Staff (music) - Grand Staff

When music on two staves is joined by a brace, or is intended to be played at once by a single performer (usually a keyboard instrument or the harp), a great stave (BrE) or grand staff (AmE) is created. Typically, the upper staff uses a treble clef and the lower staff has a bass clef. In this instance, middle C is centered between the two staves, and it can be written on the first ledger line below the upper staff or the first ledger line above the lower staff. When playing the piano or harp, the upper staff is normally played with the right hand and the lower staff with the left hand. In music intended for the organ, a grand staff comprises three staves, one for each hand on the manuals and one for the feet on the pedalboard.

Read more about this topic:  Staff (music)

Famous quotes containing the words grand and/or staff:

    The great challenge which faces us is to assure that, in our society of big-ness, we do not strangle the voice of creativity, that the rules of the game do not come to overshadow its purpose, that the grand orchestration of society leaves ample room for the man who marches to the music of another drummer.
    Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)

    I shall not want false witness to condemn me,
    Nor store of treasons to augment my guilt.
    The ancient proverb will be well effected:
    “A staff is quickly found to beat a dog.”
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)