The Staff, Clefs, and Ledger Lines
  • The staff is the foundation upon which notes are drawn.
  • The modern staff comprises five lines and four spaces.
  • Every line or space on the staff represents a white key on the keyboard.
  • Clefs assign individual notes to certain lines or spaces.
  • Two clefs are normally used: The Treble and Bass clefs.
  • First, we will discuss the Treble Clef (also called the G Clef).
  • The staff line which the clef wraps around (shown in red) is known as G. Any note placed on this line becomes G.
  • The note on the space above G is A. (Remember, there is not an “H” note).
  • The note on the line above A is B.
  • This process continues.
  • Uh-oh. We just ran out of room to place notes, what happens now?
  • Ledger Lines will solve our dilemma.
  • A ledger line is a small line that extends the staff when we run out of room.
  • With the ledger line drawn, we can place the A.
  • Next, let's discuss the Bass Clef (also called the F Clef).
  • The staff line in between the two dots of the clef is F.
  • We can now fill the rest of the staff with notes.
  • Finally, we will discuss the Grand Staff, a theoretical staff consisting of eleven lines.
  • Watch what happens when we eliminate the middle line – we end up with two regular staffs.
  • By adding a Treble Clef to the top staff and a Bass Clef to the bottom staff, we can see the relationship between the two staffs.
  • Notice how the two clefs are “joined” by the C (shown in red).
  • This C is commonly called “middle C” since it corresponds to the middle staff line on the Grand Staff.
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