The Worst Way To Learn Note Names

Mnemonics are great for things that are related but don't have any pattern. Note names are not like that because they really follow a very simple pattern and mnemonics seem to cause as much confusion than understanding.

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0:00 - Problems with Mnemonics
1:29 - Good Mnemonics and Bad Mnemonics
2:34 - How Note Naming Actually Works
3:30 - Ledger Lines
4:29 - Other Weirdo Clefs
4:59 - A Failsafe for Treble and Bass Clef
6:02 - Storytime!

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[SpawnofHastur]

FACE is the most defensible of the mnemonics because it is just the note names without attaching other silly labels on them. It also helps with the cyclical nature of the notes too. If it helps you could treat it as as an F major 7th arpeggio, even.

[PiPArtemis]

"There's a good chance you'll never encounter these clefs"

**stares in "picked viola as my first instrument"**

[RoselynTate]

I teach C as a reference, regardless of clef. Then all any student needs to know is that up a third from any C is always E, down a third is always A, and if you always know where all your C’s are, you always have an easy line or space to count up or down from for any pitch, and it’s always within a 4th — no need to count from the bottom of the treble staff to find out that the top line is F, just count up 4 from treble C. It’s also helpful for ledger lines, because on a grand staff the C’s are mirrored, so it’s easy to remember how many ledger lines you need for a C — 2 above treble, 2 below bass — and then you just count any ledger notes from that reference point. And in between the staves you have middle C, on one ledger line for either staff. Since C is also the first key most students learn, given the lack of accidentals or key signatures, it’s really the most helpful reference point.

[aliciadelzell]

As a piano teacher, I’m very glad I watched this. Thank you for sharing your reasoning! Some of my students do just fine with mnemonics, but for most it does slow them down and they often forget the simple pattern of the alphabet. This is helping me re-think my strategy!

[StevenJacks]

Agreed 100%. Great vid. I have students that get glassy-eyed when I show them the mnemonics. I show them how to count instead and they say, "oh cool. got it."

It's amazing how much 'little kid' tools are prevalent in music so much so that people assume that it's the best way to learn music.

[melissahollowell]

Those mnemonics kept me from mastering reading music for years. Finally, I decided to 1) learn them backwards and 2) focus on where my instrument lives (b flat) and navigate around it.

[yourboyhryos]

Finally! Someone who points it out. I remember in 5th grade, when this is our lesson in Music and I was like: "No, just remember the first ledger line above bass clef is the first ledger line in the bottom of treble clef, and it's middle C"

[imagep]

Real nice! As a trumpet player (kid) I never went out of treble clef so I memorized those, but every time I looked at bass clef I had no idea. But since you just showed me the "G" and the bottom staff line it's no problem! Thanks!

[stephenweigel]

Trying to read something in an unfamiliar clef as a musician can really reveal how much the mnemonics pull you out of the act of pattern recognition/observation. This is why I always make sure to teach my students how to read the patterns (steps vs. skips to start, and then intervals larger than a third), and I have the mnemonics written down and only use them if the student has lost a starting point.

[TheMisterGriswold]

I've tried everything. Finally found that you have to learn them by rote, you see it you know it. Practicing four-part hymns will get you there pretty fast. And they are melodic, your ear will tell you if you're hitting the right notes. Best strategy.

[jean.marion]

Welcome back. Missed your tutorials! 🗣

[WartimeFriction]

Pretty sure mnemonics were one of a few barriers to entry to doing music in my childhood. I distinctly remember trying to remember them, and asking myself why, and never remembering them. It would have done me well to simply learn what the pattern was. Now that I'm almost 30, I truly appreciate this block of simple instruction and feel like I understand what I'm looking at better than I did before. Thanks

[darktimesatrockymountainhi]

As one who began on violin & bass, and later learned bassoon & viola, I can now read every clef np. When I was a string orchestra teacher, I used mnemonics only when a student had a lot of trouble with their clef. My first lesson for them was the Grand Staff - with the ledger line C in the middle. I then showed them how each clef literally points out the name of the clef: The "cross in a circle" of the G clef, the "notch" of the C clef, and the "dots" of the F clef. They also realized that G & F are each a fifth away from C, so that they had these reference points immediately, and mnemonics were not much help afterward. In my later years as a teacher, I learned to introduce the staff as a kind of mathematics coordinate grid, with the x being time & the y being pitch. Integrated curriculum!

[jacktuber]

I am self taught at violin, been playing for about 20 years. Learned to read music. I knew about the FACE and ACEG things, I eventually didn't need them, I just KNEW what notes are what and where they are on violin. Takes practice, but then you just know them

[jb]

As someone coming to piano from guitar, knowing a decent amount of music theory, being able to read rhythm on music notation but not the actual music, this has just saved me an inordinate amount of pain, there are so many convoluted tutorials out there and all I needed was "Treble clefs start on an E, Bass clefs start on a G".

Thank you so much for this.

[deborahblackvideoediting]

Thank you for this! I was laughing so hard at the conversation at 1:20 because it's SO TRUE! I have had this conversation so many times!! Lol, it's almost word-for-word. I teach piano and have never taught mnemonics. Most of my students are very good sight-readers. But I often get transfer students who can play beautifully, but can't sight read even simple tunes. Even with simple notes, they'll start saying mnemonics out loud to figure out what the note is. It's an uphill battle trying to get them to drop that habit!

[jakkulous]

This is very helpful. I've been playing bass clef instruments for many years now but just recently started learning an instrument that requires me to read treble clef. It's like trying to learn a second language.

[edw]

I agree completely. I will admit that I have taught the mnemonics, not because I thought it made sense, but because that is the way it was taught to me. I have taught for more years than I want to count and I often re-think how I approach things. It has become increasingly obvious to me that the mnemonic causes the students to think of lines and spaces and ledger lines as completely separate systems and they don't see the connection. The bass clef students learn the treble clef in their music class and are completely confused.  

I have been teaching the alphabet sequence which seems to make SO much more sense and is much more logical. A couple things that I am doing- I have a sheet that shows the letter names around a circle so that the students can see the sequence and how it repeats. We practice saying it backwards and forward. To drill the point, I sing the alphabet song, but only using ABCDEFG and repeat that for the entire song. I made up flash cards of notes on the staff to drill the sequence and then over time will drill them out of sequence, adding ledger lines as we get more comfortable.

Thanks for the great post!

[cleonemusician]

Excellent demonstration. I’m in this camp, for sure!
Thank you!

[meowcheese]

I think the mnemonics are a good reference point but they shouldn’t be the only thing that you use to figure out notes