A leger line is a short horizontal line placed above or below the musical staff to accommodate notes higher or lower than the range of the staff. What happens now? The solution to our dilemma is the leger line. The piano has as many as 88 notes and it would appear that we would at some point run out of room to place notes on the grand staff. To read the notes on the bass clef, simply start with the F line and travel backward and through the musical alphabet, A B C D E F G. Look closely at this clef and you will notice that there are two dots surrounding the staff line, representing the F note. Find this G on your piano and the other lines and spaces on your staff are easy to find. This is the G that is closest to the middle of your piano keyboard. The treble clef is also known as the G clef because it first of all looks like a stylized G, and most importantly, because it circles around the second staff line which (not coincidentally) represents the note, G. Let’s talk about the treble clef and bass clef for a moment. To help you remember, a good phrase is “All Cows Eat Grass”. Space Notes: Starting in the first space, the notes that correspond to the spaces of the bass staff are A C E G. A great way to remember this is with the phrase “Good Boys Do Fine Always”. Line Notes: Starting on the lowest of the five lines, the notes that correspond to the lines of the bass staff are G B D F A. These notes are often lower than middle C on your piano, but it’s common to see them above middle C. It’s a spelling of the word, “face” and is easy to remember. Space Notes: Starting on the first space, the notes that correspond to the spaces of the treble staff are F A C E. A good way to remember this is with the phrase “Every Good Boy Does Fine”. Line Notes: Starting on the lowest of the five lines, the notes that correspond to the lines of the treble staff are E G B D F. The notes of the lines on the treble staff are as follows:

Let’s take a closer look at these two staves we have mentioned above.įirstly, we shall take a look at the lines in the top staff or treble staff. The Grand Staff – Treble and Bass Staff Notes If it is written with a ledger line above the bass staff, play the note with your left hand. Middle C can be written on the first ledger line above the lower staff, or first ledger (or leger) line below the upper staff.Īs a piano player or student, when you come across a grand staff, you should play the notes on the upper staff (treble staff) with your right hand and those on the lower staff (bass staff) with your left hand.Īs for middle C, if it is written with a ledger line below the the treble staff, you play it with your right hand. Middle C is centered between the two staves. The upper staff makes use of what is known as a treble clef, while the lower staff uses a bass clef. Highly Recommended: Click here for one of the BEST piano/keyboard courses I’ve seen online.Ī staff or stave is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch. (Staves is the plural of staff or stave). It is really two staves joined together by a brace. In this basic music theory lesson, we take a look at the grand staff (or great stave in British English).

Rk grand staff for ios