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Lesson Three: The Grand Staff and Fingering

This is called the Grand Staff. Piano music is read through notes placed on the Grand Staff.

The Grand Staff is composed of two individual staffs. Each staff has four spaces and five lines. High tones (the notes played with the right hand) are written on the top staff, the Treble Staff. It is called the Treble Staff because of the Treble Clef placed at the first of the staff. (It's the thing that looks like a cursive S.)

Low tones (the notes played with the left hand) are written on the bottom staff, the Bass Staff, called that because of the Bass Clef placed at the first. (I don't know exactly what the bass clef looks like.)

The Treble and Bass Staffs are joined together at the the very first by a brace, and throughout the song by bar lines. Double bar lines indicate the end of a musical piece. (The brace is the thing that looks like a bird standing on one of its wings.)

Fingering

In a lot of songs, you are instructed at some point on which finger you should use for which note, making your job a little easier.

Each hand has a different staff - you play the notes on the top staff (the one with the Treble Clef) with your right hand, and you play the notes on the bottom staff (the one with the Bass Clef) with your left hand. There are occasional exceptions, where you must use your left hand to play a note you would normally play with your right hand, and vice versa. However, that doesn't happen often, and you don't have to worry about that yet.

Your fingers are numbered as follows:

Your right thumb in numbered 1, the finger next to it is numbered 2, your middle finger is 3, your ring finger is 4, and your pinkie is 5. Your left hand is the same way: you left thumb is numbered 1, the finger next to it is numbered 2, your middle finger is 3, your ring finger is 4, and your pinkie is 5.

If the fingering-number on your page is sitting above the treble staff (the top staff), you use whatever right-hand finger is called for to play the note. For example, if the number 3 is sitting above a note, use your right middle finger to play that note.

If the number is written below the bass staff (the bottom one), use the called-for finger on your left hand to play the note. For instance, if the number 5 is placed below a note, use your left pinkie to play that note.

Lesson Four: Notes, Measures, and Time Signature

Emily Sigers
emily@thepianopages.com