Note Reading 101
Learn to read notes
Every song you play is written as notes on a staff. Go through these seven short steps, tap any note to hear it, then test yourself with the game at the end.
Step 1
The staff
Music is written on a staff: five lines with four spaces between them. We always count them from the bottom up. A note sits either on a line (the line goes through its middle) or in a space (between two lines).
Notes use just seven letter names: A B C D E F G. After G you start over at A. Each step up the staff (line → space → line) moves one letter up the alphabet.
Step 2
The clef
The symbol at the start of the staff is the clef. It tells you which letter belongs to which line. Different instruments use different clefs, so the same spot on the staff can mean a different note.
Treble clef
Also called the G clef. Its curl wraps around line 2, so line 2 is G.
Alto clef
A C clef. Its center points at line 3, so line 3 is middle C.
Tenor clef
A C clef too, moved up one line. Its center points at line 4, so line 4 is middle C.
Cello, bassoon, and trombone switch to it for high notes.
Bass clef
Also called the F clef. Its two dots hug line 4, so line 4 is F.
Step 3
Line notes
These are the notes that sit on the five lines in treble clef, from the bottom line to the top. A silly sentence helps you remember them:
touch_app Tap a note to hear it.
Step 4
Space notes
Now the four spaces, again from the bottom up:
Put lines and spaces together and the letters simply climb the alphabet:
touch_app Tap a note to hear it.
Step 5
Ledger lines & middle C
Some notes are too low or too high for the staff. They get little extra lines of their own, called ledger lines. Keep counting letters the same way: line, space, line, space.
Step 6
How long to hold a note
Where a note sits tells you which note to play. Its shape tells you how long to hold it, counted in beats (tap your foot steadily: each tap is one beat).
Whole note
Hollow, no stem. 4 beats.
Half note
Hollow with a stem. 2 beats.
Quarter note
Filled in with a stem. 1 beat.
Eighth notes
A flag or beam. ½ beat each.
Step 7
Sharps, flats & naturals
A symbol just before a note changes it a little. These symbols are called accidentals, and one lasts until the end of the measure.
♯ Sharp
Play the note a half step higher.
â™ Flat
Play the note a half step lower.
â™® Natural
Cancels a sharp or flat, so the note goes back to normal.
touch_app Tap the notes to hear the difference.
Practice
Name that note!
Which letter is this note in treble clef?