Download Reading notes in the Treble Clef!

Reading notes
in the Treble Clef!
Scale
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Octave
After 7 notes, we repeat the same sequence of note names!
Treble Clef:
symbol to
show which
line is G.
Staff: five parallel lines
Pitches
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
Octave:
Two tones eight pitches (diatonic degrees) apart
We stop the musical alphabet at G because A through G is 7 pitches!
We usually read and number things from the top to the bottom,
but on the music staff we count from the bottom up!
Reading notes on a staff is more like reading a graph.
A
B
C
D
A
B
C
Y axis = Pitch
X axis = Beat/Rhythm
D
Stems go up or down depending on the pitch.
The shape of the note has to stay the same though!
A
B
C
D
We usually write in the spaces, using lines as the place
where most of our letters and number stop.
But on the music staff we use both lines and spaces.
E
F
G
A
B
Space Note
C
Line Note
Each letter of the alphabet is either on a line or a space.
We count each line and space as one “step.”
We can also use the spaces just above and below the staff…
G
C
A
D
…and add short lines above or below the staff, called ledger lines.
You can think of ledger lines as short line segments
that make the “graph” or staff bigger.
The treble clef is also known as the G clef because
it shows us the line for the note G.
From there we can “count” up or down the alphabet.
G
A
B
C
F
E
D
C
Reading music uses simple math in your head.
You can memorize your facts, like the letter name of each line
and space on the staff. You can also start with G and figure out
how many steps the note is away from G.
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
1 = G, 2 = A, 3 = B
1 = G, 2 = F, 3 = E, 4 = D
Going upward, you
can go in
alphabetical order!
Going downward, use
backwards alphabetical
order!
Memorizing Options
F
D
B
G
E
E
C
A
F
C
Middle C has
1 ledger line
Use the phrase
“Every Good Boy
Does Fine”
to remember the
line notes.
The space notes spell
out the word face.
You can use the phrase
“face in the space” to
remember that!