Marvelous Music Mnemonics

Marvelous Music Mnemonics
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Updated on June 4, 2012
Most people who take music lessons of some kind learn some quick and easy tips
for reading the music, especially for naming the letter or pitch names that
correspond to each line and each space of the music staff. The memory-helpers, or
mnemonics, are constantly being revised or updated to suit students of the current
day, to reflect innovations, and to share new observations that may help to
enhance the practice of learning to read music.
Here is a collection of mnemonics from the past and present. Some of them have
been found in lesson books for many years. A few of them have come from
students of mine, and some are original with me.
1) Remembering the names of the letters in the music alphabet is pretty easy, right?
Well, it is pretty easy when notes are named in ascending sequence; they are the
first seven letters of the (verbal) alphabet: A B C D E F G. But remembering,
naming, and reading the same letters in descending sequence (backwards) is
probably not quite as easy or quick for the beginner. Here's how: just remember "C
BAG FED." You might even sing it to yourself to the tune of "Hot Cross Buns," like
this:
C
C
BAG
C
BAG
FED!
F-E-D, oh BAG
FED! C-B-A-G
FED!
2) "Everyone" knows the names of the lines in the treble staff, right? Who hasn't
heard
"Every Good Boy Does Fine"? The first letters of these words name the lines of the
treble staff from bottom to top, low to high (ascending). Here are some additional
sayings that teach the same information and that may be easier for, or more
appealing to, some students. Read them from bottom to top, since they name the
lines from bottom to top. And, unless you are a teacher, there is no need to
memorize more than one of them.
Fine Fudge [Fruit] Fashions Friday Filling
DoesDeserves
DesignerDown Demand
Boy Boy
Buys
BrokeBins
GoodGood
Girl
Guitar Garbage
Every
Elvis'sEcological
EveryEvery
3) The lines in the bass staff can be remembered with the following sayings: Again,
these should be read from bottom to top and again, choose the one you like best;
don't bother learning more than one!
Animals America
Anything Apartments Always
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Fight Fight
Find
Fancy Family
DogsDid
Didn't Dig
BigBritain
Bush
GreatGreat
George Gorgeous Gopher
Defend
Babes Babies
4) The names of the spaces in the treble staff couldn't be easier. "The spaces spell
FACE." When you say that to yourself, emphasize the rhyme between SPACE and
FACE. The names of the spaces in the bass staff can be remembered with the
sayings, "All Cows Eat Grass" and "All Cars Eat Gas." If you need help
remembering that FACE belongs to the treble staff, not the bass, remember that
faces (on people, anyway) are up high, like the sounds on the treble staff. When
cows are eating grass, their faces are low, like the sounds in the bass staff. (And
don't forget that all of these sayings name the lines or the spaces from bottom to
top.)
5) To remember the landmark lines on each staff, it can be helpful to know that the
treble clef (also called the G clef) derived from a letter G that was placed on the G
line (second from the bottom in the treble) to show "here is G." Notice that the curls
of the clef cross many times over and around the G line. The bass clef (also called
the F clef) originated from the letter F, placed on the F line in the bass to show
where F is located. It is not quite so easy to see, unless a cursive F is written on a
clef, and then fancied up. Just remember that the beginning dot of the "F" (the clef)
is actually on the F line. And the two separate dots are on either side of the F line,
one below and one above.
Landmark C's and Beyond
6) Speaking of landmarks, a "visual"

mnemonic is created with the landmark C notes (that is, when all of the C's are placed on the grand staff), creating a kind of symmetry. This
can be further developed by adding all of the F's and G's.Middle C is "in the middle" between the treble and the bass staves (and it also has a
ledger line through its middle). The first space up in the treble is F; the first space down in the bass is G. The second line up in he treble is G
and the second line down in the bass is F. The third space up in the treble is C, and the third space down in the bass is C. The top line in the
treble is F and the space above is G. The bottom line in the bass is G and the space below is F. Two ledger lines above the treble staff is C.
Two ledger lines below the bass staff is C. Pretty cool, huh?
7) Another aid in remembering the names of lines and spaces is to note that the
lowest line in any five-line staff is the same note as the top space, and the lowest
space is the same note as the top line. In the treble staff, these pairs are E and E'
and F and F'. In the bass these pairs are two G's and two A's. Also notice that the
first (lowest) space of the grand staff is A, the first letter of the music alphabet.
8) When all is said and done, it's not really necessary to remember four or five little
sayings in order to remember the pitch names when reading music. (This
upcoming tip is best for older or more experienced musicians.) It is only necessary
to remember one mnemonic, IF you understand the way the staff works. The lines
and spaces simply represent the various pitches in their music-alphabetical order,
repeated a couple of times; the pitch names move in order from bottom to top,
moving from a space to the next line to the next space to the next line to the next
space, etc. Since the order of pitches is always the same, there will always be the
same alternation of pitch names. You can choose any saying, any mnemonic to
remember. For example, if you really like to remember "Every Grandma Bakes
Delicious Fudge," a saying that corresponds to the pitch names of the lines in the
treble staff, you can also use it to remember the lines in the bass staff by starting
it on the first ledger line below the staff. Add the word "always" at the end, and you
have the top line in the bass staff, or the first ledger line above the treble staff.
Expand One Saying to Both Treble and Bass
If you prefer to remember F A C E, you can use it in the bass as well as in the
treble. This pattern begins on the space below the first (lowest) line in the bass and
then names the first three spaces of the staff. But since FACE ends with E, the
very next letter of course is F. That will name the line (fourth) immediately above
the E (third space), and then the A-C-E will name the next line above the F, as well
as the two ledger lines that come afterward. (The E of this repetition of the pattern
is the lowest E in the treble staff, the one that is often remembered with the "Every"
of "Every Good Boy Does Fine.")
F-A-C-E-s Everywhere!
9) For those who have trouble

