Unit B01 – Notes and the Stave

To complete this unit students should be comfortable with:

Flash Cards

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Stage A – D Note Flash Cards 

Note flash cards including:

  • All notes within the treble and bass clef staves
  • Notes up to and including two ledger lines above and below the treble and bass clef staves.

Use which ever notes you need for the individual pupil. You may find it helpful to colour code them by using different coloured card for the notes that belong to different levels.

Activities

  • Ask students to write new notes on a music whiteboard or manuscript paper when they encounter them. This helps to develop a secure understanding of where the note goes.
  • Ask students to identify the notes in their pieces. If they can’t name the note, encourage them to work it out for themselves using notes they do know.
  • Get students to compose their own pieces using new notes. If they need help with this you can use a composition worksheet, like this one from Roo Records. Use these in conjunction with our note flash cards (above), or Stage B rhythm flash cards to secure particular rhythms or notes. 
  • Use activities from Unit A1 (for beginners), with an increasingly large range of notes.

Vibrant Music Teachers

  • Bass About Face is an uno-like card game which focusses on the often neglected bass clef notes. It gives students practice in naming notes and understanding how the stave works.
  • Lions, Tigers, and Bears is a good game to reinforce the link between note letters, keys, and notes on the stave.
  • Swoop at Sight help students to quickly find a new position on the piano (most of Level 1 is appropriate for Stage B, but you may need to remove some cards with ledger lines).

Study for Five

  • Flashcard Fun (Notes) Pack. Use several of the games in this pack to help students learn the names of notes on the stave. Especially Hot Chilli, Alien Beam Up, and, Stone Age Bingo.

Worksheets

We sell our worksheets in via Payhip. Visit our Shop to find out more and download some samples. The links below take you directly to the relevant product pages on Payhip.

Five finger position notes quizzes
These worksheets follow the same format, asking students to identify and draw notes within different five finger positions. They complement tutor series that use five-finger positions as a way to explore new notes.

These five finger position worksheets (plus some in extra positions) are also available in our March 2020 subscriber pack. Find out more and sign up here.

C Major Position

  • Bass clef low C (one below middle C) up to G.
  • Treble clef high C (one above middle C) up to G

G Major Position

  • Bass clef low G (lowest line of bass clef stave) up to D
  • Treble clef G (above middle C) up to D

D Major Position

  • Bass clef D (middle line) up to A
  • Treble clef D (next to middle C) up to A
  • Includes F sharps (covered in Unit B9)

F Major Position

  • Bass clef low F (below the stave) up to C
  • Treble clef low F (first space note) up to C
  • Includes B flat (covered in Unit B9)

A Minor Position

  • Bass clef low A (first space) up to E
  • Treble clef A (second space) up to E
  • No C sharps


More Stage B Notes Worksheets

Notes on the Stave 
Treble and bass clef notes in order of lowest to highest. Students name all the notes, and it becomes a reference sheet.

Treble Clef FACE Worksheets (2)
An introduction to the “FACE” method of working out space notes in the treble clef, and a letters and lengths quiz using FACE notes, and Stage A note lengths plus ties.

Bass Clef “All Cows Eat Grass” Worksheets (2)
An introduction to the “All Cows Eat Grass” method of working out space notes in the bass clef, and a letters and lengths quiz using ACEG notes, and Stage A note lengths plus ties.

Stage B Letters and Lengths Quizzes (3)

  • Treble Clef Letters and Lengths Quiz: Identify notes within the treble clef staves, and note values including crotchets, minims, dotted minims, semibreves, and pairs of quavers.
  • Bass Clef Letters and Lengths Quiz: As above but notes within the bass clef staves.
  • Stage B Letters and Lengths Quiz: Identify notes within the treble and bass clef staves, and note lengths of, pairs of quavers, crotchets, minims, dotted minims, and semibreves.