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Notes names and clefs

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• The pitches of notes are given names simply for ease of referring to them in music.

• The names of the notes are A, B, C, D, E, F, G - the first seven letters of the alphabet:
  • These seven letter are used repeatedly, so when you get to "G", you start with "A" again;
  • Think of them as a circle - as you go from A to B, B to C,... and G to A, you are always going up (a scale);
  • The same note names are used for notes which are an octave apart from each other;
  • Although an octave has eight notes, the top and bottom are the same, so there are only seven different names;
  • Notes with the same name sound similar to each other because of their frequency relationship:
    • Here is middle C and here is C an octave higher;
    • And here is G above middle C and G an octave higher.
  • So when a man sings the same tune as a woman, but an octave lower, the names of the notes they sing are the same.

• A clef is a sign placed at the start of a stave that tells us what note names are where on the stave.

• There are only two different clefs that you are likely to come across, one used by women (high voices) and one normally used by men (low voices), although men may have to sing from either:

  	1. The treble clef is an old-fashioned letter "G", and it curls round the second line of the stave (the second line up from the bottom), indicating that a note on this line has the note name "G". This is the "G" above "middle C", in the centre of the woman's normal singing voice.
  	2. The bass clef is an old-fashioned letter "F", and it has the two dots either side of the fourth line (the fourth line up from the bottom, or the second line down), indicating that a note on this line has the note name "F", the "F" below "middle C", in the centre of a man's normal singing voice.

• Knowing where the note G is on the treble clef stave, and where the note F is on the bass clef stave is enough to enable us to write down all the other note names on each stave.
  • Here are the note names on the treble clef (stave) from Middle C at the bottom to a high "A" - this is just about the normal range of a woman's voice:
    

  • And here are the note names on the bass clef (stave) from bottom E up to middle C - this covers most of a man's normal singing range, but some can sing higher:
    

  • Notice that "middle C" is on the first ledger line below the treble clef (stave) and is also on the first ledger line at the top of the bass clef (stave). These are the same note. It's called "middle C" because it is in the middle of the piano.

• Apart from "middle C", there is no standard way of qualifying a note name to say in which octave you mean.
  • If I say "the note 'G'", there are four on these two staves, and I could mean any of them.
  • I might say "the G above middle C", or "the G in the middle of the treble clef";
  • But it is often obvious from the context in which I am talking.

• The notes shown above are not all possible notes. It is possible to have more ledger lines above and below each stave, but they are less common, because they are outside normal singing ranges.

• You need to get to know the names of notes on the staves:
  • This is not absolutely necessary in order to sight-sing, but you will find note names used a lot when looking at music;
  • Women generally only need to know the names of notes on the treble clef stave;
  • Men probably need to know the names of notes on both staves.
  • It might help to notice that names on the bass clef stave are just one line-and-a-space below the same name on the treble clef stave:
    • For example, the note "A" is in the second space up on the treble clef stave, and is in the first space up on the bass clef stave.
    • The note "D" is on the fourth line up on the treble clef stave, and on the third line up on the bass clef stave.

• People often use mnemonics:
  • The names of notes on the lines or the spaces on the treble clef stave:
    
    Every Good Boy Deserves Food/Favour
    (FACE does not need a mnemonic!)

  • And on the bass clef stave:
    
    Good Boys Deserve Favour/Food Always
    A Cow Eats Grass

• These may help you to get to know them, but eventually you need to be able to recognise notes on the stave immediately, not by having to think through a mnemonic.

• If you can remember the mnemonics above, try naming the notes in the music below:
  • Just for fun, the note names in each line make a phrase - mostly nonsense, but see how quickly you can get them.
  • Try naming them without referring to the diagrams above - the aim is to get to recognise notes on the stave and know their names immediately.
  • Don't try singing these - they are not good tunes!
  

  

  

  

• Here's one for those who have to read bass clef as well: