Forwards and backwards in the musical alphabet conquered!      Now its time to connect the ABC’s with a musical staff.    I like to make a big deal out of the “G”.    Its easy to find on a treble clef staff because the clef circles around its line.    I add the colour “green” because  –well, you know, G is for green.    And I build up to it with a few reminders about written music.

The method is outlined in the “Introducing G” video found in the warm-up lists.    Its true, I could just point at the line and say  “This is G.”   But for children whose only exposure to written music is in school  (and that maybe only once a week), I find adding as many hooks for the mind and memory as possible helps ground the idea.    Knowing how to find “G” by looking for clues, gives a cornerstone for adding other letters to lines/spaces.

Eventually, hopefully, knowing the second line is “G”, just by looking at it will be yesterday’s news.   In Grade 3, there’s no pressure to learn everything at once, so add ideas with lots of repetition, explanation, and practice.

If your students have had access to Orff instruments, try asking them for the name of a musical instrument with a “G” written on it.

Next week:   adding more letters to the musical staff