The Staff | Music Theory for Kids

The staff is the very basic of written music theory.  Once you know about the staff, you can learn practically anything from there!  All those lines and squiggles can seem daunting, but here is a way that even a three year old can understand.

Print out your own treble clef staff to do it yourself and follow along!

 

Staff: 5 Lines and 4 Spaces

The staff has 5 lines, and 4 spaces.  The spaces are the space between the lines.  Each line or space represents a note in music.

When you go UP the staff, the sound goes higher.  When you go DOWN the staff, the sound goes lower.

 

Time to practice what you have learned!  See how well you do with this Lines & Spaces Music Theory Practice Worksheet:

 

 

 

 

Staff: Skips on the staff

 

Going from a line to a line on the staff is a skip.  Going from a space to a space is a skip.  We want to see the staff in this way because it helps us to understand how it works on an instrument.

In the song in this YouTube (I am sure it gets annoying, lol!), the song is skipping.  The notes are skipping up and down, just like Lizzy is when she skips on the scale and when she skips on the piano.

When you look at the staff, try to remember that a line to a line is a skip.  A space to a space is a skip.

Now, try practicing what you learned on the Skips on the Staff Music Theory Practice:

 

 

 

 

Staff: Steps on the staff

You will notice that Lizzy is playing some bells.  The bells help Lizzy see that you can play steps and skips on the staff on any instrument – including your voice!

Going from a line to a space, or from a space to a line is a step on the staff.  You can take steps up the staff, or you can take steps down the staff.

Now, practice what you have learned on the Steps on the Staff Music Theory Practice Worksheet:

 

 

 

Overview

You will want to practice what you have learned!  Here is what you now know about the staff:

• A staff has five lines and four spaces
• The staff represents written music
• As you go up the staff, music sounds higher
• As you go down the staff, music sounds lower
• When you go from a line to a line, that’s a skip
• When you go from a space to a space, that’s a skip
• When you go from a line to a space, that’s a step
• When you go from a space to a line, that’s a step
• The steps and skips on a staff can be played on any instrument

 

Practice!

You will want to practice, so that your brain can build important bridges of learning.  Learning the staff will only be the first step on your journey to learning music.  So the more you practice, the easier you will find the other concepts you have yet to learn!

Here are some ways to practice:

• Lines & Spaces Music Theory Practice Worksheet
• Skips on the Staff Music Theory Practice
• Steps on the Staff Music Theory Practice Worksheet
• Practice going up, then down on a piano (this is my recommendation for a piano for the beginner)
• Practice steps and skips with bells
• Practice stepping up the piano, and stepping down the piano
• Practice skipping on the piano