Staff
The set of five parallel horizontal lines on which music is written, with pitch indicated by vertical position.
The staff is the frame that makes notation readable: notes higher on the staff are higher in pitch, and each line and space steps through the scale. Guitar music uses a single staff with the treble clef, though the lowest notes of the instrument fall below it and need extra ledger lines. Reading fluently means recognising the position of a note on the staff and translating it into a string and fret, which for guitarists involves a choice of several possible positions.
Example: The five lines printed across the page of a guitar method book, with note heads sitting on and between them, are the staff.
See also
Related
- PageTreble clef
- PageStandard notation
- PageNote value
- PageAccidental
- PageBar
- PageBend notation
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley