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A staff is made up of five horizontal lines and four spaces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The staff represents two aspects of music at once --time is represented on a staff horizontally, and 

 pitch is represented on a staff vertically.  Notes are placed on the staff to indicate their  pitch.

A high note is placed higher on the stave than a low note.

note is higher than another if it has faster vibrations

 


Pitches are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet (A B C D E F G).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A clef is a musical symbol placed at the beginning of the staff that determines the letter names of the lines and spaces.

 

The two main clefs are the treble and the bass:
 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A grand staff is a combination of both the treble and bass clefs connected by a vertical line on the left side of the staves (plural staffs).

 

 

Ledger Lines are an extension of the staff. They are additional lines both above and below which are parallel to the staff. Each ledger line contains one note.

 

 

 

                                          Note Values

 

 


 

Visit http://www.musictheory.net/ for more  advanced information about music theory, and to use some  great practice exercises.

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