Pitches on the Treble and Bass Staves

Each line of the staff represents a pitch. A pitch is the highness or lowness of a sound. Pitches are given letter names from A through G. This is called the "musical alphabet". The pitch names in the musical alphabet are:

After "G", the alphabet starts over again with the letter A. The lines and spaces at the top of the staff are higher in pitch than the ones at the bottom of the staff. Since the treble clef staff is always stacked on top of the bass clef staff (look at a grand staff), you know that pitches on the treble staff are higher than pitches on the bass staff.

Just like the line and space numbers start from the bottom of the staff, the alphabet/pitch names also start from the bottom. The first line of the treble staff is E. The next space is F--the next line G, the next space A, the next line B, etc. They are in order of the musical alphabet.

An easy way to remember the pitches on a staff is to memorize the lines and spaces. On the treble staff, the names of the spaces spell the word FACE. It's easy to remember the treble staff lines if you memorize a saying. The first letter of each word in the saying is the pitch name of a line--Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.

Another clue to memorizing the line names is to know that the treble clef used to be called the "G" clef. You will notice, in the diagram below, the similarities between the treble clef and the way the letter G used to be written. Also notice that the treble clef "curl" circles the line named "G".

Like the treble clef, the bass clef was designed after a letter. It used to be called the "F" clef. You will notice, in the diagram below, the similarities between the bass clef and the way the letter F used to be written. Also notice that the two dots of the clef sit in spaces directly above and below the line named "F".

There is an easy way to memorize all the lines and spaces on the bass staff. In the diagram below, you will find the two sayings that will help you remember the names of the spaces and the lines.

The saying for memorizing spaces on the bass staff is All Cars Eat Gas. The saying for the lines on the bass staff is Good Boys Do Fine Always.

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