To read piano sheet music, you need three things from each note: which key it is (its place on the staff), how long to hold it (its shape), and how the beats are grouped (the time signature). Piano music uses the grand staff, two staves read together: treble clef, usually for the right hand, and bass clef for the left. The keyboard on this page lights up the three landmarks this lesson starts from: F3, middle C and G4.
The staff
A staff has five lines and four spaces, counted from the bottom up, and each stands for one letter name. From a line to the next space up, or from a space to the next line up, is one white key higher: the next letter. From one line to the next line skips a letter, E to G for example.
Treble clef and bass clef
The treble clef, or G clef, curls around the second line from the bottom: the G above middle C (G4). The bass clef, or F clef, puts its two dots around the fourth line from the bottom: the F below middle C (F3).
| Clef | Lines, bottom to top | Spaces, bottom to top |
|---|---|---|
| Treble | E G B D F: Every Good Boy Does Fine | F A C E: they spell FACE |
| Bass | G B D F A: Good Boys Do Fine Always | A C E G: All Cows Eat Grass |
The grand staff and middle C
A brace joins the two staves. Middle C sits between them on a short extra line, just below the treble staff or just above the bass staff, and both mean C4. Read upward, the grand staff is one ladder of white keys: A3 on the top line of the bass staff, B3 above it, C4 on the short line, D4 just below the treble staff, and E4 on its bottom line.
Landmark notes and ledger lines
Rather than counting from the bottom every time, read from the nearest landmark:
- Middle C (C4): the short line between the staves.
- Treble G (G4): the second line of the treble staff.
- Bass F (F3): the fourth line of the bass staff.
- Treble C (C5) and bass C (C3): the third space of the treble staff and the second space of the bass staff.
So one space above treble G is A4, and one line below bass F is D3. Notes beyond the staff get short extra lines called ledger lines: high C (C6) is on the second one above the treble staff, and low C (C2) on the second one below the bass staff.
Note values and rests
A note's shape tells you how long to hold it. When a quarter note gets one beat, as in 4/4 and 3/4:
| Note | What it looks like | Beats |
|---|---|---|
| Whole note | Open oval, no stem | 4 |
| Half note | Open oval with a stem | 2 |
| Quarter note | Filled oval with a stem | 1 |
| Eighth note | Filled oval with a flag, or joined to others by a beam | 1/2 |
A dot after a note adds half its value, so a dotted half note lasts 3 beats. A curve joining two notes of the same pitch is a tie: play the first and hold it through both.
Rests are silences with the same values. A whole rest hangs from the fourth line, and it also marks a whole bar of silence in any time signature; a half rest sits on the middle line; a quarter rest is a zigzag; an eighth rest looks like a slanted 7.
Time signatures and bars
The two stacked numbers after the clef are the time signature: the top number is the beats in each bar, and the bottom one is the note that gets a beat, 4 for a quarter note and 8 for an eighth.
- 4/4: four quarter-note beats per bar, as in Ode to Joy; it is also written as a large C, called common time.
- 3/4: three beats per bar, the feel of a waltz, as in Silent Night.
- 6/8: six eighth notes per bar, felt as two groups of three, as in Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
Bar lines divide the staff into bars, also called measures.
Sharps, flats and key signatures
A sharp sign (#) means the key just to the right, a flat sign (like a small b) the key just to the left, and a natural sign cancels an earlier sharp or flat. In front of a note, such a sign is an accidental and lasts until the end of the bar, as with the D# in the opening of Für Elise.
A key signature is a group of sharps or flats right after the clef on every line; it applies to every note with that letter name. None means C major or A minor, one sharp (F#) is the key signature of G major, as in Minuet in G, and one flat (Bb) that of F major.
Repeats and endings
Two thin bar lines end a section; a thin line then a thick one ends the piece. A repeat sign is a double bar with two dots: dots on its left mean go back to the matching sign with dots on its right, or to the beginning if there is none. With first and second endings, marked 1 and 2, play the first ending the first time and the second ending on the repeat.
Next lesson
Put your reading to work on the C major scale. It uses only white keys, so its key signature is empty, and it teaches the thumb crossing you'll need for longer melodies.
How to read a note on the grand staff
- Check the staff: treble clef on top, usually for your right hand, or bass clef below, usually for your left.
- Find the nearest landmark: middle C between the staves, G on the second line of the treble staff, or F on the fourth line of the bass staff.
- Count from the landmark: each move from a line to the next space, or from a space to the next line, is the next letter.
- Apply the key signature and any sharp, flat or natural sign in front of the note.
- Hold the note for the beats its shape shows, counting with the time signature.
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes on the lines of the treble clef?
From the bottom line up: E, G, B, D and F, remembered as Every Good Boy Does Fine. The spaces spell F, A, C, E from the bottom up.
What are the notes on the lines of the bass clef?
From the bottom line up: G, B, D, F and A, remembered as Good Boys Do Fine Always. The spaces are A, C, E and G: All Cows Eat Grass.
Is middle C in the treble clef or the bass clef?
Both. Middle C is written on a short line just below the treble staff or just above the bass staff, and it is the same key either way.
What does 4/4 mean in music?
The top number is how many beats are in each bar, and the bottom number says which note gets one beat, with 4 meaning a quarter note. So 4/4 has four quarter-note beats per bar.
What do sharp, flat and natural signs do?
A sharp raises a note to the very next key to the right, a flat lowers it to the very next key to the left, and a natural cancels an earlier sharp or flat. Each lasts until the end of the bar.