Music is notated using a staff. The staff consists of five horizontal lines and spaces on which musical notes lie. Higher notes or pitches are higher on the staff while lower notes or pitches are lower on the staff.
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The treble clef forms part of the treble staff. This clef tells us which notes correspond to the various lines and spaces. It is also known as the G clef because it spirals around the second line from the bottom. This line represents the note, G. This clef also looks like a stylized letter “G”.
Once you can locate this G note, it is very easy to find the other notes. Simply move forward or backward through the musical alphabet, A-B-C-D-E-F-G.
Lines on the treble (or G) clef are E-G-B-D-F. A good way to remember this is with the phrase, “Every Good Boy Does Fine”, “Every Green Bus Drives Fast” or “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge”. You can use whichever one suits you. Lines are counted from the bottom to the top of the staff. The bottom line is the 1st line and the top line is the 5th.
The notes for the spaces of this clef are F-A-C-E. Clearly, it spells the word, “face” and is easy to remember. The four spaces are counted from bottom to the top of the staff.
But what happens when you run out of lines? You add what is known as a ledger line. The first ledger line in the treble staff, (below the first line of the staff) is middle C on your piano.
On piano, notes on the treble clef are normally played with the right hand.
Bass Clef
To quickly put this clef into perspective, let’s take a look at the other clef, known as the bass clef or F clef. The the lines and spaces of the bass clef correspond to a different set of notes. The notes of the lines in the bass clef are G-B-D-F-A, while the notes of the spaces are A-C-E-G.
Clearly, the clef is very important for telling you what notes to play. Without a clef, you wouldn’t know what notes the lines and spaces on the staff correspond to. You would have no clue as to what notes you should play.
Step One: Draw a vertical line first, through music staff.
Step Two: Start at the top of the line and draw a curve down to the fourth line of the staff.
Step Three: Draw another curve down to the bottom line of the staff.
Step Four: Draw a curve to meet the third or G line and curve around.
Learn to read piano notes, plus further reading on the bass and treble clef.
Piano Notes and Keys – 88 Key Piano