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Music Bars

Staves All music bars, called staves, have exactly five lines, no more, no less. Each staff displays the notes of one musical voice, or in most cases, of one musical instrument. Sometimes, though, a brace connects two staves together to form a compound staff, in which two musical voices are played simultaneously. This is usually the case with pianos, as each hand can play a different voice.

Pitch Relationships

Music bars are special in that each line and space represent one unique pitch. For example, two notes that both sit the same line will always be the same sound, regardless of their horizontal proximity. So, if Note A and Note B are both on the first line, they will always represent the "first line pitch" regardless of other notes between them.

There is a direct relationship between bar height and pitch degree. The higher the note's position on the staff, the higher pitch it represents. Similarly, the lower the note's position on the staff, the lower the pitch that it represents.

Low/High Notes

For notes beyond the five-bar staff, such as extremely low/high tones, we must add a short line above or below the already-existing lines. It's just like adding another bar to to the staff, but in a shorter, neater way. Remember, it's always a 5-bar staff, not a 6 or 7 bar staff. Example: For the note "Middle C," we added a short line below the 5-bars of the top staff.

Review

1. All music bars must have 5 lines. A cluster of 5 lines is called a staff.
2. Each staff displays notes played by one musical voice. When a brace connects two staves together, it is called a compound staff and the two musical voices are played simultaneously.
3. Every line/space represents one unique pitch.
4. The higher a note's position is on the staff, the higher the pitch that it represents.
5. Extremely high/low tones that do not fit on the existing lines must be written with a short line to represent their position on the staff had there been more lines.