Read pitches on the treble and bass staff, name note and rest values, and identify basic markings such as clefs, time signatures and the most common dynamics

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to read the most common things on a music staff: the names of the notes in the treble clef and the bass clef, how long each note and rest lasts, what a time signature tells you, and the most common markings for how loud and how fast to play. The big idea is that staff notation is a simple code, and once you learn the patterns you can read a part and write down what you hear.

The answer

Reading pitch: the staff, clefs and note names

The staff is the set of five lines and four spaces. A clef at the start tells you which notes the lines and spaces stand for.

In the treble clef (the high clef, used for the right hand and most tunes), the lines from bottom to top are E, G, B, D, F, and the spaces from bottom to top spell the word FACE. A common memory trick for the lines is Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit.

In the bass clef (the low clef, used for the left hand and low instruments), the lines from bottom to top are G, B, D, F, A (Good Boys Do Fine Always), and the spaces are A, C, E, G (All Cows Eat Grass).

A sharp ($\sharp$) raises a note by a semitone (one half step), a flat ($\flat$) lowers it by a semitone, and a natural ($\natural$) cancels a sharp or flat.

Reading rhythm: note and rest values

Each note shape lasts a set number of beats. In common time:

• A whole note (semibreve) lasts 4 beats.
• A half note (minim) lasts 2 beats.
• A quarter note (crotchet) lasts 1 beat.
• An eighth note (quaver) lasts half a beat.

Every note has a matching rest of the same length (a silence). A dot after a note adds half of its value again, so a dotted half note lasts $2 + 1 = 3$ beats.

Reading the time signature

The time signature is the pair of numbers at the start. The top number is how many beats are in each bar; the bottom number is which note value gets one beat. So 4/4 means four beats per bar with a quarter note per beat, and 3/4 means three beats per bar (a waltz feel).

Reading the markings: dynamics and tempo

Dynamics tell you how loud to play: $p$ (piano) means soft, $f$ (forte) means loud, $mp$ and $mf$ are the medium versions, and a hairpin that opens up means get louder (crescendo). Tempo words tell you how fast: Andante (walking pace), Moderato (moderate), Allegro (fast).

Examples in context

Example 1. A simple hymn or folk tune. Most school hymns and folk songs are written in the treble clef in 4/4 or 3/4, using mainly quarter and half notes. Reading one line at a time, naming the notes and counting the beats, is exactly the skill the listening paper and the composing folio rely on.

Example 2. A piano part with two staves. Piano music uses a treble staff for the right hand and a bass staff for the left, joined by a brace. Being able to read both clefs at once is why learning the bass clef patterns, not only the treble, pays off.

Try this

Q1. Name the four notes that sit in the spaces of the treble staff, from bottom to top. [2 marks]

• Cue. The spaces spell the word FACE, so from bottom to top they are F, A, C and E.

Q2. A bar in 3/4 time contains a dotted half note. Show that this fills the bar. [2 marks]

• Cue. A dotted half note lasts $2 + 1 = 3$ beats, and 3/4 has three beats per bar, so the single dotted half note fills it exactly.

Q3. State what each of these markings means: $p$, $f$, and a crescendo hairpin. [3 marks]

• Cue. $p$ (piano) means play softly, $f$ (forte) means play loudly, and the opening crescendo hairpin means gradually get louder.