'Notes' are what we play or sing. They have two main qualities: duration and pitch.

Duration tells us how long we have to play or sing them for. More about this later.

Pitch tells us how high or how low they are.

What do we mean by high and low?

On a piano, high notes are at the right of the keyboard and low notes to the left. Play some high notes and then some low notes. Learn to spot the difference.

On a guitar, high notes for the left hand are produced as you move your fingers to the right, but for the right hand the 'higher' the string from the ground, the 'lower' the note. All instruments are different, so our idea of high and low is not as simple as it is for, say, airplanes. For guitar players, here's a map.

There are seven main names for the different pitches of  notes - A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. As anyone can see from a keyboard, there are in fact many more notes than seven, but these are the most important notes to start with.

In fact, these seven notes represent the white keys on a keyboard. For people who don't play a keyboard, this will not be very useful. I'm sorry:-(

Going up the notes.

Generally, going from A to B is going from a low note to a higher note, or going up in pitch. Similiarly from B to C.

When we get to G we go back to A, but this is the next note above G, not the A we started with. It is much higher than the first A.

A B C D E F G A B...

Going down the notes.

Generally, going from G to F is going from a high note to a lower note, or going down in pitch. Similiarly from E to D.

When we get to A we go back to G, but this is the next note below A, not the G we started with. It is much lower than the first G.

G F E D C B A G F...

Notes played like this are called scales.

We can write these notes on the staves.

If I write. for example, a scale then I can send it to someone else and they know what I have 'composed'.

Here are the notes written on the treble and bass clefs:

Notice that middle C is in the middle! The other Cs are not middle C!

Now - you have to memorise this. No excuses! It is really quite easy, because there are some little tricks that can help you.

1. Notice that each stave has five lines.

In the treble clef the notes on the lines, starting from the bottom line are E G B D F.

You can remember this by Every Good Boy Deserves Food!

In the bass clef the notes on the lines, starting from the bottom line are G B D F A.

You can remember this by

Green Buses Drive Fast Always

    Or

Gummy  Bears Don't Fight Animals

    Or

Good Boys Deserve Fine Apples

2. The five lines mark out four spaces.

In the treble clef the notes in the spaces, starting from the bottom space are F A C E.

You can remember that - FACE in the SPACE!

In the bass clef the notes in the spaces, starting from the bottom space are A C E G.

You can remember this by All Cows Eat Grass.

All you have to do now is practise writing notes and recognising notes that are written. If you are playing an instrument, you should also practise playing notes that are written.

If you have a friend who is also interested in music, you can practise recognising notes together by using the five fingers on your hand to represent the five lines on a stave. Pointing at either a finger (line) or a gap between two fingers (a space) and then asking your friend to tell you the name of the note for both the treble and the bass clefs.