The Staff

• The staff is a system for notating pitch developed in the West during the Middle Ages (sixth century CE–1450).

• The development of a precise system of notation enables a person to read and perform music without hearing it first.

• The use of notation in Western Classical music contrasts with the absence of precise musical notation in genres like jazz, blues, and global music, which frequently are not notated.

• If the music is written down, the notation may specify only the contour of the melody, previously known by the performer.

• In modern notation, pitch is written as notes on a staff. Initially (around the ninth century), only one line was used and higher pitches were placed above this line, and lower pitches were placed below the line.

• By the eleventh century, four lines were utilized with one line designated F or C. The staff today (plural: staves) consists of five lines and four spaces numbered from the bottom to the top.

• The seven letters of the musical alphabet represent pitches in ascending order from lowest to highest.

• The staff lines and spaces may represent any letter as determined by the clef, but the letters must always be in their consecutive order.

Clefs

• A clef sign drawn at the beginning of each staff indicates the letter name of each line and space. These clef signs represent the pitches F and G.

• When the G clef (usually called the treble clef) is placed at the beginning of the staff, the second line from the bottom of the staff represents the pitch G.

  • All other pitches follow in alphabetical order, ascending (forward) or descending (backward) from G. The G clef is usually used to indicate higher sounding pitches.

    • Lines: EGBDF

    • Spaces: FACE

• Octave: (octa = eight) spans eight notes, beginning and ending with the same letter name.

• The five lines and four spaces of one staff can represent only nine letter names. In order to extend the range of the staff, notes above and below the staff are written using ledger lines.

  • Ledger lines are short. The ledger line for one note does not connect to the ledger line of another note.

  • The distance between the lines and spaces of ledger lines is the same as those of the staff.

  • Ledger lines are used only when needed.

    • Example:

      • notes written above the staff only use the ledger lines that pass through or below the note

      • conversely, notes written below the staff only use ledger lines that pass through or above the note.

  • The note C written on a ledger line below the treble clef is “middle C.”

  • Ledger lines can extend the range of the grand staff higher than the F line of the treble clef, lower than the G line of the bass clef, and can accommodate notes between the treble and bass clefs.

  • Middle C can be written both as a ledger line below the treble staff and as a ledger line above the bass staff.

  • Pitches normally written in the treble clef may also be written in the bass clef using ledger lines. Likewise, pitches normally written in the bass clef may also be written in the treble clef using ledger lines.

• A pentatonic melody only uses five different pitches.

  • Many melodies from around the world are pentatonic, including folk melodies from Japan, China, Korea, Hungary, Indonesia, Greece, and African countries.

  • Many American folk songs, blues melodies, and spirituals are also pentatonic.

• Each note on the staff corresponds to one key on the keyboard.

• The G clef at the beginning of the staff determines which specific keys of the keyboard represent the notes of that staff.

• In the G clef, the ledger line middle C corresponds to the fourth highest C on a standard keyboard of 88 keys.

• The F clef, usually called the bass clef, is used to indicate voices or instruments that sing or play low pitches including male voices, the cello, and the tuba.

• When the F clef is placed at the beginning of the staff, the fourth line from the bottom is named F. All other pitches follow in alphabetical order above or below the F.

  • Lines: GBDFA

  • Spaces: ACEG

• The F clef at the beginning of the staff determines which specific keys of the keyboard represent the notes of that staff. In the F clef, middle C is written on the ledger line above the staff.