Landmark Notes: Beginner Theory Notation

Hi Students and Fellow Teachers!

I'm excited to share a new printout to help students who are new to note reading. It's a 5 sheet package that begins with the infamous LANDMARKS. It's going to help your beginner music students in their theory lessons as they learn more about notation.

From my time digging into various methods and speaking with teachers from all over the globe, there

tend to be a few ways of teaching note-reading. Some like to use phrases and mnemonics. This can be helpful and is easy to remember. Everybody knows Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, FACE, Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always, All Cows Eat Grass.

But, this can also hinder students who put too much stalk in it. They can become dependent on it and their sight-reading suffers. They also do not always notice the relationship notes have to each other. I'm a big fan of intervalic and pattern based reading. In one of my ESL training sessions, I was told that students can place 7 articles in their short term memory. Obviously, we need these things to stick in their short term before it can be logged into long term memory. So by introducing students to patterns, we can create a single 'article' by using multiple notes that create ONE pattern, rather than a single note.

For example the triad. Students who recognize the shape and skipping nature of each inversion are going to be more successful than those who read individual notes. One inversion = 3 notes. Do we want to memorize 1 thing or 3? Which is easier?

Ok, I've gone on a tangent. I can talk more about that later. Back to the point.

The LANDMARKS.

I'm a big fan of the landmark method. Middle C sits right in the middle of our map.

A lot of books have students begin with one or both thumbs on Middle C. Their first landmark. If you have them play their finger 5's on both hands, they'll find their next set of landmarks: two lines up, two lines down. This is a great starting place for note reading.

I also find that working on Treble D/Bass B and Treble E/Bass A together can help avoid confusion between these notes as well. Some students like to mix these up, so I've added a page for them to practice writing them. Remember the key to good practice is intention. Have them learn and practice with intention. Perhaps while they write their Treble E's have them say "bottom line, bottom line. E lives on the bottom line". "Top line, top line A pokes through the top line".

To leave off on a cheesy note, whatever you do with your students; practice makes perfect. Whatever method you choose, I hope you find these helpful and your students find success and joy in their journey.

Get it HERE