Staff Paper PDFs
Free Music Staff Paper
Staff paper PDFs, free! I've got all sizes and types here - just have a look and download what you need.
Big staffs, little staffs, all kinds of music staffs!
On this page: small & GIANT-sized staffs - grand staff, treble clef, bass clef, and viola clef printable staff paper for your music studio or lessons.
Help students understand those lines
Staff paper is a necessity for a music teacher. Having your music students write their own notes onto music paper is perhaps the BEST way to help them truly understand, "What does the staff mean?"
Let's start with blank staff paper:
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Single staffs are all you need for most instruments.
Horizontal staffs for beginners
I've finally discovered how to make a HORIZONTAL page with my Finale software, so I am replacing the former single staff page, and adding in a new GRAND STAFF page, also with a horizontal orientation.
Here's the new GIGANTIC horizontal staff, perfect for the first few music lessons:
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Young children need bigger spaces
Here is another horizontal grand staff.
There is lots of room to draw the treble and bass clef symbols students are learning, and the "invisible Middle C line" (a dashed line on which we can draw a Middle C note) in-between the two staffs:
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A grand staff with clef symbols
The newest staff will be handy for little piano players to practice their clef drawing:
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I like using the following paper for identifying "guide notes" (treble G, bass F, and Middle C), and then writing short songs or phrases using just 5 notes.
Blank grand staffs
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Smaller spaces for finer drawing of notes
Again, no bar lines... no clef symbols... my favorite way to draw notes with my piano students:
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Here's the same thing but even smaller spacing between the lines, with four grand staffs - enough for a short song!
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Uniformity makes for easier note reading
Putting bar lines in helps piano students learn to do staff notation in a uniform manner.
Still, there are no clef symbol markings or piano braces, so this paper can be used for 2 treble instruments in a duet, 2 bass instruments, or any other combination:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
One of the benefits of using staff paper with bar lines is that kids learn they've got to confine their wandering notes inside the measure lines.
It's cute to watch the size of their notes shrink as they progress from left to right, with a whole lot of squeezing going on as the bar approaches!
Add the brace for piano music
The staff paper PDFs below have clef symbols and a piano brace in each grand music staff:
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Smaller and more refined staff notation can fit the following staff sheet:
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Practice drawing sharps & flats as well as clef symbols
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Don't worry - I have the other clefs as well.
These large-staved staff paper pdfs make it easy for young students to practice their staff notation writing, using large note-heads. Drawing sharps and flats and natural signs are easier, too.
Here are smaller staffs, to which your music students will quickly graduate!
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The other staffs are also available in this format for download, below.
And very VERY large staffs to use at lessons
And last, three giant staffs, NOT REALLY FOR WRITING ON, but - MY SUGGESTION - for laminating and using with your new note-readers. Try moving coins up and down the music staff - they should fit these staff charts very well!
The TREBLE clef:
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The BASS clef:
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And the beautiful and mysterious (to most musicians) viola clef, which shows where Middle C is!
This is a clef symbol that can be moved up or down the staff, depending on the range of the music. Go get a blank staff, if you need that clef in a different spot!
The VIOLA clef:
My favorite way to use staff paper
Lately, every lesson, all of my students spend about 3 minutes with one of these staffs. Yes, every lesson, and every student. Even the littlest guys. They all LOVE to practice drawing notes and musical symbols!
I start with drawing the treble clef
This clef sign is so fun... it is a challenge just to make the loops and swirls in the right directions, and then to land them on the target lines takes real attention!
For an all-in-one line, I direct them (as I am also drawing), "Umbrella handle - start at the bottom... up to the top and over a little bit - make a small capital 'D'... now make a big backwards capital 'D', landing on the bottom line... swoop up and over to the middle line, then down and swirl around the second line!"
That second line is "G", of course
I'll draw line note G on the second line and ask them, "What is the note on that line?" and then we go through the musical alphabet, with me drawing a cursive alphabet, if they don't remember what that landmark note is. "A - B - C - D - E - F -G..."
