Note names

Learn notes names and learn how to recognize them on the staff (stave). Learn how to read music notes and to recognize them on a piano keyboard.

The first seven letters of the alphabet are used to name the music notes:

A B C D E F G

Music notes positions on a piano keyboard

Music notes are placed like this on a piano keyboard:

And on a three octaves piano keyboard:

You will learn all about the staff (stave ), and all about the Clefs but for the moment you have to know this:

• The treble clef indicates the position of the G note.
• The bass clef indicates the position of the F note.
• And the four C-clefs indicates the position of the C note.

The most used clefs are the treble clef and the bass clef (piano, violin, voices, saxophone, ...).


The Treble clef indicates the position of the G music note.

So all other music notes will be placed like this:

Funny tricks to recognize music note positions with a treble clef

In treble clef, the music notes on lines are E G B D F and you can remember them with the phrase Every Good Boy Does Fine

In treble clef, the music notes in space are F A C E and you can remember them with the word FACE

Funny tricks to recognize music note positions with a bass clef

In bass clef, the music notes on lines are G B D F A and you can remember them with the phrase Good Boys Do Fine Always

In bass clef, the music notes in space are A C G E and you can remember them with the phrase All Cars Eat Gas

Note names with other clefs

There is not only the treble clef and the bass clef, there is also four others C-clefs and another F-clef, I'll show you the position of each note in these different clefs.

The order of the note names is always the same, but the position of the notes changes depending on the clef:

Position of notes with the soprano clef:


Position of notes with the mezzo-soprano clef:


Position of notes with the alto clef:


Position of notes with the tenor clef:


Position of notes with the baritone clef:

Accidentals and note names

Accidentals can be added after the name of the note, and there are three kinds of accidentals : the sharp (♯), the flat (♭) and the natural sign (♮). With letters, the accidentals are always after the name of the note but on the staff (stave ) the accidentals are always before the note:



In the example above, for C sharp (C♯), the sharp symbol is written before the note.
For C flat (C♭), the flat symbol is written before the note.
For C natural (C♮), the natural symbol is written before the note.

Notes names in other languages and countries

Note those differences between English and German notation:

B note in English is H in German
B♭ note in English is B in German

Neo-Latin music notes notation comes from Hymnus in Ioannem also named Ut queant laxis, a Latin hymn:


Ut queant laxis
Resonare fibris
Mira gestorum
Famuli tuorum
Solve polluti
Labii reatum
Sancte Iohannes

Ut was replaced by Do for pronunciation reasons.

Music sight-reading exercises in treble or bass clef

Octave Naming and Pitch Notation

To differentiate a low C note from a high C note, different notations are used.

Scientific pitch notation

The Scientific Pitch Notation (SPN) is also known as American Standard Pitch Notation (ASPN). Numbers are added to the note names to identify the pitch's octave.

Here is the Scientific pitch notation:

Helmholtz pitch notation

The Helmholtz Pitch Notation is another notation to identify the pitch's octave, and prime symbol ( ′ ), double prime symbol ( ″ ), triple prime symbol ( ‴ ), are added to the note names to identify the pitch's octave.

Here is the Helmholtz pitch notation:

English pitch notation

The English Pitch Notation is another notation that repeat note's letters to identify the pitch's octave.

Here is the English pitch notation:

French pitch notation

The French Pitch Notation is another notation that use numbers to identify the pitch's octave.

Here is the French pitch notation:

Comparative of pitch notations

Here is a comparative of pitch notations:

Other articles

Every Good Boy Does Fine

The mnemonic Good Boys Do Fine Always can help you to you memorize the following series of music notes : G B D F A

A music note

The note A in music. Learn to recognize the A note in all clefs, and learn all about this music note.

B music note

The note B in music. Learn to recognize the B note in all clefs, and learn all about this music note.

C music note

The note C in music. Learn to recognize the C note in all clefs, and learn all about this music note.

D music note

The note D in music. Learn to recognize the D note in all clefs, and learn all about this music note.

E music note

The note E in music. Learn to recognize the E note in all clefs, and learn all about this music note.

F music note

The note F in music. Learn to recognize the F note in all clefs, and learn all about this music note.

G music note

The note G in music. Learn to recognize the G note in all clefs, and learn all about this music note.

External links to learn more about :

1 - https://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory1.htm
2 - https://musicterms.artopium.com/n/Note.htm
3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_note