Use a ruler to draw a set of five horizontal lines that are equally spaced apart. Draw a vertical line connecting these horizontal lines at the beginning and end.
Draw a treble clef on the staff lines if you are writing music for the right hand and a bass clef if you are writing for the left hand. If you are writing for both, you will need to draw two sets of five horizontal lines, with one set about a half inch below the other. Join the two sets with a bracket to the left of the sets, and draw a treble clef in the top set and a bass clef in the bottom set.
Write your key signature to the right of your clef symbol unless you are in the key of C, in which case you do not need a key signature. The key signature indicates which key the music is in, as evidenced by the number and placement of sharps and flats.
Write your time signature to the right of your key signature. The time signature indicates how many beats will be in each measure as well as which type of note gets one beat.
Draw your notes on the lines and spaces. The lines of the bass clef are, from bottom to top, G, B, D, F, and A, and the spaces are A, C, E and G. The lines of the treble clef are E, G, B, D, and F, and the spaces are F, A, C and E.
Use various rhythm notes and rests in order to show the duration of each pitch.
Be sure to draw vertical bar lines after a certain number of beats in order to divide your music into measures. For instance, if you have a time signature of 4/4, you would draw a bar line after every four beats.