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Reading the notes in a song can be very challenging at first!  Luckily there are a few ways to make it easier.  When playing the recorder, we read notes that are written on the treble clef staff.  Each staff has five lines and four spaces.   Every line and space has a specific letter name. 

 

When learning the names of the space notes, we use the word "FACE".
                 The note "F" is in the 1st space. The note "A" is in the 2nd space The note "C" is in the 3rd space The note "E" is in the 4th space

 

When learning the names of the lines, we use the first letter from each word in the sentence "Every Good Bird Does Fly."
                The note "E" is on the 1st line The note "G" is on the second line The note "B" is on the 3rd line The note "D" is on the 4th line The note "F" is on the 5th, or top line

 

When we put the lines and spaces together, the notes move upward in alphabetical order.
               This "E" is from "Every Good Bird Does Fly" This "F" is from "FACE" This "G" is from "Every Good Bird Does Fly" This "A" is from "FACE" This "B" is from "Every Good Bird Does Fly" This "C" is from "FACE" This "D" is from "Every Good Bird Does Fly" This "E" is from "FACE" This "F" is from "Every Good Bird Does Fly"
 

Just because we have filled up all of the lines and spaces, it doesn't mean that we have named all of the notes.  Sometimes, there are notes that are printed above or below the main staff lines.  We can figure out the names of these notes by counting in alphabetical (or reverse alphabetical) order.  The most common notes for the recorder that are found off of the main staff lines are Middle C and Low D. 

                                Middle "C" is two notes below the first line "E"                        This "D" is directly below the first line "E"    

 

Want to test your understanding of the note names? Just click on a Quiz!  If you are a beginner, you may want to start with Quiz 1.  The quizzes will become more difficult as you progress to the final Quiz.
Quiz 1 Quiz 3 Quiz 5
Quiz 2 Quiz 4 Quiz 6

 

 

  
                   

                             

 
     

   ©2005-2009 Nancy Philbeck