Meet the Music Staff!
An Art & Music Studio read-along picture book.
Piano lesson four: Meet the music staff!
Hi friends! It's Ivy Keys. Let's warm up with five-finger position.
Right thumb on middle C. Ready? C, D, E, F, G!
Today, we'll learn how music is written down, so you can read the notes!
Music is written on the staff. The staff has five lines.
Let's count them, from the bottom up. One, two, three, four, five.
And in between the lines, there are four spaces. One, two, three, four.
Notes can sit on a line, or in a space.
A line note has the line going right through its middle, like a bead on a string.
A space note sits in between two lines, snug and cozy, like a pillow.
This curly sign at the start is the treble clef. It shows the notes for the right hand, the higher notes.
The treble clef curls around the second line from the bottom. That line is G! That's why it's also called the G clef.
Hi, Ivy! It's Pemmo! When notes go up on the staff, do they go up on the piano too?
Yes, Pemmo! Higher on the staff means higher on the piano. And lower on the staff means lower on the piano.
Let's link the staff to the keys. Middle C sits below the staff, on its own little line.
D sits just below the bottom line.
E sits on the bottom line.
F is in the first space.
And G is on the second line, right where the treble clef curls!
Line, space, line, space, line. Each step up the staff is one step up the keys!
Your turn! Is this note on a line, or in a space?
It's on a line! That's E.
And this one? Line, or space?
It's in a space! That's F.
I got them both!
Now, let's read a famous tune, Ode to Joy, by Ludwig van Beethoven. It fits right in our five-finger position.
Watch the notes on the staff, and the keys on the piano.
Let's play it once more. Read the notes, and play along with me!
Bravo! You learned the staff, line notes and space notes, the treble clef, and how the staff links to the keys!
Bravo! Bravo!
Can you remember?
How many lines does the music staff have?
Where does a space note sit?
Which note sits on the bottom line?
You did it!
Keep practicing, friends. See you at the piano! Bye-bye!
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Made with love by a Nana and her grandkids, with help from the bots of Botsville USA.
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