Reading Staff Notation

Basics of Staff Notation

Staff notation is a system for writing down music so it can be read and performed by anyone proficient in the system.
The staff is the set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that notes are written on.
The position of a note on the staff indicates its pitch.
The treble clef or G clef is used for higher pitch ranges, while the bass clef or F clef is used for lower pitch ranges.

The clef denotes the pitch of the notes on the staff.
The note on the line or space of the staff where the curve of the G clef (Treble clef) crosses is G.
The note on the line of the staff between the dots of the F clef (Bass clef) is F.
The C clef denotes the middle C position, however, it is not typically used in modern music.

Musical notes provide information on two significant aspects of a sound: pitch and duration.
The type of note head, whether it is filled or not, and the presence of a stem or tail, indicate the duration of a note.
For instance, a semibreve is a whole note and lasts four beats, whereas a crotchet is a quarter note and lasts one beat.
Rests are symbols used in music to represent the absence of a sound and they also have varying durations.

Key Signature is used to specify what key the music is in.
Key denotes the scale from which the musical pitches are derived.
Key signatures can either tell you that the music is in a major or a minor key.
A key signature is represented by placing sharps or flats at the beginning of each stave line.

A time signature is a fraction-like symbol that defines the metre of the music.
The top number tells you the number of beats in a measure, whereas the bottom number tells you the type of note that represents one beat.
For instance, a 4/4 time signature indicates that there are four beats per measure, and a quarter note gets one beat.

Accidentals are symbols that modify the pitch of a note; they can flatten, sharpen, or naturalise a note.
A flat (♭) lowers the pitch by a half step, a sharp (♯) raises the pitch by a half step, and a natural (♮) cancels a previous accidental or returns a note to its original pitch.

Dynamics instruct how loud or soft the music should be played, examples include piano (quiet), forte (loud), crescendo (gradually getting louder), and decrease (gradually becoming quieter).
Articulation marks provide information on how a note or group of notes should be played, examples include staccato (short and detached) and legato (smooth and connected).