Staff lines and spaces

A staff has five horizontal lines and four spaces. The position of a notehead shows its pitch inside the chosen clef.

How to count positions

Begin with the clef and count lines and spaces in order. The next position is the next scale degree, even when the keyboard distance is sometimes a half step and sometimes a whole step.

Practice

• Name the clef first.
• Count positions from the bottom without skipping a space.
• Check the keyboard only after reading the degree.

Start slowly and use your ear to check what you have read.