None of the cursive letters REALLY look like the treble clef, of course; but after a bit of guessing, I'll mention how in the OLDEN DAYS, cursive writing was very fancy, and that treble clef really did look like the letter G.
Draw the notes all around G
This is for the beginners who are having trouble seeing higher and lower notes, line or space notes... I like to say, "Look at the keys. What is the note below G, touching G?" (It is F, of course.) Then I say, "So F has to touch the G line. Where do you think it will be?" and I ask them to draw the F.
Mostly they will get it, and then we expand outward from there. Week by week. We'll keep drawing those treble clefs until they can make them better than me!
What good is this for older players?
Glad you asked.
I like to give them a familiar tune, and make them write out just the first phrase. There is so much to learn!
We have been writing out "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are." No timing - just plain whole notes.
First we all started with C, C, G, G, A, A, G. F, F, E, E, D, D, C.
That's it. Then, the following week, it was D, D, A, A, B, B, A. G, G, F#, F#, E, E, D.
You see my logic... now they have a reason to pay attention to where a sharp actually goes. The following week, it was the key of E.
Confidence & skill are visibly improving
I see a difference in my students' comfort level approaching new piano pieces. The complexity of the music is not intimidating for them, and it is so easy for me to insert into lessons. Just 3 minutes!
The links for all the different staff paper pdfs:
Download BASS CLEF staff music paper with 6 staves, NO bar lines, shown here
Download TREBLE CLEF music staff worksheets pdf with 6 large staves, no bar line (not shown)
Download VIOLA CLEF staff paper with 6 staves, no measure line (not shown)
Download printable music staff worksheets for VIOLA CLEF (shown) with five measures per line
Download free music staff paper for TREBLE CLEF instruments with 5-bar lines
Download free music staff paper for BASS CLEF instruments with 5-bar lines
Music for Music Teachers has other great free resources for piano teachers! Take a look:
Rote Learning - leaving the written page behind (or treating it like a map!)
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Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!
This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This", available as a digital download, tells the riveting story of the time when Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a brave young queen risked her life to save her people.
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This book is available as a digital download from this site. Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.
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This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
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Cat:
Thank you so much for these resources - I have a small music studio in Johannesburg, South Africa.
My kids love playing these tunes.
Dylan:
Just wanted to express my overwhelming joy in finding your web site! :D Lots of good info!!
My wife and I own our own teaching studio in Texas and I am always looking for new songs to teach my beginner guitar students. You've done a wonderful job of providing great tunes with ACCURATE sheet music/TAB!
Your web site is wonderful! Thank you so much!! Many blessings...
Krista:
Thank you thank you thank you!! I have recently started my own vocal studio, and though I have studied music education for years in college, a private studio is a daunting task for me.
Your site has made everything seem so simple and straightforward and has helped me to really get started. It is so comprehensive and well put together. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge so that music can be shared everywhere. :)
Dana:
Good for you! Yes, I know just what you mean. Every new endeavor requires a little bit of chutzpah -- not to say just brazening it out a bit, because you just can't be an expert at anything until you've done it for a while. We teachers have to learn how to teach... and you have to start somewhere.
Audrey:
I just wanted to tell you that I have found your website EXTREMELY helpful!
I have a young group of children that I have started a youth choir with and I was searching for music ideas and I came across your website. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Matt:
THIS SITE IS AMAZING!!
I've been teaching guitar for about 5 years now, and I've only just found your website! (I could really have used it 5 years ago) :-)
I teach at primary schools every week day for about 4 hours, so the beginner tabs you have are ideal. Thank you so much for your hard work getting these on the web, you have made many children very happy!!
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Bigger stave without clefs Not rated yet
This is wonderful! For little learners, I need the 5 lines even more spaced out - the lines are too close together even on your big stave. Also I often …
About the Author
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.
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