The notes in the treble clef

In the previous lesson we saw that notation uses four clefs, and every instrument picks the one that fits it. For most of the plucked strings of the Greek family, the bouzouki, the baglamas, the tzouras and so on, we use the treble clef. So it is worth knowing it by heart.

01Why the treble clef

The treble clef fits the range of the Greek stringed instruments: most of the notes they play sit inside the five lines, with as few ledger lines as possible. If you are reading a bouzouki score, you know this is the symbol you will see at the start, so it pays to get comfortable with this particular clef.

In this lesson we go back over the notes of the staff with two easy mnemonics: one for the lines and one for the spaces. The goal is that by the end you can read a note's identity without counting lines one by one.

02The 5 lines · E G B D F

From bottom to top, the five lines take the names E, G, B, D, F. The classic way to remember them: Every Good Boy Does Fine. The second line (G) is the note that "locks" the clef itself, and from it all the others follow automatically.

03The 4 spaces · F A C E

Between the five lines there are four spaces. From bottom to top: F, A, C, E. This mnemonic is even easier, because it spells a word: FACE.

04Middle C

One very important note is missing from all of the above: middle C (C4 in international naming). It does not fit inside the five lines of the treble clef. It sits on one ledger line below the first line (the E). When you see a note "hanging" in that position under the staff, you know: it is middle C.

From there on, the notes follow naturally the order you saw in the previous two figures: C, D (the space below the 1st line), E (1st line), F (1st space), G (2nd line), and so on.