Welcome to our lesson on the fundamentals of musical notation! Today, we’ll explore the musical staff, also known as the stave, which is the foundation of written music. The staff consists of five horizontal lines and four spaces, each representing a different musical pitch. We’ll delve into the notation system used to indicate these pitches and the role of barlines in dividing the staff into measures, helping to organise the music into manageable sections. Additionally, we’ll discuss time signatures, which are crucial for understanding the rhythm and timing of a piece, indicating how many beats are in each measure and which note value is assigned to a beat. By the end of this lesson, you’ll have a solid grasp of these essential elements, setting the stage for further musical exploration.