Lesson 1 of 27

The Staff and Note Names

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By the end of this lesson

Name notes on the lines and spaces of treble and bass clefs.

See it take shape · Interactive story

The staff is a map of the keyboard

Start at the piano, find a landmark, then watch the staff line up with the keys it stands for. By the end, every line and space will point to one key.

Step 1 of 10
FGABCDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFG2323
Two black keys, three black keys, two, three… Tap any key to hear it.

The keyboard

Look for the pattern in the black keys

At first the keyboard looks like a jumble of white and black keys. Look closer: the black keys alternate in groups of two and three, and that pattern repeats from one end of the piano to the other. Each repeat has seven white keys and five black keys.

Black keys come in groups of two and three.

Use the arrow keys while a story control is focused.

Read the story as text

  1. Look for the pattern in the black keys

    At first the keyboard looks like a jumble of white and black keys. Look closer: the black keys alternate in groups of two and three, and that pattern repeats from one end of the piano to the other. Each repeat has seven white keys and five black keys.

  2. Name the white keys with seven letters

    Music uses only seven letter names: A B C D E F G. After G, the alphabet starts again at A, so the same seven letters repeat up and down the keyboard. Keys to the right sound higher; keys to the left sound lower.

  3. Find every C, then find Middle C

    C is the white key just left of each group of two black keys. The C closest to the middle of the piano is Middle C. Pianists use it as a homing beacon: find Middle C first and the rest of the keyboard is easy to name.

  4. Written music lives on five lines

    The staff is five lines and four spaces. Count both from the bottom: the bottom line is line 1 and the bottom space is space 1. Every note is centred either on a line or in a space.

  5. Each step up the staff is the next white key

    A line note has a staff line through its middle. A space note sits between two lines. Moving up one step always goes from a line to the next space, or from a space to the next line, just as your finger moves to the next white key. So which nine keys do these notes mean? Without a starting point, they could be anywhere.

  6. The treble clef pins G to line 2

    A clef tells us which key each line and space stands for. The treble clef is also called the G clef: its curl wraps around line 2, and that line is the G just above Middle C. One fixed note is all we need. The ladder now has a home on the keyboard.

  7. Count from G to name every note

    Step up from G: A, B, C, D… Step down: F, E. The lines read E G B D F (Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge) and the spaces spell F A C E. Pianists usually play treble-clef notes with the right hand. Press Play to hear the ladder climb the keyboard.

  8. Change the clef and the notes move

    Swap in the bass clef. Nothing moves up or down on the staff, but every note slides to a lower key. The bass clef is the F clef: its two dots sit either side of line 4, the F just below Middle C. The lines read G B D F A (Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always) and the spaces A C E G (All Cows Eat Grass).

  9. Middle C joins the two staffs

    Put the treble staff above the bass staff and the two ladders meet. The step between them is Middle C, written on its own short line just below the treble staff or just above the bass staff. Both mean the same key. Piano music uses this pair of staffs, called the grand staff.

  10. Read the note, find the key

    Tap any key to see where it is written, or step through the staff with Lower and Higher. Then take the challenge: name each note and watch it land on its key. Check the clef, find the line or space, then count from G, F or Middle C.

Reading your first notes

Every written note points to one key on the piano. In this lesson you will find your way around the keyboard, learn how the staff maps onto those keys, and use the treble and bass clefs to name any note on the lines and spaces.

Start at the keyboard

The keyboard looks like a confusing pattern of white and black keys. Look closer: the black keys alternate in groups of two and three, and that pattern repeats from one end of the piano to the other.

Music uses only seven letter names: A B C D E F G. After G, the alphabet starts again at A. Keys to the right sound higher; keys to the left sound lower.

CDEFGABCDEFGABCMiddle C
C is the white key just left of each pair of black keys. The C nearest the middle of the piano is Middle C.

Five lines and four spaces

Written music lives on the staff: five lines and four spaces. Always count both from the bottom: the bottom line is line 1, and the bottom space is space 1.

Lines are numbered on the left, spaces on the right. Count up from the bottom.

Every note is centred either on a line or in a space. A line note has a staff line running through its middle. A space note sits between two lines and touches both.

Line, space, line, space… Each step up the staff is the next white key on the piano.
  • Higher on the staff means higher in sound.
  • Left to right is the order you play the notes.

The clef is your starting point

A clef gives the lines and spaces their letter names. Always check it before you name a note.

The G clef

Treble clef

Its curl wraps around line 2, the G just above Middle C. Piano right-hand parts usually use this clef.

The F clef

Bass clef

Its two dots sit on either side of line 4, the F just below Middle C. Piano left-hand parts usually use this clef.

Clefs give you a reference pitch. They do not limit which notes can appear on a staff.

Notes in the treble clef

Count up and down from G, one letter for each line or space. Memory phrases help while you learn.

The lines, bottom to top

The spaces, bottom to top

The four spaces spell the word FACE.

Notes in the bass clef

The bass clef uses the same five lines and four spaces, but the letter names change because the clef fixes F on line 4.

The lines, bottom to top

The spaces, bottom to top

Middle C joins the two staffs

Piano music joins a treble staff and a bass staff with a brace. Together they form the grand staff. Middle C sits between them on its own short line, called a ledger line. You will learn more about ledger lines in Lesson 4.

Middle C can be written just below the treble staff or just above the bass staff. Both mean the same key.

Mastery checkpoint

Name notes slowly and accurately before you try to go faster.

  1. Check the clef

    Treble clef or bass clef? It decides every letter name on the staff.

  2. Find the position

    Is the note on a line or in a space? Count from the bottom.

  3. Name the note

    Count from G, F or Middle C, or use a memory phrase.

Treble lines

  1. EEvery
  2. GGood
  3. BBoy
  4. DDeserves
  5. FFudge

Bass lines

  1. GGood
  2. BBoys
  3. DDeserve
  4. FFudge
  5. AAlways

Try the worksheet and knowledge check below. In Note Values and Rhythm, you will learn how the shape of a note tells you how long it lasts.

Lesson practice sheet

Print and practice at the piano.

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Download answer key

Put it into practice

Try this before you move on

  1. Write E–G–B–D–F for the treble lines and F–A–C–E for the spaces, from bottom to top.
  2. Write G–B–D–F–A for the bass lines and A–C–E–G for the spaces. Say each name aloud.
  3. Find five notes in a score. Name the clef first, then the note. Repeat slowly before increasing speed.

Knowledge check

How much clicked?

Three questions, instant explanations. Repeat whenever you need a refresher.

1. Which note is on the second line of treble clef, counting from the bottom?
2. What do the spaces of treble clef spell, from bottom to top?
3. Which note is on the bottom line of bass clef?

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