Written music is a picture of pitch against time. Time runs left to right; pitch runs up and down a set of lines called the staff. Learn to read the lines and every other lesson in this course becomes something you can see as well as hear.
Five lines and the spaces between
The staff (British English: stave) is a set of horizontal lines, usually five, and each line and each space stands for a different pitch. A note on a line, then one in the space above it, then one on the next line, climb the scale one letter at a time: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, then C again an octave higher.
Five-line staves appeared in Italy in the 13th century; staves with four, five and six lines were still in use as late as 1600. Notes too high or too low for the five lines go on short extra lines, ledger lines, drawn just wide enough for the note.
The clef names the lines
The five lines on their own say nothing about which note is which. The clef at the start of the staff does that, by fixing one note to one line.
| Clef | Kind | What it fixes | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treble | G clef | G above middle C on the second line | Most melody instruments, even low saxophones |
| Bass | F clef | The F below middle C on the fourth line | Bass, cello, bassoon, trombone, piano left hand |
| Alto | C clef | Middle C on the third line | Viola, above all |
| Tenor | C clef | Middle C on the fourth line | The upper range of cello, bassoon and trombone |
Treble and bass are by far the most common. The alto and tenor clefs are the same sign, a C clef, placed on a different line.
The grand staff
Piano and harp music joins two staves with a brace: treble on top, bass below. This is the grand staff. Middle C sits between them, on one ledger line below the upper staff or one above the lower staff: the same key, written in either place. Organ music with pedals adds a third staff for the feet.
What comes next
Lines tell you which note. The next lesson gives each note a name you can sing: do, re, mi.
Sources
Every date, name, tempo and origin on this page comes from these pages, read on 2026-10-24.