How to read sheet music?

Question

i just started learning to read sheet music and i have a question. I know all the notes that are on and inbetween the lines, but what are they once they leave the staff? i play the piano if that matters.

Answer 1

These notes that cannot be put on either of the 5 staves of the bass clef or treble clef will be on lines called 'ledger lines'. These special lines are placed on noteheads, when noteheads are too far away from the 5 staves of a musical score to be on a line or space.

Ledger lines are short lines on noteheads, and how many ledger lines on a note depends on how far the note is away from the 5-line staff.

For example...

Middle C is on one ledger line....while the lowest C on the bass clef has 5 ledger lines...the last ledger line on it being on a space.

Answer 2

The notes that go above the staff continue to follow the same pattern of line-space-line-space and just go up the "musical alphabet" of A-to-G.  So, because the top line of the Treble Clef is "F" (Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge), the note in the space just above that will be a "G".  Then the note on the leger line (the short little line that extends the staff up or down) above that is an "A".  And then the space above that leger line is a "B".  And it continues.  The same applies for Bass Clef.  The top line of Bass Clef is an "A" so the note just above that, in the space, is a "B".  One leger line up is a "C".

The same applies for going below the staff, except in reverse order.  It goes DOWN the musical alphabet, not up.  The bottom line in Treble Clef is an "E", so the note just below the staff is a "D".  The note on one leger line below the Treble Clef is a "C".  Incidently, that "C" that's one leger below the Treble Clef is the same "C" that's one leger above the Bass Clef.  It's the same note.  It's like one clef takes over where the other left off.  Going below the Bass Clef is the same concept.  The bottom lined note is a "G", therefore the note below that is an "F".  The one leger line below the Bass Clef is an "E".

I hope this helps and I didn't confuse you too much!  Good luck, enjoy playing!

Answer 3

Those notes are on what are called "ledger lines." They represent an extension of the staff. The staff only has five lines, but if you were to draw more lines above or below the staff, those would be ledger lines.

You can practice and learn to read music here:

http://musictheory.net/trainers/html/id8...