(Fr. ligne postiche, ligne supplémentaire; Ger. Hilfslinie, Nebenlinie; It. linea d’aiuto).
In Western notation a short line drawn above or below the staff for notes that are too high or too low to be printed on the staff itself. Leger lines are occasionally found in manuscripts containing plainchant or early polyphony, but as clefs were placed on any line of the staff in the Middle Ages, scribes were usually careful to see that leger lines were unnecessary. M.A. Cavazzoni’s Recerchari, motetti, canzoni for organ (1523) is an early example of their extensive use (see illustration).