Generators
Music Staff Paper
Blank manuscript paper: five-line music staves, evenly spaced, or six-line guitar tablature. Choose the number of staves per page and download a PDF.
Print at 100% (“Actual size”), not “Fit to page”, so the spacing measures true.
Preview of the one-page PDF.
The paper and PDF are made in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
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Frequently asked questions
How many staves are on standard music paper?
Twelve staves on a portrait page is the most common format for manuscript paper, with ten and eight also usual. Fewer staves means each staff is bigger and there is more space between them for lyrics, chord symbols and markings; on 12-stave Letter paper here each staff is about 8 mm tall.
How big is each staff?
The staff height grows with the space available: this page divides the writing area evenly between the staves and makes each staff a fixed share of its band, so 6 staves on a page gives staves twice as tall as 12. Big staves are much easier for beginners and children to write notes on neatly.
What is guitar tab paper?
Tablature uses six lines, one for each guitar string — the top line is the high E string and the bottom line the low E in standard tuning — and you write fret numbers on the lines instead of notes. Each tab staff is marked TAB at the start. For bass guitar, use the top four lines.
Can I have a treble clef or grand staff pre-printed?
No — the staves are blank so the paper works for any instrument and clef. For piano, use pairs of staves as a grand staff and draw the brace; choosing an even number of staves such as 10 or 12 makes that easy.
Is it OK to print music paper in grey?
Yes. Grey staff lines save ink and make handwritten notes stand out; black lines are easier to see if the pages will be photocopied or scanned.
About this tool
Staff paper, also called manuscript paper or blank sheet music, is where music gets written down: melodies, exercises, arrangements, transcriptions and theory homework. Printing your own means you can pick the staff size for the job instead of making do with whatever pad the music store had.
This page draws five-line staves evenly across the page, with a line at each end of every staff, or six-line guitar tab marked TAB. The lines are exact vector lines, so they print cleanly on any printer and stay sharp when photocopied.
For music theory worksheets and beginners, choose 4 to 6 staves per page for big, easy staves. For composition and transcription, 10 or 12 staves, portrait. Landscape pages with fewer staves suit songs with lyrics or lead sheets. Guitar teachers can print tab sheets for lessons, and songwriters can alternate a staff page with a tab page.
Printing a small booklet? Tick “Two per sheet” to put two half-size pages on each sheet, then fold them into a pocket notebook for ideas.