Lesson 1: The Grand Staff

A staff has five lines with four spaces. Each line and space has its own name (and pitch):

This collection of lines and spaces is called a staff. We can refer to each line and each space by its number. A staff doesn't usually have numbers written beside the lines and spaces. We've put them there to show the fact that we number them from the bottom. On the staff we place notes and rests. (You'll find out more about notes and rests in later lessons.) At the beginning of each staff we place an object called a "clef". A clef tells us which notes are which. The two most common clefs are the "treble" clef: and the "bass" clef:   A treble clef line and a bass clef line joined together form what is called a "grand staff":

All piano music is written on a grand staff.