How to Read Music for Elementary Students

Roll over Beethoven.

Students in elementary school are able to read music. They just need to be taught how. It is important to teach little bits each day so that students have the opportunity to absorb and retain the information.

Things You'll Need

• Thick black marker
• Package of 4-x-6-inch index cards without lines
• Sheet of round, nickel-size stickers

Instructions

1. Draw five evenly spaced lines horizontally across 4-x-6-inch flashcards with a thick black marker. This is the musical staff. Each of the two sets to be made will contain nine cards, so prepare at least 18. These cards will be used as typical flashcards while the teacher sits in a chair in an area where the students are sitting on a rug.

2. Draw a treble clef with the thick black marker on the far left of each of the 18 cards. It should stretch from just above to just below the staff. The students should be told that the treble clef tells us where the notes should go. Once the cards are ready, the lessons can begin without further preparation.

3. Show students that each line is home to a different note. Recite and have them remember "Every Good Bird Does Fly." These are the line notes on the staff from the bottom to the top. The bottom line is "e," the second line from the bottom is "g," and so forth. After the students begin to memorize, recite to the actual pitch. When saying "Every," say it on a pitch of "e."

4. Complete the same exercise using the spaces between the lines, pointing along for identification. The spaces spell "F-A-C-E" from the bottom of the staff to the top. The first space from the bottom is "f," the second from the bottom is "a," and so forth. For the next part, as before, try to say each letter on its pitch (F for "f", A for "a", etc.)

5. Place a round sticker on the "e" line, on the first card of a set of nine flashcards. On the next card, place a sticker on the "f" space, and so on. When the set is complete, drill the students so they can visualize an actual home for each note they have memorized.

6. Draw a whole note (circle) in the same manner as placing the stickers so that the second set of nine flashcards contains actual notes, and repeat the drill with the students. Through repetition, the students soon will be able to identify the notes in random patterns.

Tips & Warnings

• To find "e" on the staff, sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to yourself. Most of the time, everyone starts the song on "e."

• When the students identify both the lines and the spaces, try combining the exercises so that students have to recall both "EGBDF" and "FACE" in the same activity.

References

• Children's Music Workshop