The music staff: lines, spaces and clefs
The music staff is a set of five horizontal lines with four spaces between them. Notes are placed on the lines and in the spaces, and the higher a note sits, the higher it sounds. A clef at the start of the staff tells you which note each line and space stands for.
The staff (plural: staves) is the grid on which music is written. It has five lines and four spaces, and it is the starting point for everything else in reading. Without a clef the staff is only a grid, and with one it tells you which note is where. This page explains how the lines and spaces are counted, what the clef does, and how the staff grows when the music goes beyond it.
What is a music staff?
A staff is five equally spaced lines. Both the lines and the spaces count as positions for notes, which gives nine positions in total. The notes at neighboring positions have neighboring letter names, so the notes climb through the alphabet as they climb up the staff: line, space, line, space. A note is on a line when the line passes through the notehead, and in a space when the notehead sits between two lines.
How do you count the lines and spaces?
Lines and spaces are always numbered from the bottom up. The bottom line is the first line and the top line is the fifth. The lowest space, between the first and second lines, is the first space. When a teacher says the third line or the second space, this is what they mean. This numbering works the same in every clef.
| Position | Treble clef | Bass clef |
|---|---|---|
| Fifth line (top) | F | A |
| Fourth space | E | G |
| Fourth line | D | F |
| Third space | C | E |
| Third line | B | D |
| Second space | A | C |
| Second line | G | B |
| First space | F | A |
| First line (bottom) | E | G |
What does a clef do?
A clef is a sign at the beginning of the staff. It fixes the pitch of one line, and from that line you can work out all the others. There are three kinds. The treble clef (G clef) circles the line for G above middle C. The bass clef (F clef) has two dots around the line for F below middle C. The C clefs (alto and tenor) point to the line for middle C. The same position on the staff has a different name in each clef.
What are measures and bar lines?
Vertical lines across the staff are bar lines. They divide the music into measures (also called bars), each with the same number of beats. A double bar line marks the end of a section, and a thick final bar line marks the end of the piece. A pair of dots next to a bar line is a repeat sign. Counting the beats between two bar lines is a good way to check your reading: if a measure does not add up, a note value has been misread.
What are staff systems and braces?
When the music is too long for one line of the page, it continues on the next line. A full line of music, including all the staves played at once, is called a system. In piano music the two staves are joined at the left with a brace to make the grand staff. In band or orchestra scores, a bracket joins staves of the same instrument family.
What happens when notes go above or below the staff?
The staff has only nine positions, so the music uses short extra lines called ledger lines when notes are higher or lower. Each ledger line continues the pattern of lines and spaces. Another option is an 8va sign, which tells the player to play an octave higher or lower than written. A change of clef is a third option, and the most readable when a melody stays in a new range for a long time.
What else is written on the staff?
- A key signature, with sharps or flats, right after the clef.
- A time signature, two numbers, after the key signature.
- Notes and rests for the music itself.
- Dynamics, tempo words and articulation marks above or below.
For a step-by-step walk through a piece, see how to read sheet music. If you want to write your own, print some staff paper and copy the figures on this page.
Memory trick: Always count from the bottom. The bottom line is line 1, and the bottom space is space 1. This is true for every clef.
Check yourself
1. How many lines and spaces does a staff have?
Answer: Five lines and four spaces. A staff has five lines with four spaces between them.
2. Which way are the lines of the staff numbered?
Answer: From the bottom up. The bottom line is the first line.
3. What is this note on the second line from the bottom of the treble staff?
Answer: G. The second line of the treble clef is G.
4. What does a clef do?
Answer: Tells you which note each line and space stands for. The clef fixes the pitch of one line.
5. What are the short extra lines above or below the staff called?
Answer: Ledger lines. Ledger lines extend the staff.