This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
In 1. Note Names, Semitones and Octaves we saw how the notes are named and how far apart they are in pitch. Now let’s look at how they are represented in music notation.
Notes
A note symbol can have up to 3 parts: notehead, stem and tail.
The note’s pitch is indicated by the notehead’s position on a stave.
A notehead can be solid, as above, or hollow but this doesn’t alter its pitch. Hollow noteheads are used to indicate longer notes. Tails are only used for short notes.
You can read more on note length in 5. How Long Is A Note? Note Values 1.
Staves
A stave is a set of 5 lines on which musical notes can be written. The pitch of a note is indicated by the notehead’s vertical position on the stave. The higher the notehead, the higher the pitch.
The note can either sit on a line or between lines (see Notes on a stave, below). Each position represents a letter. Flats and sharps don’t alter this position: A flat, A natural and A sharp all have the same position on a stave. The flat or sharp is indicated by a b or # sign preceding the note.
NOTE: My post is about standard music notation. For certain instruments and genres there are special staves with less or more lines. Different types of noteheads can also be used.
Clefs
A clef tells us which note position represents each letter as well as at which octave. This allows us to adjust the usable part of the stave to fit the range of various instruments.
The most common clefs are the treble clef, also known as the G clef, and the bass clef, also called the F clef.
- The curl in the treble clef centres on the G above middle C
- The two dots of the bass clef surround the note F below middle C
Various other clefs exist for specific instruments. Even the guitar has a different clef, the tenor clef, which looks like a treble clef but with an “8” attached to the lowest point. The notes look the same as the treble clef but sound an octave lower to suit the guitar’s normal range.
Notes on a stave
Here are the naturals for 2 octaves, starting in the bass clef then continuing in the treble clef.
Note that there is a curly bracket at the left which joins the two staves. This indicates that the staves are used together, as one larger stave, known as the great stave or grand staff. The great stave is useful for keyboard instruments such as the piano, as piano’s range is much too large to be represented on one stave. Also, a pianist’s left hand typically plays bass notes and the right hand plays treble notes.
Stem Direction
The stem goes down from the notehead for higher pitches and up for lower notes.
- When the notehead sits on or above the middle line of the stave, the stem is on the left side of the notehead and goes downwards.
- when the notehead sits below the middle line of the stave, the stem is on the right side of the notehead and goes upwards.
Ledger lines
Middle C is actually one line above the stave on the bass clef, It’s also one line below the stave on the treble clef. A short line called a ledger line is drawn to indicate this.
Ledger lines can be used to extend the range you can write on a stave, both above and below the stave. Many instruments have a range larger than what fits within a stave.
Try These…
1 Write down the note names of the following notes:
2 On some manuscript paper, write a treble clef on one stave and a bass clef on the stave below it. Now write the following notes on each stave. Use ledger lines when needed:
- G on the lower part of the stave
- C in the stave
- A at or above the top of the stave
- D at or below the bottom of the stave
- C above the stave
- G below the stave
- E on the upper part of the stave
- F at or below the bottom of the stave
Answers at the bottom of this post.
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Graphics taken from The Tiny Music Theory Book, a short, easy to read guide to the essentials of music theory and notation, available here.
NEXT LESSON: 3. Beats, Tempo and Timing
PART 1 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents
Answers to Try These…
