Note clusters (U+E120–U+E14F)

GlyphDescriptionGlyphDescription
U+E120 (and U+1D15A)
noteheadClusterSquareWhite
Cluster notehead white (square)
U+E121 (and U+1D15B)
noteheadClusterSquareBlack
Cluster notehead black (square)
U+E122
noteheadClusterRoundWhite
Cluster notehead white (round)
U+E123
noteheadClusterRoundBlack
Cluster notehead black (round)
U+E124
noteheadClusterDoubleWhole2nd
Double whole note cluster, 2nd
U+E125
noteheadClusterWhole2nd
Whole note cluster, 2nd
U+E126
noteheadClusterHalf2nd
Half note cluster, 2nd
U+E127
noteheadClusterQuarter2nd
Quarter note cluster, 2nd
U+E128
noteheadClusterDoubleWhole3rd
Double whole note cluster, 3rd
U+E129
noteheadClusterWhole3rd
Whole note cluster, 3rd
U+E12A
noteheadClusterHalf3rd
Half note cluster, 3rd
U+E12B
noteheadClusterQuarter3rd
Quarter note cluster, 3rd
U+E12C
noteheadClusterDoubleWholeTop
Combining double whole note cluster, top
U+E12D
noteheadClusterDoubleWholeMiddle
Combining double whole note cluster, middle
U+E12E
noteheadClusterDoubleWholeBottom
Combining double whole note cluster, bottom
U+E12F
noteheadClusterWholeTop
Combining whole note cluster, top
U+E130
noteheadClusterWholeMiddle
Combining whole note cluster, middle
U+E131
noteheadClusterWholeBottom
Combining whole note cluster, bottom
U+E132
noteheadClusterHalfTop
Combining half note cluster, top
U+E133
noteheadClusterHalfMiddle
Combining half note cluster, middle
U+E134
noteheadClusterHalfBottom
Combining half note cluster, bottom
U+E135
noteheadClusterQuarterTop
Combining quarter note cluster, top
U+E136
noteheadClusterQuarterMiddle
Combining quarter note cluster, middle
U+E137
noteheadClusterQuarterBottom
Combining quarter note cluster, bottom
U+E138
noteheadDiamondClusterWhite2nd
White diamond cluster, 2nd
U+E139
noteheadDiamondClusterBlack2nd
Black diamond cluster, 2nd
U+E13A
noteheadDiamondClusterWhite3rd
White diamond cluster, 3rd
U+E13B
noteheadDiamondClusterBlack3rd
Black diamond cluster, 3rd
U+E13C
noteheadDiamondClusterWhiteTop
Combining white diamond cluster, top
U+E13D
noteheadDiamondClusterWhiteMiddle
Combining white diamond cluster, middle
U+E13E
noteheadDiamondClusterWhiteBottom
Combining white diamond cluster, bottom
U+E13F
noteheadDiamondClusterBlackTop
Combining black diamond cluster, top
U+E140
noteheadDiamondClusterBlackMiddle
Combining black diamond cluster, middle
U+E141
noteheadDiamondClusterBlackBottom
Combining black diamond cluster, bottom
U+E142
noteheadRectangularClusterBlackTop
Combining black rectangular cluster, top
U+E143
noteheadRectangularClusterBlackMiddle
Combining black rectangular cluster, middle
U+E144
noteheadRectangularClusterBlackBottom
Combining black rectangular cluster, bottom
U+E145
noteheadRectangularClusterWhiteTop
Combining white rectangular cluster, top
U+E146
noteheadRectangularClusterWhiteMiddle
Combining white rectangular cluster, middle
U+E147
noteheadRectangularClusterWhiteBottom
Combining white rectangular cluster, bottom

Implementation notes

Scoring applications should draw simple note clusters (e.g. noteheadClusterSquareWhite, noteheadClusterRoundBlack) directly using primitives rather than using these glyphs, so that the clusters can be drawn spanning the correct interval.

The combining glyphs for note clusters are designed to allow the creation of clusters of any interval larger than a third, with a scoring application inserting the appropriate number of “middle” segments between a single instance of the “top” and “bottom” segments:

The left-hand cluster is a stack (top to bottom) of 1 x noteheadClusterHalfTop, 3 x noteheadClusterHalfMiddle, 1 x noteheadClusterHalfBottom; the right-hand cluster is 1 x noteheadDiamondClusterBlackTop, 2 x noteheadDiamondClusterBlackMiddle, 1 x noteheadDiamondClusterBlackBottom.

Clusters for intervals of a second or a third are created using a single glyph, e.g. noteheadClusterQuarter2nd. These glyphs are registered such that the lowest pitch in the cluster is centered around y = 0, so to draw correctly, the glyph should be positioned on the staff position corresponding to the lowest note in the cluster.

See also the implementation notes for noteheads.