Main content
Course: Music > Unit 1
Lesson 2: Reading music- Lesson 1: Staff, names of notes, treble clef
- Lesson 2: Ledger lines and the octave
- Lesson 3: Bass clef, grand staff and the octave
- Lesson 4: Reading music in treble clef and the C Major scale
- Lesson 5: C Major scale in bass clef and reading in bass clef
- Lesson 6: Alto and tenor clefs.
- Lesson 7: Accidentals
- Lesson 8: Natural sign, more on accidentals and key signature
- Lesson 9: More on sharps and flats
- Lesson 10: Chromatic scales and the half step
- Glossary of musical terms
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Lesson 2: Ledger lines and the octave
Want to join the conversation?
It is so complicated! How do people play so fast?(6 votes)
When you read this comment, you probably don't think "W...h...e...n...okay that spells when". People do that sort of thing when they're first learning to read, but in time you stop thinking about each individual letter and start thinking in words and sentences. Music is the same, if you read enough of it.(8 votes)
how far up and down can we go with ledger lines?(6 votes)
Technically, as far up or down as you want. You're only limited by the range of your instrument (and to a greater extent the range of human hearing). However, after a certain point (usually after 3 or 4 ledger lines) it becomes more practical to switch the staff or use 8va or 16ma.(11 votes)
At3:00he says that people use acronyms to remember the notes, wouldn't it be a hassle to have to count the spaces every single time you want to know what note something is? Wouldn't just plain memorizing the notes be easier?(4 votes)
Yes. This is the way I was originally taught, but I found it too difficult to use. I eventually just memorized everything and it's much easier. Besides, how difficult is it to memorized the order of 7 notes?(7 votes)
some times can't tell what diffrent from b sharp or flat(5 votes)
A B sharp is one half step above the B, and a B flat is one half step below the B. Think it will fall flat. And just remember sharp is higher. If you are talking about reading the note on a staff, then the B would just be written out as a normal note, the B sharp would have a sharp symbol (#) and the B flat would have a flat symbol (b). Make sure to check the key signature in the beginning of the piece as well, it can trick you into seeing a normal B when it is supposed to be a B flat. Also remember while reading the music that you probably wont see a B sharp only because it is a C which typically is more common to be written. Note that each note can be written two different ways, look at a piano when you need help visualizing the notes. Hope this helps.(4 votes)
this is pretty confusing for me why do the note positions change so often on the lines and spaces how and why are there ledger lines and finally , aren't the trebles notes egbdf and face order ?(4 votes)
There are multiple clefs that determine which notes go on what lines and spaces. The common G clef has the notes in egbdf and face order but bass, soprano, etc can vary positions.
Ledger lines are a part of the stuff that are used when the staff doesn't reach the specific note to be played. Usually the super high and low notes. When I was a kid, I kept on wondering what was the point of ledger lines. Why not just have a ten lined staff instead. Then I realized that it would be too hard to read the notes if we did that. Ledger lines notate the super high and low notes with a certain simplicity that allow us to read the notes easier.
Do you have any other questions?(5 votes)
- Um, I'm pretty new at this whole music thing and tbh I didn't really pay a whole lotta attention at these videos. Anyway, at1:42he mentioned them sounding different, when you're playing the music, not just writing it, how do you play an "A" note on different places of the staff? (I'm not like a, uh, music geek so... take it easy on me)(5 votes)
- So the staff in treble Clef is fairly simple to learn, the notes that are on the lines go E,G,B,D, and F. Now the spaces are F,A,C, and E. The notes can also go above and below the staff.(3 votes)
I used to play the guitar, and I have one small question before I go and learn how to use the violin. Are the functions of a violin and a guitar alike to each other?(4 votes)
I played violin for a year. No, the guitar is different in ways to the violin. You have to learn a painful way to bend your fingers to do a "bow hold," also known as how to hold your bow correctly. At first, it will hurt. But after a year or two youll be used to it. Also, you have to stand in your first three years while using the violin. And the first time you do, it will be frustrating to keep it held between your chin and shoulder because it will slip. Also, it's a really high pitched instrument and also one of the smallest. But, in time, it will pay off because you can play larger instruments, such as the viola, without struggle. The viola I started playing in august of 2019. It's a lower pitched instrument and is a bit larger than the violin. Same setup, but funner to play. Over time, youll hit cello and string bass. Good Luck! ;)
-Kyla, Nature Naturalist.
#KiaThePastelFox(5 votes)
can you read the legar lines if they are not in order(4 votes)- They can't really be out of order because they are notated by how many you see until you get to the note. In handwritten sheet music the ledger lines are often a little more cramped in because your hand drawn lines are thicker than what a computer could make. When I write I try to use as much space as possible when I write my ledger lines to make it easier to read.(4 votes)
how do i remember all of this?(4 votes)- Learn a little at a time, review often, and quiz yourself.(2 votes)
- At9:33, how do music players keep track of the notes in their piece of music? How do they know that it is their piece of music?(4 votes)
3:00Video transcript
- [Tutor] If we would
like a note below the D, which is on the bottom of the staff, we need to add what is
called a ledger line, if we add this ledger line, we then can put a note on that line and it will be a C, one note below the D. This ledger line can be
used in either direction, so the note above the
treble clef staff is a G, if we add a ledger line and put a note on that ledger line, it will be an A. These ledger lines can be
used above or below the staff and there is no limit to how
many ledger lines we can add, but after four or five ledger lines, the notes become very difficult to read. Let's go back to the single ledger line below the treble clef
staff, this note is a C, if we add a note below this
ledger line, we create a B and if we add a second ledger line and place a note on
that second ledger line, it will be an A, we always remember that
it is the seven letters of the alphabet that
we use in naming notes, so if we're at a C and go down, descending in pitch, then it goes to a B and if
we add a second ledger line and place a note on that
line, it will be an A. Now let's look at all the different notes, that we've discussed from the
A below the treble clef staff to the A above the staff, now we see there are three
As, one below the staff, one in the middle of the
staff and one above the staff, these three notes all
sound like the same pitch, but one is low, one is in the middle register and one is high, if we count from the
low A to the middle A, we see that the middle A is the
eighth note above the low A, the distance from one A to
the next is called an octave, which comes from the Latin,
octava, meaning eight-part, we can now read two octaves
of music on the treble clef, the low A to the middle A is one octave, the middle A to the A above
the staff is the second octave. There are two memorization tools that some use to remember
the treble clef notes, the spaces are F, A, C, E, which of course spells FACE and the lines are E, G, B, D, F, Every Good Boy Does Fine.