Download The Music Staff

The Music Staff
How we read and write music
Music is made up of sounds that we
hear. We can make the sounds by
singing or by playing instruments.
People needed a way to remember all
the music they wanted to sing or play
• Long ago, people
began writing notes
to stand for sounds.
They wrote them
higher and lower to
stand for different
pitches.
Music Notes
We use oval-shaped notes to
write music. Most notes have
stems attached.
The Music Staff
Now we use a
staff with five
lines for
writing music.
The note head goes in a space or on a
line.
• Line notes look like this
• Space notes look like this
Can you identify line and space notes?
Say “line” or “space” for each note, then click on
the sound icon to see if you were right.
Click here for Internet
practice on line and
space notes
The lines and spaces have numbers.
• The bottom line is the
first line.
• The top line is the fifth
line.
• Between the first and
second lines is the first
space.
• There are four spaces
inside the staff lines.
Outside spaces and ledger lines
When notes are too low or too high to be
written in the staff, we use ledger lines.
Space above
staff
First ledger
line above
Space
below
staff
First ledger
line below
Space below
first ledger line
Second ledger
line below
Space
above first
ledger line
Second
ledger line
above
Which line or space?
For internet practice
in identifying lines and
spaces, click here.
Notes are named for letters
• We use seven letters to
name musical notes.
• A, B, C, D, E, F, G
• After G, we start over
with A
• Each line
and space
of the staff
is used for
one pitch.
Clefs
Long ago, people
wrote a letter on
one of the lines
of the staff.
They found the
other notes by
counting up and
down on the
staff.
Click icons to hear name of each note.
Three Clefs
• Now we use just
three letters to help
us find notes on the
staff
• They are F, G and C
• Each one is written
a special way
G
F
C
The G Clef
• The G clef curls
around the second
line to locate the
note G.
• It is the G that is five
notes higher than
middle C.
The F Clef
• The F clef curls
around the fourth
line
• It has two dots,
above and below the
fourth line.
• It locates F five notes
below middle C.
The C Clef
• The C clef curls both
directions to show
middle C.
• The C clef can be
placed on any line.
• For viola music it is
placed on the third
line.
(Click to
hear the C)
Instruments Use Different Clefs
• Violins use the G clef,
also called the treble clef.
• Violas use the C clef. On
the middle line, it is
called the alto clef.
• Cellos and basses use the
F clef, also called the
bass clef.
Which Clef to Use?
Click the sound icon next to the name of the instrument that uses each clef.
Violin?
Viola?
Cello?
Bass?
Violin?
Viola?
Cello?
Bass?
Violin?
Viola?
Cello?
Bass?
Count up to find note names
A clef tells us the name of the note that goes
on a line. The space above that line is named
for the next letter in the music alphabet.
The space above the G line is A because the
music alphabet starts over after G.
The space above the C line is D.
The space above the F line is G.
The next line is named for the next letter.
B comes after A.
E comes after D.
The music alphabet starts over after G.
The next note is a space note.
Can you tell what
note will be next
in the pattern?
Did you predict correctly?
Remember the linespace-line-space-line
pattern.
An extra line is added
for the C.
The extra line is called a
ledger line.
Did you get it right?
A space note is placed
above the ledger line.
Do you understand the pattern?
More ledger lines
can be added as
notes go higher.
Notes keep going up.
Counting down lines & spaces
The space below the line a clef locates is
named for the letter that comes before
the clef note in the music alphabet.
G
Can you say the music
alphabet backwards?
F
E
D
C
B
A
G
Going down the staff we go backwards
in the music alphabet.
Remember the
line-space-line-spaceline-space-line-spaceline-space-line-space
pattern.
Notes go as low as we need them.
We add ledger
lines below the
staff the same as
above.
Learn the notes for your instrument.
Each of the next four pages is for a different instrument.
Study the one for your instrument.
Note names for violin
These notes are the same as the white keys on the piano.
Click the sound icons to hear the sound of each one.
Click here for a Bingo drill
on violin note names
Note Names for Viola
These notes are the same as the white keys on the piano.
Click the sound icons to hear the sound of each one.
Click here for a Bingo drill
on Viola note names.
(Microsoft Excel required)
Note Names for Cello
These notes are the same as the white keys on the piano.
Click the sound icons to hear the sound of each one.
Click here for a Bingo drill on Cello note
names. (Microsoft Excel required)
Note Names for Bass
These notes sound one octave lower than the same white
keys on the piano.
Click the sound icons to hear the sound of each one.
Click here for a Bingo Drill on Bass
Notes. (Microsoft Excel required)