Treble clef notes

The treble clef's lines are E, G, B, D, F and its spaces F, A, C, E, from the bottom up. Its curl wraps round the second line, G, the G above middle C, which is the quickest landmark for reading the right hand.

The treble clef's five lines are E, G, B, D, F from the bottom up, and its four spaces spell F, A, C, E. The clef curls round the second line, which is G: the G just above middle C. Learn that G on sight, along with middle C just below the staff, and you can read every other treble note as a step or a skip from one of them.

The treble clef is a G

The treble clef sign grew out of an old letter G. Its inner curl wraps round the second line from the bottom, and that line is G (G4, the G just above middle C). That is why the treble clef is also called the G clef. Once you see the curl, you have found G without counting.

Every note, bottom to top

Middle C is C4; the C in the third space is C5, an octave higher. The number changes at every C.

Note	Where it sits	On the keyboard	Read it from a landmark
C4	One ledger line below the staff	Middle C, just left of the two black keys in the middle	Middle C, the first landmark
D4	The space just below the staff	Between the two black keys	A step above middle C
E4	The bottom line	Just right of the two black keys	A skip above middle C
F4	The bottom space	Just left of the three black keys	A step above E
G4	The second line	Between the first and second of the three black keys	Treble G, the second landmark
A4	The second space	Between the second and third of the three	A step above treble G
B4	The middle line	Just right of the three black keys	A skip above treble G
C5	The third space	An octave above middle C	Treble C, a fourth above G
D5	The fourth line	Between the next two black keys	A step above treble C
E5	The top space	Just right of those two black keys	A skip above treble C
F5	The top line	Just left of the next three black keys	A step above E
G5	The space above the staff	An octave above treble G	High G, a landmark for notes above
A5	One ledger line above the staff	Between the second and third of those three	A step above high G

Note by note

C4

Middle C, the first landmark: one short ledger line below the treble staff. It belongs to both staves, drawn the same way over the bass. On the keys it is the C nearest the middle, just left of a pair of black keys. Where is middle C?

D4

A step above middle C: from the ledger line up to the space hanging just under the staff. D touches the bottom line from below. On the keys it sits between the two black keys, which makes it the easiest white key to find by touch.

E4

A skip above middle C, a step above D: the bottom line. The lines from here up are E G B D F, and E is the first.

F4

A step above E: the first space. The spaces spell FACE from the bottom, and F is the first letter. On the keys, F is just left of a group of three black keys.

G4

Treble G, the second landmark: the line the clef curls round. On the keys, G sits between the first and second black keys of a group of three. Read it on sight, and read A, B and C upwards from it.

A4

A step above treble G: the second space. This is the A that orchestras tune to.

B4

A skip above treble G: the middle line. Notes above the middle line usually have their stems pointing down; notes below it, up.

C5

A fourth above treble G, an octave above middle C: the third space. It is a landmark of its own for the upper half of the staff.

D5

A step above treble C: the fourth line (E G B D F).

E5

A skip above treble C: the top space. FACE finishes here.

F5

A step above E, a fourth above treble C: the top line, the last of "Every Good Boy Deserves Fun". It is the same letter as the bass clef's landmark, F, two octaves higher.

G5

High G, sitting on top of the treble staff: treble G's octave, and the landmark for notes above the staff.

A5

A step above high G, on the first ledger line above the staff. The first ledger line above carries A; the first below carries middle C. More in the ledger lines guide.

Memory aids

Lines, bottom to top: E G B D F, "Every Good Boy Deserves Fun".
Spaces, bottom to top: F A C E, which spell FACE.
The clef's curl marks G. Middle C sits on its own short line below.

The rhymes help in the first week. After that, reading from landmarks (middle C, treble G, treble C, high G) is faster, because the nearest landmark is never more than a skip or two away. Landmark notes explained.

Common mistakes

Reading D as E. D hangs under the staff and touches its bottom line; E has the line through its middle. Ask "line or space?" before "which letter?".
Swapping F and G. F is a space, G a line. Again: line or space first.
Confusing A and treble C. Both are spaces. Count from G: A is a step up, C a skip beyond B.
Reading a bass staff as treble. The same line means different notes in each clef. Check the clef at the start of every line.
Naming every note on the way. Stopping to name each note makes reading slow. Read the distance from the last note instead: up a step, down a skip.

How to practise

Anchor G and middle C. Play every G on a page of treble music, then every middle C.
Fill the five-finger position. Thumb on middle C, one finger per key up to G. Read C D E F G and back, eyes on the page.
Read up from G. A a step, B a skip, C in the third space.
Top of the staff. D and E above treble C, then F on the top line and high G above it.
Short daily note cards. A minute or two of single notes, played on the keys, does more than any chart on the wall.

How Octotune helps

Octotune's adult path teaches the treble staff over five units: Unit 1 (middle C, D, E), Unit 2 (F and G), Unit 4 (A, B and C above treble G), Unit 6 (D and E above treble C) and Unit 8 (F and high G). Each note is met, carded, mixed and then used in a real tune. Open Octotune.

Next: Bass clef notes.

Questions

What are the notes on the treble clef lines?

From the bottom line to the top: E, G, B, D, F. The usual rhyme is Every Good Boy Deserves Fun.

What are the notes in the treble clef spaces?

From the bottom space to the top: F, A, C, E. They spell the word FACE.

What note is on the second line of the treble clef?