remembering the difference between
sharps and flats, these reminders

may be helpful. A sharp has many
little projections, like sharp points.
When you sit on something sharp,
like a tack, you will jump up. A sharp
will raise its note up a half-step, like
someone who sat on something
sharp.
Sharp symbol (left) and Flat symbol (right)
A flat looks like a b that has been

squished flat. When a tire is flat, it goes down. A flat will make its note go down a
half-step, like a flat tire.
10) Another mnemonic will help you remember the order in which the flats and the
sharps are added in the key signature. The order of sharps is exactly the reverse of
the order of flats.
Even though the sharp keys are often taught first, the flats are easier to remember
because they start with a recognizable word: B-E-A-D. The next three, the last
possible flats, are the names of the first three keys that most students learn about:
G, C, and F. [The major key with no sharps or flats is in the middle, preceded by
the key with one sharp and followed by the key with one flat.] So, if the key
signature contains seven flats (a rare, but occasional occurrence), the flats will
appear in this order in the key signature: B-E-A-D-G-C-F. Key signatures
containing sharps will add them in the following order, which is the exact reverse of
the order of flats: F-C-G-D-A-E-B.
No matter how many or how few sharps or flats there are, they will show up in the
key signature in the order listed here. Four sharps would be F, C, G, and then D.
Three flats would be B, E, and A.
Key signature with four sharps
11) Guitar students may need some help remembering the names of the strings
(and the names of the lines of tablature, which are the same). From low to high, i.e.
from string 6 (near the face) to string 1 (near the floor), the lines are E A D G B E.
They can be remembered with the saying
"Early Americans Disliked Great Britain Exceedingly."
If help is needed to remember the names of the strings in order from high to low,
string 1 to string 6, remember
"Early Britons Gave Democracy Ample Experience."

If any help is needed in keeping straight which of these two sayings is which, think
about the intervals between adjacent pairs of strings. All are a fourth apart, except
for the B and G strings, which are a third apart. Going from low to high, G to B is a
major third. Moving from high to low, G to B is a minor sixth, much larger than any
interval between guitar strings. That should help you know which saying names the
strings from low to high, because G precedes B in the saying "Early Americans
Disliked Great Britain Exceedingly."
12) If you enjoy learning about musical modes, you might want to remember them
with a mnemonic. Actually, what this mnemonic does is to help you remember the
sequence of the roots of the modes for any given key signature. That is, if you
know the Ionian mode (the major key) associated with a given key signature, just
know that the other modes will use the same pitches (including altered pitches
sharped or flatted), and the roots of the modes will follow in a specific order after
the root of the Ionian, like this:
I-know Ionian
Dolly
Dorian
Parton Phrygian
Likes Lydian
Music Mixolydian
A
Aeolian [pron. ee-OH-lee-an]
Lot
Locrian
Why "likes" instead of "loves" doesn't Dolly Parton actually love music? Well, yes,
to be honest, she does. But, if we use the word "likes" for the mnemonic, then it is
a simple task to associate "li" (likes) with Lydian and "lo" (lot) with Locrian.
Here's a quick example of using this mnemonic: If you have a key signature of five
sharps (F, C, G, D, A), then:
the Ionian mode (the major key) is B major [B C# D# E F# G# A# B];
the corresponding Dorian mode is C# [C# D# E F# G# A# B C#];
the Phrygian is
D# [D# E F# G# A# B C# D#];
the Lydian is
the Mixolydian is
F# [F# G# A# B C# D# E F#];
[E F# G# A# B C# D# E];
the Aeolian (natural minor) is G# [G# A# B C# D# E F# G#];

and the Locrian is
A#
[A# B C# D# E F# G# A#].
If you don't understand musical modes just yet, watch for another posting of mine
that will provide some helpful information about them for beginners.
Enjoy these sayings! I hope they assist you and your friends or students in the
wonderful process of learning more about reading, writing, and making music.

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Explore Entertainment and Media Music Music Theory