If you’ve taught your kids to read music notes and play the piano, you will know that the notes F2 and B3 are neither line nor space notes. 

While both these notes are important notes to know, since they don’t fall into either category it is hard to know when to introduce kids to these notes. 

In this post I will discuss three methods to introduce kids to the notes. 

You can choose either one of the three methods. 

Yes, I am partial to one of the methods over the other, but that doesn’t mean that my favourite method is better than the other two methods I have explained here. 

So, please read through the post and decide, which method you would like to try when teaching your kids to read music notes and play the piano in your homeschool. 

Don’t forget to download the music theory worksheet I have included to help reinforce the concept of F2 and B3 to your kids. 

So, if you are ready, we can get started right now. 

Method 1 – Stand Alone

Like its name, this method is ‘stand alone’, meaning you should teach both notes ‘Fearless F’ (F2) and ‘Bouncing B’ (B3) after teaching your child the Bass Clef Line and Space notes. 

With this method you will: 

– First show your child the flashcard for F2

– Explain that it is F2 and called ‘Fearless F’ because it hangs from the Bass Staff.

– Ask your child to show F2 on the keyboard. 

– You will follow the same steps and introduce B3 as well. 

Method 2 – Teach, when introducing Middle C

You can introduce both ‘Fearless F’ and ‘Bouncing B’ to your child, when teaching them Middle C. 

With this method you will: 

– First show Middle C and point to F2 and B3 in relation to Middle C. – Show flashcards and say F2 is called ‘Fearless F’ because the note hangs from the Bass Staff and B3 is called ‘Bouncing B’ because the note sits on the Bass Staff. 

Method 3 – Introduce F2 with Bass Clef Line Notes and B3 with Bass Clef Space Notes

This is by far my favourite method. However, please remember that methods 1 and 2 are equally good. 

With this method you will:

– Teach the Bass Clef line notes and introduce them to F2, by showing them the flashcard, telling them that it is called ‘Fearless F’ because it hangs from the Bass Staff and then show them the note on the keyboard. 

– Teach the Bass Clef space notes and introduce them to B3, by showing them the flashcard, telling them that it is called ‘Bouncing B’ because it sits on the Bass Staff and then showing them the note on the keyboard. 

Would you like to implement Method 2 but still haven’t introduced your kids to Middle C? Then read my post 3 Absolutely Important Facts To Know About Middle C.

Want to use Method 3? In that case, you will have to first read and implement 5 ‘Shockingly Easy’ Steps To Teach Bass Clef Line Notes, and 5 ‘Ridiculously Simple’ Steps To Teach Bass Clef Space Notes. 

Either way don’t forget to download the music theory worksheet I have made available with this post.

What is your favourite method?

Comment below and let me know.  

If you’ve taught your kids to read music notes and play the piano, you will know that the notes D4 and G5 are neither line nor space notes. 

While both these notes are important notes to know, since they don’t fall into either category it is hard to know when to introduce kids to these notes. 

In this post I will discuss three methods to introduce kids to the notes. 

You can choose either one of the three methods. 

Yes, I am partial to one of the methods over the other, but that doesn’t mean that my favourite method is better than the other two methods I have explained here. 

So, please read through the post and decide, which method you would like to try when teaching your kids to read music notes and play the piano in your homeschool. 

Don’t forget to download the music theory worksheet I have included to help reinforce the concept of D4 and G5 to your kids. 

So, if you are ready, we can get started right now. 

Method 1 – Stand Alone

Like its name, this method is ‘stand alone’, meaning you should teach both notes ‘Dangerous D’ (D4) and ‘Giggling G’ (G5) after teaching your child the Treble Line and Space notes. 

With this method you will: 

– First show your child the flashcard for D4

– Explain that it is D4 and called ‘Dangerous D’ because it hangs from the Treble Staff.

– Ask your child to show D4 on the keyboard. 

– You will follow the same steps and introduce G5 as well. 

Method 2 – Teach, when introducing Middle C

You can introduce both ‘Dangerous D’ and ‘Giggling G’ to your child, when teaching them Middle C. 

With this method you will: 

– First show Middle C and point to D4 and G5 in relation to Middle C. – Show flashcards and say D4 is called ‘Dangerous D’ because the note hangs from the Treble Staff and G5 is called ‘Giggling G’ because the note sits on the Treble Staff. 

Method 3 – Introduce D4 with Treble Clef Line Notes and G5 with Treble Clef Space Notes

This is by far my favourite method. However, please remember that methods 1 and 2 are equally good. 

With this method you will:

– Teach the Treble Clef line notes and introduce them to D4, by showing them the flashcard, telling them that it is called ‘Dangerous D’ because it hangs from the Treble Staff and then show them the note on the keyboard. 

– Teach the Treble Clef space notes and introduce them to G5, by showing them the flashcard, telling them that it is called ‘Giggling G’ because it sits on the Treble Staff and then showing them the note on the keyboard. 

