How to Read Music Notes for Kids
While learning to read and write music isn't a required skill to be able to learn an instrument, an understanding of music notation can increase your all-around skills as a musician. Teaching kids to read music isn't difficult, especially when you begin instruction at an early age and make it a normal part of a child's curriculum. The earlier you introduce music, the more natural it will become, allowing your child to read and write music as easily as he speaks.
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Instructions
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Teach the treble clef. Five horizontal lines and spaces represent different notes. The lines are E-G-B-D-F. The spaces are F-A-C-E. Tell the child the phrase "Every Good Boy Does Fine" and the word "face" can help them memorize these notes.
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Teach a phrase for the bass clef. It uses the same five lines (G, B, D, F and A) and spaces. A good phrase to teach the note names on the line is Grizzly Bears Don't Fly Airplanes. For the spaces, use the phrase All Cars Eat Gas.
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Establish a count of four like "one and, two and, three and, four and" to help recognize and count rhythm. Explain that a whole note is worth four beats. Tap a pencil and count to four to demonstrate a whole note beat.
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Count half notes, quarter notes and eighth notes the same as a whole note. A half note lasts for half the time as a whole note. Demonstrate this by counting to four and tapping two half notes in the same span as a whole note.
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Count four quarter notes in the same span as a whole note. Tap the beat and continue counting one through four, tapping one quarter note on each beat.
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Count eight notes by tapping eight of them in the space of a whole note. Continue the "one and" count pattern and tap on every beat, both numbers and the word "and," to demonstrate eighth notes.
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Draw musical notes on paper. Explain the three parts of music notes; note head, stem and tail. Draw a circle for a whole note, then demonstrate how a whole note can be turned into a half note by adding a stem to the side of the note head.
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Draw a half note, then color in the note head to demonstrate how a quarter note looks like a half note, except the head is colored in. Add a tail to the quarter note to show how an eighth note looks like a quarter, except with a tail.
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Introduce the rests and explain that each of these rests have the same name as its corresponding note and that rests are counted the same as notes.
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Make flashcards with your child. Have the child draw the notes and the music staff flashcards to reinforce his recognition of the various notes and rests.
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- Photo Credit boy musician image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
