Musical Alphabet
What are the seven letters used in the musical alphabet?
What are A - B - C - D - F - G
As notes move UP the staff, what happens to pitch?
What is: the pitch gets higher.
What is the landmark note of the treble clef?
What is: G?
What is the landmark note of the bass clef?
What is: F?
How many lines are on a musical staff?
What is: 5?
In treble clef, a note is placed on the second line from the bottom. Name that note.
What is: G?
What comes after G in the musical alphabet?
What is A.
In which direction do notes move on the staff when pitch becomes lower?
What is: Downward/top to bottom
What is another name for the treble clef?
What is: G Clef?
What is another name for the bass clef?
What is: F Clef?
How many spaces are on a standard staff?
What is: 4?
In bass clef, a note is placed on the fourth line from the bottom. Name that note.
What is: F?
Complete: E – F – G – ___ – ___
What are A - B
A note moves from a lower line to a higher space. Did its pitch rise or fall?
What is: Rise (higher)
The treble clef curls around which line of the staff?
What is: Second line from bottom?
The two dots of the bass clef surround which line?
What is: Fourth line from bottom/second from top?
What musical word means how high or low a sound is?
What is: Pitch?
In treble clef, start at landmark G on the second line and move upward three staff positions: space, line, space. Name the note you reach.
What is: C?
Moving backward, complete: C – B – A – ___ – ___
What are G - F
Explain the relationship between vertical staff position and pitch.
What is: Higher position = higher pitch; lower position = lower pitch
If G is on the second line, what note is immediately above G?
What is: A?
If F is the bass-clef landmark, what note is immediately below F?
What is E?
Why can't you identify a staff note correctly without knowing the clef?
What is: The clef assigns pitch names to the lines and spaces.
In bass clef, start at landmark F on the fourth line and move downward three staff positions: space, line, space. Name the note you reach.
What is: C
Starting on F, move forward five staff positions, counting the next position as 1. What note do you reach?
What is D?
“To find higher pitches, I move UP on the musical staff, but I move RIGHT on a piano keyboard.”
Is the student correct? Explain why.
What is: Yes. On the musical staff, pitch becomes higher as notes move upward. On a piano keyboard, pitch becomes higher as you move from left to right.
Starting from landmark G, explain how you could identify an unfamiliar treble-clef note without memorizing every note.
What is: Start at G and move forward/backward through A–G one line/space at a time.
You see an unfamiliar note on the bass staff. Explain how you could use the F landmark and musical alphabet to identify it without memorizing every bass-clef note.
What is: Start at F on the fourth line and move forward or backward through A–G, counting each line and space until reaching the unknown note.
The same line contains a note under treble clef and bass clef. Must they represent the same pitch? Defend your answer.
What is: No. Clefs assign different pitches to the same staff positions.
A note appears on the middle line (third line) of a staff. What is the note in treble clef, and what is the note on that same line in bass clef?
What are: B in treble clef and D in bass clef?