Music Notation
Music is written on a staff or stave, which consists of five parallel lines between which there are four spaces.
This symbol is called a bass clef. There is a bass clef at the beginning of every line of bass music.
The Bass Staff
A staff with a bass clef written on it is called a bass staff.
Bar lines are drawn across the staff, which divides the music into sections called bars or measures. A double bar line signifies the end of an important section of music, while a final bar line is written at the end of a piece.
Music Notes
There are only seven letters used for notes in music. They are:
These notes are known as the musical alphabet. Bass music notes are written in the spaces and on the lines of the bass staff.
Note and Rest Values
The Quarter Note
This music note is called a quarter note.
A quarter note lasts for one beat.
The lines and spaces on the staff are named as such:
Extra notes can be added by the use of short lines, called ledger lines, e.g.:
When a note is placed on the staff its head indicates its position, e.g.:
When the note head is below the middle staff line the stem points upward and when the head is above the middle line the stem points downward. A note placed on the middle line (D) can have its stem pointing either up or down.
Notes on the Lines and Spaces
The Four Four Time Signature
At the beginning of each piece of music after the bass clef, is the time signature.
The time signature indicates the number of beats per bar (the top number) and the type of note receiving one beat (the bottom number).
These two numbers are called the four four time signature.
They are placed after the bass clef.
The * time signature tells you there are four beats in each bar.
There are four quarter notes in one bar of music in * time.