G, the G just above middle C (G4). The treble clef's curl wraps round this line, which is why it is also called the G clef.

Where is middle C on the treble clef?

On one short ledger line just below the staff. D sits in the space just below the staff, touching the bottom line, and E is the bottom line.

Every note, low to high

Drawn by the rules the app reads with; each note has its own address on this page.

G3 (treble clef)

On the staff: Just below the second ledger line below the treble staff.
On the keys: Between the first and second of the three black keys, in the octave below middle C.
From a landmark: A fourth below middle C: under the second ledger line below the treble staff.
To remember: The same key as the bass staff’s top space. Written in the treble, it tells the right hand to reach down for it.

A3 (treble clef)

On the staff: The second ledger line below the treble staff.
On the keys: Between the second and third of the three black keys, in the octave below middle C.
From a landmark: A skip below middle C: on the second ledger line below the treble staff.
To remember: The same key as the bass staff’s top line. Count the ledger lines down from the staff as you would count lines on it.

B3 (treble clef)

On the staff: Just below the first ledger line below the treble staff.
On the keys: Just right of a group of three black keys, in the octave below middle C.
From a landmark: A step below middle C: hanging just under its ledger line.
To remember: Middle C’s neighbour on the way down, read by the right hand. Round middle C, the clef says which hand, not the key.

C4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The first ledger line below the treble staff.
On the keys: Just left of a group of two black keys, the C nearest the middle of the keyboard.
From a landmark: Middle C, the first landmark: one short ledger line below the treble staff.
To remember: It belongs to both staves: the same line, drawn under the treble or over the bass. Every other note is counted from a landmark like this one.

D4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The space below the treble staff.
On the keys: Between the two black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: A step above middle C: from the ledger line up to the space just under the staff.
To remember: D hangs from the bottom of the treble staff. On the keys it sits between the two black keys, which makes it the easiest white key to find by touch.

E4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s first line.
On the keys: Just right of a group of two black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: A skip above middle C, a step above D: the bottom line.
To remember: The treble lines, bottom to top, are E G B D F ("Every Good Boy Deserves Fun"). E is the first.

F4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s first space.
On the keys: Just left of a group of three black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: A step above E, a fourth above middle C: the first space.
To remember: The treble spaces spell FACE from the bottom up. F is the first letter.

F♯4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s first space.
On the keys: The first of a group of three black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: F made sharp: the first space, and the black key just below treble G.
To remember: In G major every F is sharp. The key signature draws its sharp once, on the top line, and it holds for every F in every octave.

G4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s second line.
On the keys: Between the first and second of the three black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: Treble G, the second landmark: the line the treble clef curls round.
To remember: The treble clef is an old letter G, and its curl marks G’s line: it is also called the G clef.

A4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s second space.
On the keys: Between the second and third of the three black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: A step above treble G: the second space.
To remember: FACE: A is the second space. This A is the one orchestras tune to.

B♭4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s third line.
On the keys: The last of a group of three black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: B made flat: the middle line, and the black key just below B.
To remember: In F major every B is flat. The key signature’s flat sits on this very line.

B4 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s third line.
On the keys: Just right of a group of three black keys, in middle C’s octave.
From a landmark: A skip above treble G: the middle line.
To remember: B takes the middle line. Notes above it usually have their stems down, notes below it up.

C5 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s third space.
On the keys: Just left of a group of two black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: A fourth above treble G, an octave above middle C: the third space.
To remember: FACE: C is the third space. Middle C’s octave, eight white keys up, and a landmark of its own.

D5 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s fourth line.
On the keys: Between the two black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: A step above treble C: the fourth line.
To remember: Every Good Boy Deserves Fun: D is the fourth line.

E5 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s fourth space.
On the keys: Just right of a group of two black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: A skip above treble C: the top space.
To remember: FACE finishes here: E is the top space.

F5 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s fifth line.
On the keys: Just left of a group of three black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: A step above E, a fourth above treble C: the top line.
To remember: The last of Every Good Boy Deserves Fun. The same letter as the bass clef’s landmark, two octaves up.

F♯5 (treble clef)

On the staff: The treble staff’s fifth line.
On the keys: The first of a group of three black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: F made sharp: the top line, and the black key just below high G.
To remember: G major’s key signature draws its sharp on this line.

G5 (treble clef)

On the staff: The space above the treble staff.
On the keys: Between the first and second of the three black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: High G: sitting on top of the treble staff, an octave above treble G.
To remember: Treble G’s octave, and a landmark for the notes above the staff.

A5 (treble clef)

On the staff: The first ledger line above the treble staff.
On the keys: Between the second and third of the three black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: A step above high G: on the first ledger line above the treble staff.
To remember: The first ledger line above carries A; the first below carries middle C. Count ledger lines like the lines of the staff.

B5 (treble clef)

On the staff: Just above the first ledger line above the treble staff.
On the keys: Just right of a group of three black keys, in the octave above middle C.
From a landmark: A skip above high G: just above the first ledger line.
To remember: Count out from the staff as you count on it: space, ledger line, and B just past it.

C6 (treble clef)

On the staff: The second ledger line above the treble staff.
On the keys: Just left of a group of two black keys, two octaves above middle C.
From a landmark: Two octaves above middle C: on the second ledger line above the treble staff.
To remember: Count ledger lines as you count the staff’s own lines: the first above carries A, the second carries C.

Practise it: Unit 4, Treble G and up

The Octotune team · Updated 23 September 2026