Reading music is a learned skill. A great way of quickly learning the names of each staff’s lines and spaces and the notes they represent when playing the piano is through mnemonic devices. A mnemonic device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in human memory.
—
April 15th, 2021
Below we share some handy mnemonics for piano notes. Keep in mind these mnemonics start on the bottom line of each staff and go up:
Treble clef lines (E-G-B-D-F):
-
- Traditional: Every Good Boy Does Fine
- Musical: Every Good Band Draws Fans
- Pianistic: Even Gershwin Began (as a) Dummy First
- Culinary: Eating Green Bananas Disgusts Friends
- Shameless: Every Good Book (is a) Dummies Favorite
Treble clef spaces (F-A-C-E):
-
- Traditional: FACE (like the one holding your nose)
- Musical: Forks And Chopsticks Everywhere
- Laundry (start with top space): Eventually, Colors Always Fade
Bass clef lines (G-B-D-F-A):
-
- Recreational: Good Bikes Don’t Fall Apart
- Animal: Great Big Dogs Fight Animals
- Musical: Great Beethoven’s Deafness Frustrated All
- Musical: Grandpa Bach Did Fugues A lot
- Painful: Giving Blood Doesn’t Feel Agreeable
Bass clef spaces (A-C-E-G):
-
- Musical: American Composers Envy Gershwin
- Animal: All Cows Eat Grass
- Revenge (start with top space): Get Even, Call Avon
—-
This article is a re-post, with small modifications, of “Mnemonics for Piano Notes” an article published on dummies.com