Would you like to implement Method 2 but still haven’t introduced your kids to Middle C? Then read my post 3 Absolutely Important Facts To Know About Middle C.

Want to use Method 3? In that case, you will have to first read and implement 5 ‘Incredibly Easy’ Steps To Teach Treble Clef Line Notes, and 5 ‘Ridiculously Easy’ Steps To Teach Treble Clef Space Notes. 

Either way don’t forget to download the music theory worksheet I have made available with this post.

What is your favourite method?

Comment below and let me know.  

You can never learn music without hearing the term Middle C. 

It is one of the most important notes in music and one of the very first notes that anyone is introduced to when learning to play the piano. 

So in today’s post, I am going to explain some very important facts about Middle C, that you may not have known. 

These facts are actually game changers and learning them will help your child be less confused when playing the piano and reading music notes. 

Don’t worry. 

Even if you have absolutely no musical knowledge, my explanation of the material will not only help you understand these facts easily, but it will also enable you to teach your children about Middle C and its importance. 

What is more?

As always I have also made music theory worksheets available so you can reinforce the concepts your child will learn here. 

Middle C Is A Separation Point

Yes, on the piano, Middle C is the separation point. 

All the notes to the right of Middle C are usually written in the Treble Clef. 

They are usually played with the right hand. 

I am using the term ‘usually’ here, because there are exceptions to this rule. 

So, all the notes to the right of Middle C are played with the right hand, what about the notes to the left of Middle C?

Yes, you guessed that right. 

The notes to the left of Middle C are usually played with the left hand and usually written in the Bass Clef. 

Wouldn’t you agree that Middle C is the separation point? 

Middle C Is A Ledger Line Note

Yes, Middle C is a ledger line note. 

If this is the first time you are hearing the term ‘ledger’ line, you will be wondering what that means. 

A ledger line is a line that is written in addition to the usual five lines in the staff. 

It can be above or below the staff. 

In the case of Middle C, it is not written on any of the staff lines, rather it is written on its own line. 

In the Treble Clef, Middle C is written on its own line and is below the Treble Staff. 

In the Bass Clef, Middle C is written on its own line and is placed above the Bass Staff. 

How To Find Middle C

On a normal sized keyboard (a standard piano keyboard), which has 88 white and black keys (in total), Middle C is the 4th C when counted from the left. 

How about in cases where the keyboard is a lot smaller like the many electronic keyboards in the market?

Well in those cases, it is harder to determine the Middle C. 

The rule of thumb is to use the C closest to the middle of the keyboard as Middle C. 

Now that you’ve learned these facts and can teach them to your kids, let me know if you have any questions. 

Don’t forget to download the music theory worksheet I have made available so your kids can practice writing Middle C. 

Did you know that clef signs create landmark notes?

The Bass Clef creates two landmark notes.

And in this post I will show you how you can introduce both landmark notes to your kids. 

Remember to download the music theory worksheet I have made available especially for this post, so you can reinforce the concept of the Bass Clef landmark notes, which you will be teaching your kids. 

What Is A ‘Landmark’?

A ‘landmark’ in music, is a ‘clue’ to help you identify a specific note name and placement. 

Furthermore, a ‘landmark’ is created by a clef sign when the clef is written with technical precision. 

Therefore it is very important for kids to learn to write the clefs correctly.

Not sure if your kids have learned to write the Bass Clef with technical precision? 

No worries. Check out my post 5 ‘Easy Peasy’ Ways To introduce Kids To The Bass Clef.

Ready to get started?

So what are the two landmark notes created by the Treble Clef?

Fourth Line F

The first landmark note created by the Bass Clef is fourth line F or F3. 

Why is this F considered as a landmark note?

It is because the dot that starts off the Bass Clef is written on the fourth line of the Bass Staff and that fourth line is the placement of F3 on the piano keyboard. 

So there’s your first landmark note in the Bass Clef. 

What’s the next one?

First Space A

A2 or the first space A in the Bass Staff is the second landmark note created by the Bass Clef. 

Why is that?

It is because the Bass Clef ends by lightly touching the first space. 

So the next time your kids are reading music notes and are trying to find their way, tell them to look for the dot on the Bass Clef and know that the note there is F3 (on the piano) and to look for the end of the clef and know that the note there is A2 (on the piano). 

They can now count down or up and find the rest of the notes on the piano easily. 

Bonus – F2 or Fearless F

Since we are learning landmark notes, I think it is best for you to teach your kids one additional note and that is F2.

This note is not a landmark note (in the real sense, because it is not created by the Bass Clef), yet, it is a note that your kids should learn at this point.  

F2 or as it is lovingly known ‘Fearless F’ because it hangs from the Bass Staff, is the note.

So what do you think? 

Easy enough?

Can you teach your kids these landmark notes in the Bass Clef?

Great. 

Don’t forget to download and use the music theory worksheets I have included with this post.