PIANO CLASS NOTES

A Staff is a series of 5 equally spaced horizontal lines on which music is written.

EXAMPLE: Both the lines and the spaces between the lines are used to place notes.

the Treble Clef is a musical symbol used to indicate where G above Middle C is located. The rest of the notes on the staff are laid out around that G. Sometimes the Treble Clef is called the "G Clef."

the Bass Clef is a musical symbol used to indicate where F below Middle C is located. The rest of the notes on the staff are laid out around that F. Sometimes the Bass Clef is called the "F Clef."

A barline is a single line used to divide music into equally-timed spaces. A measure is the space between two barlines. There is always a barline at the end of a line of music. At the end of the complete piece of music, there is a double barline

Treble Clef lines: Treble Clef Spaces

Bass Clef Lines: Bass Clef Spaces:

The note just above Middle C (in a space) is "D." The note just below Middle C (also in a space) is "B."

EXAMPLE:

Whole Note Whole Rest It represents 4 beats, or all of the beats in a measure of time.

Half Note Half Rest

It represents 2 beats, or half of the beats in a whole note.

Quarter note Quarter Rest It represents one beat, or one quarter of a Whole Note.

Eighth Note Remember, when two Eighth Notes are connected with a beam, each note head represents one Eighth Note. It represents 1/2 a beat, or 1/8th of a whole note.

EXAMPLES:

One Eighth note (1/2 a beat): Two Eighth Notes (each 1/2 a beat): Eighth Rest

Sixteenth Note Remember, when two Sixteenth Notes are connected with a beam, each note head represents one Sixteenth Note. Sixteenth Note represents 1/4 of a beat, or 1/16th of a whole note.

EXAMPLES: Two single Sixteenth Notes (each is worth 1/4 of a beat):

Two Sixteenth Notes, connected with a beam, (each note head is worth 1/4 of a beat):

Sixteenth Rest