The invention of the staff is traditionally ascribed to Guido d'Arezzo in about the year 1000, although there are earlier manuscripts in which neumes (signs from which musical notes evolved) are arranged around one or two lines in order to orient the singer.

Who invented the 5 line staff?

Staff (music) - Invented by Guido d'Arezzo

Staff, also spelled stave ,Guido d'Arezzo in the notation of Western music, five parallel horizontal lines that, with a clef, indicate the pitch of musical notes.

What was the earliest notated music?

The earliest known example of a complete notated musical composition (a song complete with lyrics) used a method of notation developed by the ancient Greeks. This piece of music is called the Seikilos Epitaph, it is carved on a tombstone in Turkey, and it most probably dates from the 1st century AD.