Choosing your staff paper
- Fewer, larger staves (6 to 8 per page) are easiest to write on and suit children, beginners and lead sheets.
- More, smaller staves (10 to 14 per page) fit more music on a page for composing and theory exercises.
- Grand staff joins two staves, usually treble and bass clef, for piano and other keyboard music.
A staff has five lines and four spaces. Leave the space between staves for lyrics, chord symbols and dynamics. For guitar, see guitar tab paper.
Writing music by hand
- Use a pencil, so you can erase, and draw note heads to fill one space or sit on one line.
- Write the clef, key signature and time signature at the start of the first staff.
- Draw bar lines with a ruler for neat measures.
Printing tips
- Print at 100% (Actual size), not Fit to page, so squares and line spacing keep their exact size.
- Light lines (gray or light blue) are easy to write over and fade into the background of a scan or photo; use darker lines for drawing practice or when the paper will be photocopied.
- Need a stack? Set the number of pages and print the PDF once, or print one page and photocopy it.
- Thicker paper (24 to 32 lb or 90 to 120 gsm) takes ink pens and markers without bleeding through.