Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Why Color Code the Clefs?
Have you ever had a piano student who couldn’t tell the treble from the bass clef? Read more to learn how to color code the clefs for LD, ADD, ASD, and special needs students.
- There are a few reasons to color code the clefs. As we saw in the last color post, color coding the clefs allows us to match up the staves with the hand icons in the score.
- This allows the student to know which hand to use when playing either the treble or bass staff. Another reason to color code the clefs is that the clef acts as a compass for the notes of the staff.
First, a little background.
(This post uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the article.)
History of the Clefs and Staves
- Formerly, the first staff only one staff line! Composers placed the notes spatially higher and lower on the sheet music to represent high/low notes. The raised notes acted as a reminder for the singers who already knew the melody.
- Later, more lines were added. When the staff gained three lines, vocalists could finally sight sing a melody that they had never heard before.
- The chant staff ended up with four lines – good enough for the vocal music of the time. A fancy F was added to the left side of the staff to point to the F line. From this reference point the singer could figure out the other notes of the staff.
- By the Renaissance, the staff had five lines, and other clefs had appeared. The G clef, which became the modern treble clef, pointed to the G note. The F clef, which became the modern bass clef, pointed to the F note. While the C clef, which can be either the alto or tenor clefs, pointed to the C note.
- Therefore, the staff acts as a graph-like notation that shows note height and the sequential order of the notes. Moreover, the clef acts as a reference point for the notes on the staff.
- Color coding the clefs helps cement this concept for students.
How to Color Code the Clefs
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, tilt your screen 90o to the right.
The color coding helps the student remember what letter the clef is named for, which gives a reference to the placement of the notes on the staff.
- The note F is pink. Therefore, color the F clef (also known as the bass clef) pink.
- Color coding the clef reminds the student that the F line goes between the two dots on the F clef.
- The note G is green. Therefore, color the G clef (also known as the treble clef) green.
- Color coding the clef reminds the student that the G clef (the second line from the bottom of the staff) creates a hunter’s scope that “shoots” the G line.
In the same way, color code the C clef orange.
Conclusion
We will not talk about the full process of graduating from the colors here. We will save that for a later post.
However, once a student has graduated from the colors, the clefs can be a helpful reference for the notes. In addition, color coding the clefs sets up students to easily remember each clef’s name.
It is a quick, easy, and effective multisensory teaching strategy for all instruments, but especially for the piano. All you need are some colored pencils.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
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Glossary
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