color-coded music scores for my music center, and tried creating my own color notes, but obviously I’m not as skilled as you are because my notes block out the material behind when I overlay them. What program did you use to create these? Is it possible to get you to the notes and accidentals in color? Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Light Blue, Dark Blue and Purple?
Hi Kimberly – it’s quite time-consuming to make all the images and unfortunately I don’t have the resources to make a set of coloured ones for you. The way I created mine was to take the screenshot of the notation element and then use a graphic design program to make the background transparent. There are lots of software programs that will do that. I used Snagit but many others will do it too and there are even some online options like https://online.photoscissors.com/ . You can also do it in Powerpoint and some interactive whiteboard software. Good luck!
Very good and educative tool! Thank you!
First, I want to say thankyou and that these are excellent, I really appreciate you making these and making them available.
I would though like to make some suggestions:
1. These are png files, but they dont have a TRANSPARENT Background. Which is possible in png, and for editing music examples together (eg: placing time signatures on staves, or creating key signatures) the images cant be overlayed as the front image will block out the background image.
2. Having the images in separate folders per grouping makes working a bit slow.
May I kindly suggest that instead of adding images in separate folders that you put them all in one folder and add a prefix to the image name?
Eg: if the image is in the ACCIDENTALS folder, rename each image as:
accidentals-sharp
accidentals-flat
and etc
then all the images can be in one folder where we can see them all in one place. Which would make working with them much easier and much faster.
I will certainly be doing this myself.
Again, thankyou. They’re great.
Hello – thanks for the comments. Many other teachers have preferred the images grouped into folders, so they will stay that way but you are welcome to group them and rename them any way you find useful once you’ve downloaded them. As for the transparent background – the images do have a transparent background. It’s possible that I’ve missed one or two, so perhaps you can let me know which ones are not transparent?
Thank’s a lot for these great images. The only thing I miss (a lot) is a single semiquaver note. Any chance you could make one?
Most kind and generous, Katie.
I’m building a chord player app and these will be used with gratitude.
Robert
You’re welcome Robert 🙂
Thanks, Katie. Huge help!
Thanks Dixie!
Wonderful notations! Thanks a heap Katie. It will help me do the presentations better.
You’re welcome!
Hi Katie,
Thank you for all that you do. I am wondering if this will work in Google Slides, as opposed to Powerpoint? (fingers crossed!)
Kelly
Yes absolutely. It’s just a collection of images, so you can add them into Google Slides in the same way that you would add any image 🙂
Hi, Katie,
Thanks very much for the notation and also the suggested ways to use them. Really appreciate that.
Luk
Thanks Luk!
Hello, I am having trouble downloading this zip file. It will not open or download or any browser that I try. Do you have any suggestions? I hope to use this to help create resources for my students. Thank you!
Brian
Hi Brian – are you using an iPad by any chance? If so it’s best to download on a laptop instead. I haven’t had reports from anyone else having issues, so that’s the only thing I can think might be causing problems.
Hi, Katie;
I’m writing a Java program for automated keyboard lessons and your symbols have been a big help. Do you have any images for individual time signature numbers (or the font that they came from)? E.g. if I want to write a time signature of 7/4, I’d need both a 7 and a 4.
P.S. Sorry if this posts twice.
I don’t have the individual numbers, but I believe the font is Opus if that’s a help!
THANK YOU! I am a first year K-5 music teacher, writing new lessons and new curriculum this summer, and this was EXACTLY what I needed!
You’re welcome!Glad you found it useful
Thank you so much Katie for sharing this awesome resource! 🙂
You’re welcome!
Hi, can you tell me about how you made your graphics? I’m wanting to make some specific flashcards, and I’d like to be able to make my own images as it’s difficult to find exactly what I need. I’m just not sure where to start (other than yours are wonderful). Thank you so much for putting these together and making them available!
Thank you for the kind words. You can use your notation software – you need to create the note/musical element on a stave which has no stave lines. You might need to dig around in your instruments/stave options list! For example, in Sibelius, it’s under “Other Instruments > No instrument”. Next you need to Zoom in ALL the way so that the element is huge on the screen. Doing that will ensure that the image is good quality and not pixelated. Last steps are to take a screenshot of the element and then remove the white background (make it transparent). It’s fiddly…!
WOW! Thank you for this file. It will elevate our music in the classroom!
[…] The Big Free Music Notation Image Library (Midnight Music) […]
Thank you so much!! I’m now interested in creating some online games using powerpoint and such so this get me off to a good start:)
Thank you for making the guitar chord images available to download and use. I’d like to make more chords in various fret positions. Can you tell me what software you used or recommend an editing app so I can work with your blank template image?
Hi Gerald! I just sent you a reply on Twitter too but here it is for the benefit of others: You can use any notation software to create the guitar chord diagram. Then you’ll need to take a screenshot and finish off by removing the white background (I use Snagit for that but there are lots of other options including Remove.bg). It’s a bit fiddly but the end result it worth it. I’m taking requests for my next updated version of this library (will be done in the next couple of weeks). Let me know what you would like to have added and I’ll include them in the next version.
I can’t get the file to download. Ive even tried going Incognito but no luck.
Any suggestions gratefully accepted.
Sue
Hi Sue – once you’ve submitted your details you should receive an email with the download link.Some school filters send the email to spam/junk so best to check that just in case. If you still don’t have any luck, other teachers have reported that using a personal email address is usually successful.
Hi! I feel like an idiot asking this question, but I downloaded the Music Notation, and when I try to screen grab or copy a music symbol, it does not transfer to my google slides (I present concepts/rhythms on a whiteboard in my classroom). I am sure this is user error. What am I doing wrong here?
Thank you!
K
Hi Kelly!
This is definitely not a silly question at all! All of the files in the library are transparent PNGs files so you’ll need to upload them as images into your Google Slides. Just go to “Insert” –> “Image” –> “Upload from Computer.” Then just choose the note or music symbol from the folder that you’d like to insert.
Hope that answers your question!
– Katrina (Team Midnight Music)
This is a great resource!
Hi there. What are the copyright parameters for these notation images? Could they be used in a teacher resource put out by our provincial department of education, for instance?
Hi Kyle – yes that’s totally fine!
[…] Midnight Music Big Notation Library […]
[…] at the time, it was the third set of free music teacher clipart resources I had shared behind the Big Notation Library and the Free Guitar Chord Image […]