Music notation is any system that is used to represent music visually with written, printed, or computer-generated symbols. Not only does it help musicians perform music, but it also helps composers create music.
Music notation has been used for thousands of years, and the oldest known example is from around 1400 BC on cuneiform tablets found in Mesopotamia. A wide variety of systems have been developed, differing greatly according to location and era. The most complex of these is that used for Western art music, whose roots go back to medieval Europe and which has evolved greatly over the centuries, in large part a result of the development of new and improved musical instruments.
Modern Western notation uses the familiar five-line staff on which the vertical locations of oval-shaped notes indicate their pitches, their color (white or black) and presence or absence of stems and flags indicate their duration, and their horizontal locations indicate their sequence. It is a highly sophisticated system that can represent virtually every aspect of a work with great accuracy, including melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, instrumentation and counterpoint, and which is very easy for skilled performers to read. It is also extremely flexible, making it suitable for a vast range of music types, including newly developed styles and techniques as well as much non-Western music.
Moreover, modern Western notation is highly compatible with computers. It is very well suited for writing with specialized computer software, which is vastly easier, faster and cheaper than the formerly used engraving process. And computerized notation can be used together with synthesizers to reproduce audible music with a high degree of accuracy.