How to read ledger lines
When a note is too high or too low for the five lines, it gets short lines of its own, ledger lines. They continue the staff, so they follow the same rule: line, space, line, each the next white key.
Middle C, between the staves
Middle C sits on a ledger line of its own. In the treble clef it is on the first ledger line below the staff; in the bass clef it is on the first ledger line above the staff. It is the same key either way. The notes either side of it work the same: B3 in the treble clef is below the first ledger line below the staff, and D4 in the bass clef is above the first ledger line above the staff.
Above the treble clef
- A5: on the first ledger line above the staff
- B5: above the first ledger line above the staff
- C6: on the second ledger line above the staff
- D6: above the second ledger line above the staff
- E6: on the third ledger line above the staff
Below the bass clef
- E2: on the first ledger line below the staff
- D2: below the first ledger line below the staff
- C2: on the second ledger line below the staff
- B1: below the second ledger line below the staff
- A1: on the third ledger line below the staff
The trap
Counting ledger lines one by one is slow, and notes between them are easy to misread. Use the Cs as landmarks instead: two ledger lines above the treble clef is C (on the second ledger line above the staff), two below the bass clef is C (on the second ledger line below the staff). Read the rest as a step or a skip from those.
Now read them. A drill of the 16 notes in this guide: play each card on a MIDI keyboard or the keys on screen as soon as you can read it. Every answer is timed and goes on your reading map.
Start the drill