Music is written on a staff — five horizontal lines with four spaces between them. Notes sit on lines or in spaces, and their vertical position tells you which pitch to play.

Higher position = higher pitch. Lower position = lower pitch.

Western music uses seven letter names, repeating forever:

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B ...

After B, you're back to C — one octave higher. This cycle never changes.

Here are the natural notes in treble clef, from the bottom of the staff to the top:

A clef tells you which notes correspond to which lines. Without a clef, the staff is meaningless.

Treble Clef (G Clef)

The most common clef. The lines, bottom to top:

The spaces, bottom to top:

Mnemonics: Lines = "Every Good Boy Does Fine." Spaces spell FACE.

Bass Clef (F Clef)

Used for lower-pitched instruments and the left hand on piano. The lines, bottom to top:

The spaces, bottom to top:

Mnemonics: Lines = "Good Boys Do Fine Always." Spaces = "All Cows Eat Grass."

Alto and Tenor Clefs (C Clefs)

Both use the C clef symbol — the line it sits on is middle C.

• Alto clef: middle C is on the 3rd line. Used by violas.
• Tenor clef: middle C is on the 4th line. Used by cellos, bassoons, and trombones in higher passages.

Middle C in alto clef:

Middle C in tenor clef:

Notes that go above or below the staff use short extra lines called ledger lines. They're just extensions of the staff.

• In treble clef, the first ledger line below the staff is middle C.
• In bass clef, the first ledger line above the staff is also middle C.

Middle C on a ledger line below the treble staff:

Middle C on a ledger line above the bass staff:

The more ledger lines, the harder to read quickly — which is why different clefs exist.

The seven letter names give you the white keys on a piano. The black keys — the notes between them — are written with accidentals:

• Sharp (#) — raises a note by one half step
• Flat (b) — lowers a note by one half step
• Natural — cancels a sharp or flat

Here's C, C sharp, and D flat — the sharp and flat sound the same:

Not every pair of natural notes has a note between them. B to C and E to F are already a half step apart — no sharp or flat fits between them.

Instead of writing sharps or flats on every note, a key signature at the start of the staff tells you which notes are always sharped or flatted in that key.

Here's a G major key signature (one sharp — F#):

And a Bb major key signature (two flats — Bb and Eb):

• Key signatures save space and make the music cleaner to read.
• A sharp or flat in the key signature applies to that note in every octave unless cancelled by a natural sign.

• Count from a known note. If you know the bottom line of treble clef is E, count up by letter name to find any note nearby.
• Learn both clefs. If you only read one, start drilling the other — it gets fast with practice.
• Watch for accidentals. A sharp or flat applies to that note for the rest of the measure, not just once.
• Ledger lines are just more staff. Don't panic — count from the nearest staff line.