Reading Music: Treble Clef

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The document discusses how to read music written on the staff using the musical alphabet and clef signs, as well as how to use ledger lines to extend the range of notes.

Music is written on a staff consisting of 5 lines and 4 spaces. Notes are placed on the lines and in the spaces and are named using the musical alphabet. Clef signs like the treble and bass clefs are used to establish the pitch of the notes.

Ledger lines are additional lines placed above or below the staff to allow notes higher or lower than the staff. To determine the note of a ledger line, count alphabetically from the nearest line or space, including both in the count.

Reading Music: Treble Clef

The musical alphabet consists of the following seven Music Staff


letters:
A B C D E F G
Each letter represents a different musical note.
These notes are written on a staff, which consists of
5 parallel lines. Notes are written on these lines and
in the spaces between them. Space Line


This symbol is called the treble clef. The treble clef is also
called the G clef because the circle in the middle goes around
the G line on the staff. A clef sign is always placed at the
beginning of a piece of music, and the treble clef sign is the
most common one used.

The names of the lines in treble clef are E G B D F. You can remember this by using a
mnemonic device. A mnemonic device helps you remember something else. A few
examples of mnemonic devices that you can use to learn the names of the lines in treble
clef are:
“Even Good Boy Does Fine”
“Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge”
“Every Girl Buys Dad Flowers”
“Empty Garbage Before Dad Flips”
“Elephants Go Break Dancing Fridays‛

The names of the spaces in treble clef are F A C E. A mnemonic device that you can use
to remember the names of the spaces is that the word “FACE” rhymes with “SPACE.”

© 2014 Hutzel House of Music


We have now learned all the names of the lines and spaces. As you can see, when
you put the lines and spaces together, they go in alphabetical order. Since we only use
the letters A-G in musical notation, when we get to G, we have to start back over with A.

Oftentimes, composers, people who write music, want to use more notes than you
see on the above line of music. They want to go higher or lower than the notes that fit
into the spaces and lines. In order to do that, we need to add ledger lines to the music.
A ledger line is a line that goes above or below the staff so that the notes can be higher
or lower than the notes on the staff would allow. In order to figure out what note the
ledger line represents, simply count in alphabetical order to the ledger line, including both
lines and spaces.

Write the word out that each line of music spells. On the last staff, fill in notes and then
write out another word that is spelled entirely with letters from the musical alphabet.

© 2014 Hutzel House of Music


Reading Music: Bass Clef
The musical alphabet consists of the following Music Staff
seven letters:
A B C D E F G
Each letter represents a different musical note.


These notes are written on a staff, which consists
of 5 parallel lines. Notes are written on these lines
and in the spaces between them. Space Line

This symbol is called the bass clef. The bass clef is also
called the F Clef because the dots go above and below
the F line on the staff. A clef sign is always placed at
the beginning of a piece of music, and the bass clef sign
is one of the most common ones used.

The names of the lines in bass clef are G B D F A. You can remember this by using a
mnemonic device. A mnemonic device helps you to remember something else. A few
examples of menemonic devices that you can use to learn the names of the lines in
bass clef are:
“Good Boys Do Fine Always”
“Green Bugs Do Fly Away”
“Girls Bring Dogs For Attention”
“Garbage Bags Don‛t Fall Apart”
“Giant Beaches Do Feel Awesome”

The names of the spaces in bass clef are A C E G. Some mnemonic devices that you
can use to remember the names of the spaces are:
“All Cars Eat Gas”
“All Cows Eat Grass”
“All Children Emit Gas”
“All Clowns Enjoy Grinning”

© 2018 Hutzel House of Music


We have now learned all the names of the lines and spaces. As you can see, when you put the
lines and spaces together, they go in alphabetical order. Since we only use the letters A-G in
musical notation, when we get to G, we have to start over with A.

Oftentimes, composers, people who write music, want to use more notes than you see on the
above line of music. They want to go higher and lower than the notes that fit into the lines and
spaces. In order to do that, we need to add ledger lines to the music. A ledger line is a line that
goes above or below the staff so that notes can be higher or lower than the notes on the staff
would allow. In order to figure out what note the ledger line represents, simply count in
alphabetical order to the ledger line, including both lines and spaces.

Write out the word that each line of music spells. On the last staff, fill in notes and then write
out another word that is spelled entirelly with letters from the musical alphabet.

© 2018 Hutzel House of Music

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