The grand staff: treble and bass clef together

The grand staff is two staves read as one. The top staff has the treble clef and the bottom staff has the bass clef. A curly brace joins them at the left, and the bar lines run through both. Seen this way, the notes form one long ladder, from the lowest notes of the left hand up to the highest notes of the right hand. This is how nearly all piano music is printed.

What is the grand staff?

A single staff can hold only about nine different notes between the bottom line and the top space. A pianist needs far more, because both hands play at once over a wide range. The grand staff makes room by putting a treble clef staff above a bass clef staff. The right hand usually reads the top staff and the left hand reads the bottom one, though this is a custom, not a rule. Notes that go beyond either staff use ledger lines.

Where is middle C on the grand staff?

Middle C sits between the two staves, on its own short ledger line. It is the first ledger line below the treble staff and also the first ledger line above the bass staff. If you drew a line through the gap, it would be the eleventh line of a very large staff: five lines of treble, one line for middle C, then five lines of bass. Middle C is the same note whichever staff it is written on, and the composer chooses the staff that makes the music easiest to read.

How do the two staves line up?

The notes on the treble and bass staves are not matched line for line, but they follow a clear pattern. The top line of the bass staff is A and the bottom line of the treble staff is E. The space between the staves holds middle C on its ledger line. The note on the ledger line above the bass staff and the note on the ledger line below the treble staff are the same pitch. This is how the two staves meet up without any gap in the notes.

Why do pianists read the grand staff?

A piano covers more than seven octaves, so no single clef would fit. Splitting the music into two staves keeps each hand on a clef that suits its range. When both hands play in the same area, the music for one hand may cross into the other staff, or the staves may use different clefs for a moment, such as a bass clef on the top staff. Always check the clef at the start of each system, and watch for changes in the middle of the line. A change is shown by a small clef sign, and it applies until the next one.

• Piano and keyboard parts use the grand staff.
• Organ music often adds a third staff for the pedals.
• Harp music uses it too, since the two hands share a wide range.
• Vocal scores use it for the piano accompaniment line beneath the singers.

How can I read the grand staff faster?

Start with landmarks in each staff: middle C between the staves, the treble G in the top staff and the bass F in the bottom staff. Read the top staff by itself for a week, then the bottom staff, then both. Many students find it helpful to name the intervals between notes, since a step is the next line or space, and a skip is the next line or the next space with one between. The note trainer is a good place to practice. A few minutes each day is better than one long session, because the eye learns the pattern by repetition.

What does the grand staff look like on the piano?

The keys to the right of middle C are shown on the treble staff and the keys to the left are shown on the bass staff, as you can see below. See piano notes for the whole keyboard laid out against the staff.

Check yourself

Related pages

• Treble clef notes and how to read them
• Bass clef notes and how to read them
• Where is middle C on the piano and staff?
• Ledger lines: notes above and below the staff
• Piano notes: how the keys match the staff
• The music staff: lines, spaces and clefs