Staff

The basic music staff has five lines with four spaces in between them. Each line and space represents a different pitch.

Clefs

Clefs are added to a staff to show what notes the correspond to the lines and spaces of the staff. The two most commonly used clefs are the treble or G clef and the bass or F clef.

Staff with Treble Clef

The symbol for the treble clef evolved from a letter G. The inner curve of the treble clef curls around the line on the staff that represents the G that is directly above the Middle C.

Staff with Bass Clef

The symbol for the bass clef is also called the F clef because the two dots of the clef surround the line that represents the F that is directly below the Middle C.

Treble Clef Notes

The spaces of the staff with a treble clef represent the notes: F, A, C, and E. The lines represent the notes E, G, B, D, and F.

Bass Clef Notes

The spaces of the staff with a bass clef represent the notes: A, C, E, and G. The lines represent the notes G, B, D, F, and A.

Grand Staff

Frequently, two staves are joined with the top one having a treble clef and the bottom one having a bass clef. When they are put together like this, it is called a Grand Staff. Grand staves are used frequently for piano music.