The stave and the clefs

Lines, spaces and letters

Music is written on a stave: five lines with four spaces between them. Notes sit on a line (the line goes through the middle of the note) or in a space. The higher a note sits, the higher it sounds.

Notes are named with the first seven letters of the alphabet, A B C D E F G, then the letters start again. Going up the stave, each line and each space is the next letter.

The treble clef

A clef at the start of the stave tells you which note is where. The treble clef curls round the second line up, which is the note G. That is why it is also called the G clef.

• The lines, bottom to top: E G B D F ("Every Good Boy Deserves Football").
• The spaces, bottom to top: F A C E (they spell "face").

The bass clef

The bass clef is used for low notes. Its two dots sit either side of the fourth line up, which is the note F. That is why it is also called the F clef.

• The lines, bottom to top: G B D F A ("Good Boys Deserve Football Always").
• The spaces, bottom to top: A C E G ("All Cows Eat Grass").

Middle C

Middle C is the C near the middle of the piano. It sits between the two staves, on a short extra line called a ledger line:

• in the treble clef, one ledger line below the stave;
• in the bass clef, one ledger line above the stave.

Tip: to name any note, start from one you know (G in the treble clef, F in the bass clef, or middle C) and count up or down a letter for each line and space.