Treble, bass and grand staff
Practise one clef at a time or mix both on the grand staff, the way piano music is written. Middle C sits on its own ledger line between the two staves.
Bass and Treble Clef Notes Trainer
Read treble and bass clef notes, name each one on the keyboard and hear it. Free, with no signup.
Learn to read notes in three steps
No signup and nothing to install. It runs on a laptop, a tablet, a phone or the classroom screen.
- 01
Choose a clef and a level
Pick the treble clef, the bass clef or both on the grand staff. Start with notes on the lines, then the spaces, the whole staff and the ledger lines.
- 02
Name the note
A note appears on the staff. Press its name on the keyboard below it, or type the letter or a number from 1 to 7. You hear the note as you answer.
- 03
Keep your streak going
Right answers turn yellow and add to your streak. After a mistake the correct name stays next to the note for a moment, so the next one sticks.
A note reading trainer that stays out of the way
Made for beginners, piano and band students, and music teachers who want a quick warm-up on the projector.
Four levels
Lines only, spaces only, the whole staff, then two ledger lines above and below. Each level changes which notes can appear, so you can work on exactly what feels hard.
Hear every note
Each answer plays the note on a piano, so reading and hearing go together. The jump from one line to the next becomes a sound you recognise, not only a shape.
60-second classroom challenge
Start the clock and name as many notes as you can in one minute. The best score for each clef and level stays on the device, and full screen makes it readable from the back row.
Treble and bass clef notes on the staff
Music is written on a staff of five lines and four spaces. Every line and every space stands for one note, and the clef at the start of the staff tells you which. Read from the bottom up, each step from a line to the next space is the next letter of the musical alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G, then A again.
The table shows every line and space in both clefs, plus the first ledger line below and above. Notes are written in scientific pitch, where C4 is middle C, the C closest to the middle of a piano keyboard.
| Position | Treble clef | Bass clef |
|---|---|---|
| First ledger line above | A5 | C4 |
| Line 5 (top) | F5 | A3 |
| Space 4 | E5 | G3 |
| Line 4 | D5 | F3 |
| Space 3 | C5 | E3 |
| Line 3 | B4 | D3 |
| Space 2 | A4 | C3 |
| Line 2 | G4 | B2 |
| Space 1 | F4 | A2 |
| Line 1 (bottom) | E4 | G2 |
| First ledger line below | C4 | E2 |
Treble clef notes
The treble clef is also called the G clef. Its curl wraps around the second line from the bottom, and that line is G4, the G just above middle C. Violin, flute, trumpet, recorder, guitar and the right hand of the piano all read the treble clef.
The lines of the treble clef, from bottom to top, are E, G, B, D and F. Many teachers use the sentence Every Good Boy Does Fine to remember them. The four spaces spell the word FACE. Middle C sits on the first ledger line below the staff.
Bass clef notes
The bass clef is also called the F clef. Its two dots sit above and below the fourth line, which is F3, the F below middle C. Cello, bassoon, trombone, tuba, bass guitar and the left hand of the piano read the bass clef.
The lines of the bass clef, from bottom to top, are G, B, D, F and A: Good Boys Do Fine Always. The spaces are A, C, E and G: All Cows Eat Grass. Middle C sits on the first ledger line above the staff, which is why it links the two clefs. A useful trick: in the same place on the staff, a bass clef note is always two letters above the treble clef note, so the bottom line is G instead of E.
The grand staff, ledger lines and how to practise
Piano music joins a treble staff and a bass staff with a brace. This is the grand staff. Notes that do not fit on the five lines get short extra lines of their own, called ledger lines. Counting ledger lines is slower than reading landmarks, so learn a few anchor notes first: middle C, the G of the treble clef, the F of the bass clef, and the top and bottom lines.
Short, daily practice works better than long sessions. Five minutes a day with this trainer, one level at a time, builds the instant recognition that sight reading needs. When the lines feel easy, move on to the spaces, then the whole staff, then the ledger lines, and finally the grand staff with both clefs mixed.
For music teachers
A one-minute note reading warm-up for your class
Put the trainer on the projector, pick a clef and run the 60-second challenge together, with no login for you or your pupils. When your class is ready to make its own music, Make a Beat gives you a whole classroom: students join with a code and their name, no email addresses, and you set assignments, listen to what they hand in and grade it. GDPR, FERPA and COPPA ready, servers in Germany, and every school licence starts with a free trial.
Questions about reading notes
What are the notes of the bass clef?
The bass clef lines are G, B, D, F and A from bottom to top, and the spaces are A, C, E and G. The fourth line, marked by the two dots of the clef, is F3, the F below middle C. Middle C sits on the first ledger line above the staff.
What are the notes of the treble clef?
The treble clef lines are E, G, B, D and F from bottom to top, and the spaces spell F, A, C, E. The second line, where the clef curls, is G4, the G above middle C. Middle C sits on the first ledger line below the staff.
How do you remember the notes on the staff?
Short mnemonic sentences help most beginners remember the notes on the staff. In the treble clef the lines are Every Good Boy Does Fine and the spaces spell FACE. In the bass clef the lines are Good Boys Do Fine Always and the spaces All Cows Eat Grass. Daily practice then makes them automatic.
What is the grand staff?
The grand staff is a treble staff and a bass staff joined by a brace, used for piano, harp and organ music. The right hand usually reads the upper staff and the left hand the lower one. Middle C sits on a ledger line between the two staves.
Where is middle C on the staff?
Middle C is on the first ledger line below the treble staff and on the first ledger line above the bass staff. It is the same note, C4, written in two places. On a piano it is the C nearest the middle of the keyboard, usually right under the brand name.
What are ledger lines in music?
Ledger lines are short extra lines for notes above or below the five lines of the staff. Each ledger line continues the pattern of lines and spaces, so you keep counting up or down from the staff. In this trainer the ledger lines level adds two of them above and two below.
How long does it take to learn to read notes?
Learning the note names of one clef takes days or a few weeks if you practise a little every day. Reading fast enough to play from sheet music takes longer, because your eye has to recognise notes without counting. Five minutes a day work better than one long session a week.
Is this note reading trainer free?
Yes. The treble clef, the bass clef, the grand staff, all four levels, the piano sound and the 60-second challenge are free, with no account and no download. It runs in any current browser on a laptop, a tablet, a phone or the classroom screen, and works with a computer keyboard too.
From reading notes to playing them
Open the beat maker with the notes you just named on a piano track, then add drums, bass and chords in your browser.