We already know that the musical alphabet goes from A to G and then starts over, so there are no surprises there.  Remember that bass clef notes are NOT the same as the treble clef notes.  This means that you can’t use the same memory tricks to remember the note names.

The memory tricks used to remember the bass clef note names are different from the ones used to remember the notes in the treble clef.  The lines and spaces of the bass clef are different from the ones in the treble.  Remember to start from the bottom and work your way up the staff when you use the mnemonic devices to remember the note names!

Remember that each line and space has a number.  The first line is the bottom line, the first space is the bottom space, etc. 

Learn to Read Music on the Bass Clef

Tomorrow we’ll be back with the continuation of this lesson to help you learn to read music.

The Musical Alphabet

After learning the basic parts of music writing, such as the clefs, staff, and time signatures, you’re ready to move on to learning the note names.  The musical alphabet consists of just 7 letters; A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.  Once you reach G, the alphabet starts over again at A.

Treble Clef Notes

One of the easiest tools you can use to help learn note names is a mnemonic device.  A mnemonic (the ‘m’ is silent) device is a technique that you use to help memorize something.  Rhymes, words, and phrases are some common mnemonic devices.

The most important thing to remember when learning the note names is that you have to start from the bottom of the staff and work your way up.  In the diagram below, you can see that the spaces in the treble clef spell the word FACE from bottom to top.  Space 1 is F, space 2 is A, space 3 is C, and space 4 is E.  It also helps that SPACE and FACE rhyme!

We’ll be back next week with more music theory lessons, music note name lessons, and all sorts of tips, techniques, and strategies to help you learn to read music.