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Chapter 1 The Staff

This document provides an overview of the staff or stave in music, which consists of five lines and four spaces where note heads are placed to represent pitches. It explains how the position of note heads indicates whether a pitch is high or low, and the rules for attaching stems to note heads based on their position. Additionally, it notes an exception for the note head on the third line regarding stem direction.

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22 views16 pages

Chapter 1 The Staff

This document provides an overview of the staff or stave in music, which consists of five lines and four spaces where note heads are placed to represent pitches. It explains how the position of note heads indicates whether a pitch is high or low, and the rules for attaching stems to note heads based on their position. Additionally, it notes an exception for the note head on the third line regarding stem direction.

Uploaded by

22214738
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lower Secondary Junior High Stage 8

Expressive Arts – Music


Class notes: The Staff

Name:

Date:
Self-Study Notes

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CHAPTER 1: The Staff/Stave and High and Low notes

THE STAFF/STAVE

Music that consists out of oval, egg shaped figured referred to as note heads is written
on five lines and four spaces between called a staff or stave.

Example 1: The Staff/Stave

Each note head has its own special place on the staff/stave it can either be placed on
the:

Example 2: The five lines or

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Example 3: The four spaces

The note heads placed on lines and spaces represents musical sounds in music and is
called Pitches.

The lines and spaces on the staff/stave are always counted from the bottom up. Lines
and Spaces on the staff/stave are always labeled from the top to the bottom:

Example 4

Pitch in music is how we measure how high or low the range of sound is that we
hear. In music we measure the how high or low a pitch is by the position of the note
head. If the note head is written higher on the staff/stave it is higher in pitch,
however if the note head is written lower on the staff/stave it is lower in pitch.

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EXERCISES

Part 1:

Trinity of Music Workbook Grade 1 Page 2

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Part 2

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WRITING HIGH AND LOW NOTES

Note heads can be written on the staff/stave with lines attached to them, these lines are
labelled as stems in music. The direction of the stem attached to a note head is
relative to whether it a high note or low note. As a rule, if the note head is high, the
3rd space or higher on the staff/stave or the 4th line or higher on the staff/stave the
stem will be attached on the left-hand side of the note head going in a downwards

position . If the note head is a low note, the 1st space or 2nd space on the
staff/stave or the 1st line or 2nd line on the staff/stave the stem will be attached on

the right-hand side of the note head going in an upwards position .

TAKE NOTE
There is one note head that is an exception to the above rules!
The note head on the 3rd line can have both a stem going upwards on the right-hand
side of the note head or downwards on the left-hand side of the note head. This is up
to your preference.

The reason for making use of stems is it makes music easier to read for the
instrumental player. Look at the following example of how the different high and low
note heads are written with stems including the exception

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EXERCISES

Trinity of Music Workbook Grade 1 Page 3

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Self-Summary notes on Chapter 1

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