Marvelous Music Mnemonics
Marvelous Music Mnemonics
Marvelous Music Mnemonics
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Most people who take music lessons of some kind learn some quick and easy tips
for reading the music, especially for naming the letter or pitch names that
correspond to each line and each space of the music staff. The memory-helpers, or
mnemonics, are constantly being revised or updated to suit students of the current
day, to reflect innovations, and to share new observations that may help to
enhance the practice of learning to read music.
Here is a collection of mnemonics from the past and present. Some of them have
been found in lesson books for many years. A few of them have come from
students of mine, and some are original with me.
1) Remembering the names of the letters in the music alphabet is pretty easy, right?
Well, it is pretty easy when notes are named in ascending sequence; they are the
first seven letters of the (verbal) alphabet: A B C D E F G. But remembering,
naming, and reading the same letters in descending sequence (backwards) is
probably not quite as easy or quick for the beginner. Here's how: just remember "C
BAG FED." You might even sing it to yourself to the tune of "Hot Cross Buns," like
this:
C
C
BAG
C
BAG
FED!
F-E-D, oh BAG
FED! C-B-A-G
FED!
2) "Everyone" knows the names of the lines in the treble staff, right? Who hasn't
heard
"Every Good Boy Does Fine"? The first letters of these words name the lines of the
treble staff from bottom to top, low to high (ascending). Here are some additional
sayings that teach the same information and that may be easier for, or more
appealing to, some students. Read them from bottom to top, since they name the
lines from bottom to top. And, unless you are a teacher, there is no need to
memorize more than one of them.
Fine Fudge [Fruit] Fashions Friday Filling
DoesDeserves
DesignerDown Demand
Boy Boy
Buys
BrokeBins
GoodGood
Girl
Guitar Garbage
Every
Elvis'sEcological
EveryEvery
3) The lines in the bass staff can be remembered with the following sayings: Again,
these should be read from bottom to top and again, choose the one you like best;
don't bother learning more than one!
Animals America
Aficionada
286 Followers
77 Hubs
Fight Fight
Find
Fancy Family
DogsDid
Didn't Dig
BigBritain
Bush
GreatGreat
Defend
Babes Babies
4) The names of the spaces in the treble staff couldn't be easier. "The spaces spell
FACE." When you say that to yourself, emphasize the rhyme between SPACE and
FACE. The names of the spaces in the bass staff can be remembered with the
sayings, "All Cows Eat Grass" and "All Cars Eat Gas." If you need help
remembering that FACE belongs to the treble staff, not the bass, remember that
faces (on people, anyway) are up high, like the sounds on the treble staff. When
cows are eating grass, their faces are low, like the sounds in the bass staff. (And
don't forget that all of these sayings name the lines or the spaces from bottom to
top.)
5) To remember the landmark lines on each staff, it can be helpful to know that the
treble clef (also called the G clef) derived from a letter G that was placed on the G
line (second from the bottom in the treble) to show "here is G." Notice that the curls
of the clef cross many times over and around the G line. The bass clef (also called
the F clef) originated from the letter F, placed on the F line in the bass to show
where F is located. It is not quite so easy to see, unless a cursive F is written on a
clef, and then fancied up. Just remember that the beginning dot of the "F" (the clef)
is actually on the F line. And the two separate dots are on either side of the F line,
one below and one above.
lowest line in any five-line staff is the same note as the top space, and the lowest
space is the same note as the top line. In the treble staff, these pairs are E and E'
and F and F'. In the bass these pairs are two G's and two A's. Also notice that the
first (lowest) space of the grand staff is A, the first letter of the music alphabet.
8) When all is said and done, it's not really necessary to remember four or five little
sayings in order to remember the pitch names when reading music. (This
upcoming tip is best for older or more experienced musicians.) It is only necessary
to remember one mnemonic, IF you understand the way the staff works. The lines
and spaces simply represent the various pitches in their music-alphabetical order,
repeated a couple of times; the pitch names move in order from bottom to top,
moving from a space to the next line to the next space to the next line to the next
space, etc. Since the order of pitches is always the same, there will always be the
same alternation of pitch names. You can choose any saying, any mnemonic to
remember. For example, if you really like to remember "Every Grandma Bakes
Delicious Fudge," a saying that corresponds to the pitch names of the lines in the
treble staff, you can also use it to remember the lines in the bass staff by starting
it on the first ledger line below the staff. Add the word "always" at the end, and you
have the top line in the bass staff, or the first ledger line above the treble staff.
If you prefer to remember F A C E, you can use it in the bass as well as in the
treble. This pattern begins on the space below the first (lowest) line in the bass and
then names the first three spaces of the staff. But since FACE ends with E, the
very next letter of course is F. That will name the line (fourth) immediately above
the E (third space), and then the A-C-E will name the next line above the F, as well
as the two ledger lines that come afterward. (The E of this repetition of the pattern
is the lowest E in the treble staff, the one that is often remembered with the "Every"
of "Every Good Boy Does Fine.")
F-A-C-E-s Everywhere!
11) Guitar students may need some help remembering the names of the strings
(and the names of the lines of tablature, which are the same). From low to high, i.e.
from string 6 (near the face) to string 1 (near the floor), the lines are E A D G B E.
They can be remembered with the saying
"Early Americans Disliked Great Britain Exceedingly."
If help is needed to remember the names of the strings in order from high to low,
string 1 to string 6, remember
Dorian
Parton Phrygian
Likes Lydian
Music Mixolydian
A
Lot
Locrian
Why "likes" instead of "loves" doesn't Dolly Parton actually love music? Well, yes,
to be honest, she does. But, if we use the word "likes" for the mnemonic, then it is
a simple task to associate "li" (likes) with Lydian and "lo" (lot) with Locrian.
Here's a quick example of using this mnemonic: If you have a key signature of five
sharps (F, C, G, D, A), then:
the Ionian mode (the major key) is B major [B C# D# E F# G# A# B];
the corresponding Dorian mode is C# [C# D# E F# G# A# B C#];
the Phrygian is
D# [D# E F# G# A# B C# D#];
the Lydian is
the Mixolydian is
F# [F# G# A# B C# D# E F#];
[E F# G# A# B C# D# E];
A#
[A# B C# D# E F# G# A#].
If you don't understand musical modes just yet, watch for another posting of mine
that will provide some helpful information about them for beginners.
Enjoy these sayings! I hope they assist you and your friends or students in the
wonderful process of learning more about reading, writing, and making music.