Piano/Notes of the Staves

Notes of the Staves

In written music, every line and space represents a note on the staff. The notes on the piano are named using the first seven letters of the alphabet (A through G). You must memorize each letter name to the assigned spot on the staff. However, remember that the bass clef and treble clef have lines and spaces that correspond to different note letters.

Learning to memorize each note will take some time, so you can use a mnemonic to help you. Mnemonics are words or phrases made from the letter names of the lines and spaces, to help you remember.

For the treble or G clef, notes on lines starting at the bottom and moving to top are: (E, G, B, D, F) Mnemonics are Every Good Boy Deserves Football, or Every Girl Buys Designer Fashions, or Elephants Get Big Dirty Feet. A mnemonic for notes in spaces is FACE. You can even use your hand as a mnemonic: fingers are lines.

For the bass or F clef, for notes on lines: GBDFA - Grizzly Bears Don't Fear Anything, or Good Burritos Don't Fall Apart, and for notes in spaces between the lines, All Cows Eat Grass.

Learn to read bass clef at the same time as treble clef, and try to learn notes without needing to calculate spaces and lines or think about mnemonics. That's simply too slow. Practice is the key. Keep practicing, and you'll learn the notes!