Music Paper

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Generate printable music manuscript paper. Choose a preset or customize staff type, rastral size, clefs, and spacing.Learn more ▾Show less ▴
Music manuscript paper is the foundation of writing music by hand. This tool generates professional-quality staff paper with precise spacing based on the traditional rastral sizing system used in music engraving, and computes every measurement in points of 1/72 inch, the unit of PDF. Whether you need treble clef staff paper for melody writing, grand staff for piano, staff with tablature below, guitar tablature, chord chart grids, or percussion staff paper, you can customize every aspect and download a clean PDF ready for printing.

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About This Tool

Music manuscript paper (also called staff paper or music paper) provides pre-printed staff lines for handwriting music notation. The spacing between lines follows the rastral sizing system, a standard from music engraving, in which each number sets the total height of the staff. This generator creates precise, print-ready manuscript paper in multiple formats. Whether you are a composer sketching ideas, a student completing theory exercises, or a teacher preparing worksheets, this tool produces clean, professional staff paper customized to your exact needs.

How to Use

  1. Choose a Paper Type
  2. Adjust rastral size, spacing, and margins
  3. Download the PDF and print at 100% scale

Methodology

Staff line spacing follows the rastral sizing system used in professional music engraving. Rastral numbers define the total staff height (distance from the first line to the fifth line). Rastral 4 (6.5 mm) is a standard size for printed sheet music. For parts, the Sibelius Reference Guide recommends staves of 6 to 7 mm, while the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA) accepts nothing smaller than 7.0 mm (Rastral 3) in orchestral parts. Staff line weight is 0.5 points for standard sizes and 0.4 points for smaller rastral sizes (7 and 8). Grand staff systems use a 1:1 ratio between staff height and inter-staff gap.

Sources: Gould (2011) — Behind Bars · Steinberg Dorico — Rastral sizes · Rothman (2022) — Scoring Notes · Avid (2021) — Sibelius Reference Guide · MOLA (2017) — Guidelines for Music Preparation · MOLA (2001) — Music Preparation Guidelines · Wikipedia — Rastrum

Understanding Your Results

The preview shows exactly how your music paper will look when printed. White areas between staves are your writing space — use these for notes, dynamics, and other markings. For staff paper, the number of staves per page is automatically calculated based on your chosen rastral size and spacing. You can override this for specific needs. For chord diagrams, the thick top line represents the nut of the instrument.

Practical Examples

Example 1 — Composing a melody: Select 'Staff Paper (Treble)', set Rastral 5, spacing 2×, and enable the Title and Composer lines. This gives you room for notating a melody with dynamics and articulation marks. Example 2 — Guitar practice: Select 'Guitar Tab' with 6 strings. Print 5 pages for a full practice session. The string labels (E-A-D-G-B-e) on the left help you identify positions quickly. Example 3 — Piano lesson worksheet: Select 'Piano (Grand Staff)' with Rastral 6 for compact systems. Set 4-5 systems per page to fit multiple exercises on a single sheet.

Tips for Music Paper

• Use Rastral 2 or 3 for larger writing or students who need more space. • For composing, increase the spacing multiplier to 2× or higher to leave room for lyrics, chord symbols, and dynamics below each staff. • The brace and connected barlines help keep treble and bass staves visually grouped. • Print on heavier paper (100+ gsm) so that music on the reverse side does not show through, the sheets last longer, and they stand up to drafts from ventilation on stage. • For guitar chord practice, use the Chord Diagrams preset with 4 columns and 6-8 rows for plenty of boxes.

Sources: MOLA (2017) — Guidelines for Music Preparation · MOLA (2001) — Music Preparation Guidelines

All calculations are performed locally in your browser. No data is sent to any server.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is a rastral size?
A rastral is a traditional measurement system for music staff height, originating from music engraving. Each rastral number specifies the distance from the top line to the bottom line of a five-line staff. Rastral 4 (6.5 mm) is a standard size for printed sheet music. Smaller numbers produce larger staves.
Which rastral size should I use?
Rastral 4 (6.5 mm) is a standard size for printed sheet music. For parts, the Sibelius Reference Guide recommends staves of 6 to 7 mm, and the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA) accepts nothing smaller than 7.0 mm (Rastral 3) in orchestral parts. Use Rastral 2-3 (7.0-7.4 mm) for students or large handwriting. Use Rastral 6-7 (4.8-5.5 mm) for compact scores or when fitting more staves per page. Rastral 0 (9.2 mm), the largest size, suits method books and beginners who need extra-large notation.
What is a grand staff?
A grand staff (or great staff) consists of two five-line staves joined by a brace on the left side. The upper staff uses a treble clef and the lower uses a bass clef. This is the standard notation format for piano, harp, and other instruments that use both hands across a wide range of notes.
What is guitar tablature?
Guitar tablature (tab) uses six horizontal lines representing the six strings of the guitar, from low E (string 6) at the bottom to high E (string 1) at the top. Numbers placed on the lines indicate which fret to play, and 0 marks the open string. Tablature is popular with beginning guitarists in particular, and it lets them start playing without reading traditional music notation.
Can I print music paper on different paper sizes?
Yes, this generator supports A4, A5, Letter, Legal, and Tabloid paper sizes in both portrait and landscape orientations. The number of staves is automatically adjusted to fit the selected paper size.
Is my data private?
Yes. All music paper generation happens entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere. Your settings are saved locally in your browser's storage and the PDF is generated on your device.
What are chord diagrams used for?
Chord diagrams are blank grids where each box represents a fretboard section. The vertical lines are strings and the horizontal lines are frets. The thick top line is the nut. Musicians use these to write down chord fingerings, create chord reference sheets, or document new voicings they've discovered.
What is percussion staff paper?
Percussion staff paper uses a single line instead of the traditional five-line staff. This format is used for non-pitched percussion instruments like bass drum, snare, cymbals, and other rhythm instruments where only timing needs to be notated, not pitch.
Can I set my own margins?
Yes. Under Margins, choose None, Narrow, Normal or Wide, or choose Custom and set the top, right, bottom and left margins in millimetres. Each margin can be from 0 to 25.4 mm. For orchestral parts, the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA) asks for a 20 mm margin around the music: choose Custom and set all four margins to 20 mm.