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I.4Part I, The Signs of Notation

Placing Notes on the Staff

After this lesson, you'll know how to place notes on lines, in spaces and on ledger lines, and how a note's position relates to its pitch.

6 min7 questionsDanhauser § 12 to 14

Whatever their shape, notes are placed either on the lines, with the line running through the notehead, or in the spaces, with the notehead filling the gap between two lines.

On the left, notes on the five lines; on the right, notes in the four spaces.

A note can also sit just below the 1st line or just above the 5th line, touching it.

Ledger lines

To write lower or higher notes, we use short lines called ledger lines, also spelled leger lines. There's no limit to their number. Notes go on these lines, and also above them when they're above the staff, or below them when they're below it.

Above the staff, then below it: one short line is added every two steps.

The complete series

Now fill every line and every space, add the notes below the 1st line and above the 5th, then the notes on and between the ledger lines, and you get one continuous series:

Each note sits one “step” above the one before it.

Notes placed on the staff from bottom to top stand for sounds going from low to high. A note on the 4th line is higher than a note in the 3rd space, which is itself higher than every note below it.

WorkshopOnline Piano Keyboard with Note NamesFull screen

Play a few keys from left to right: you go up from low to high, just as you go up the staff from bottom to top.

Middle C = C4 (French: do3)

Press a key: you hear the sound and see its name and its place on the staff.

Exercisein the method's spirit

Write every note that fits between these two notes, following the model of the complete series.

Now you know where notes go. In the next lesson, let's give them their names.

Check your understanding

7 questions

Of two notes, one on the 2nd line and one in the 3rd space, which is higher?

The number of ledger lines is:

A note above the staff can be placed:

How many ledger lines does this note use?

Where is this note placed?

Does a note's shape, whether it's a whole note or a quarter note, change its position on the staff?

What are the short extra lines written above or below the staff called?

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