LANGUAGE DEUTSCH ENGLISH

Learn to Read Music: The C Major Scale

How the eight notes of the C major scale sit on the staff – the easiest way to start reading music.

If you are learning to read music, the C major scale is the best place to start. It has no sharps or flats and shows how the notes climb the staff step by step.

C major scale from middle C to the C above on the staff
The C major scale: middle C sits on a ledger line below the staff.

Lines and spaces

The staff has five lines. Every note sits either on a line or in a space between two lines. Moving from one note to the next always switches between line and space.

NotePosition
C4ledger line below the staff
E4bottom line
G4second line
C5third space

Keep practising

The free course on YouTube has a video for every step. You will find more topics in the article overview.