What does Stave (staff) mean in music?

Stave (staff) means "The 5 horizontal lines + 4 spaces music is written on".

What type of musical term is Stave (staff)?

Stave (staff) is a theory concepts term — see the Theory Practice glossary for the rest of the theory concepts word list.

What grade is Stave (staff) tested in?

Stave (staff) first appears at Grade 1 in ABRSM, AMEB and Trinity music theory exams, and stays in the syllabus for every grade above that.

Music theory · Musical terms · Theory concepts

Stave (staff) — meaning in music

Stave (staff) is a musical term meaning The 5 horizontal lines + 4 spaces music is written on. It is a theory concepts marking, first tested at Grade 1 in ABRSM, AMEB and Trinity music theory exams. From that grade on, every written paper expects you to know it on sight.

Definition

The 5 horizontal lines + 4 spaces music is written on

Theory conceptsFirst tested: Grade 1

Translations

French	Les 5 lignes horizontales + 4 espaces sont écrits sur la musique
German	Auf den 5 horizontalen Linien + 4 Leerzeichen ist Musik geschrieben
Italian	Sulle 5 linee orizzontali + 4 spazi è scritta la musica
Spanish	Las 5 líneas horizontales + 4 espacios están escritas con música.
Chinese	5条横线+4个空格音乐写在上面

Drill the whole word list with flashcards

Adaptive flashcard practice — misses go to your mistake book, with Cleffy AI walkthroughs.

▶ Practice flashcards Upgrade to Plus

All theory concepts terms

Allemande Alto range Anacrusis Answer phrase Arco Bar line Bass clef Bass range Binary form Bourrée Cello clef Cello range Chromatic semitone Compound interval Courante Crotchet (US name)Demisemiquaver Diatonic semitone Dominant Dominant (degree)Double bar line Double bass clef Double flat (𝄫)Double sharp (𝄪)Doubling rule Duplet Final bar line Flat Gavotte Gigue Harmonic minor scale Imperfect cadence Interrupted cadence Inversion of a 3rd Inversion of a 4th Inversion of a 5th Leading note Leger line Mediant Melodic minor scale (ascending)Melodic minor scale (descending)Minim (US name)Minuet Modulate to the dominant Modulate to the relative minor Modulation Natural Natural minor scale Parallel 5ths Parallel 8ves Perfect cadence Pivot chord Pizzicato Plagal cadence Quaver (US name)Question phrase Real sequence Relative minor of C major Relative minor of F major Relative minor of G major Repeat sign Sarabande Semibreve (US name)Semiquaver (US name)Semitone Sequence Sharp Slur Soprano range Stave (staff)Subdominant Subdominant (degree)Submediant Supertonic Tenor range Ternary form Tie Tonal sequence Tone Tonic Tonic (degree)Treble clef Triplet Viola clef Viola range Violin clef Violin range Voice crossing Voice overlap