Note Naming Worksheets
Note naming is where music theory begins..........
Working With Note Naming Worksheets should form the basis of a very first Music Theory Lesson
The ability to name notes correctly is the most important basic skill that our students need and developing the ability to assign the "right" name to any note should be the subject of the very first music theory lesson
Note naming is the single most important topic in any study of music theory. A pretty extravagant claim but hear me out......... If our students cannot name a note (or identify the choice of letter names that can be assigned to sharp and flat notes as appropriate) then they will struggle with every other aspect of music theory. A lack of understanding at this stage can result in every topic that follows it becoming "too confusing" and leads to the dreaded phrase that haunts those of us who teach music theory when they look at us and say..... "I just don't get it"
If they can't assign the right name to a note then they will never really "get" music theory
The ability to assign names to musical notes correctly and with confidence is the absolute basic skill required in order to develop a "joined up" knowledge of music theory yet it is a stage that can tend to be "glossed over" in the rush to get on to intervals, scales, chords and Keys.
Free Note Naming Resources For Music Theory Teachers
Below you can download some free resources that can really help you to ensure that your students develop a thorough knowledge of how to assign the "correct" names to notes. The first resource is a student worksheet that requires a learner to assign names to the (natural) white notes of the piano while the second "explainer" concerns itself with the principles that govern the naming of notes
The worksheet is a great way to introduce students to the broader principles that govern the naming of musical notes. It features a series of questions alongside graphic assistance designed to provide students with a solid understanding of the "big picture" with regard to note naming
The Principles of Note Naming explained clearly and simply
This handout can be distributed to your students during lessons or can be sent to them by email as well as being uploaded to a school or college IT system so that they can access it for home study. It can also be laminated and pinned up on a music classroom wall for "quick reference" during lessons
Note Naming Worksheets and Answer Sheets
All of the worksheets designed to be used during the early stages of study (Note Naming- Whole-step and Half-step intervals, Major Scales, Major and minor chords and the combinations of chords that can be combined in any given key) come complete with answer sheets. The sheets are great for homeschooling or distance learning situations.
A complete "joined up" programme for teaching the basics of music theory
The 300+ PDF based resources on this site are designed to take students from a position where they do not understand anything at all about music theory to a place where they have a full working knowledge of note naming, intervals, scales, chords and keys. All without having read a single note of music
Our students do not have to read music in order to understand music theory
All of the materials that you can see on this site (available in a single "one click" download) are designed with the modern music classroom in mind and are put together in a way that caters for students with a whole range of abilities and prior experience. Drummers, Singers, Guitar and Bass Players as well as those who function on more "traditional" orchestral instruments
Take a look at our detailed lesson plans that you can download free or look at a full list of the very economically priced ($18.00) music teacher's classroom resources available from this site or you could look at how they can be used with modern devices such as phones or smartboards to update your professional practice (links below)
The First Three Music Theory Lessons
Follow the links below to find out more about our series of structured music theory lessons for students who have little or no experience of the subject.
Lesson 1: Note Names
The link below will take you to a page featuring a lesson plan for a very first music theory lesson that will ensure that students are able to name notes confidently and correctly every time
Lesson 2: Whole-Step and Half-Step Intervals
When students can name notes correctly then they are ready to move on to the study of whole-step and half-step intervals. The worksheets require learners to identify a note before providing the correct letter name for another note a whole-step or a half-step above or below the note originally identified. Follow the link to see the lesson plan for this session
Lesson 3: Using Whole and Half-Step Intervals to construct Major Scales
Follow the link below to see a lesson plan that invites students to use their understanding of note names and intervals to provide the correct letter names for a whole range of major scales
More about the music theory resources that you will find on this website
Below you will see a link that will let you know exactly what is in our 300+ PDF documents "one click download" as well as another that will direct you to a section of the site that looks at how our materials can be used alongside modern devices such as phones or smart boards
Download more than 300 PDF Music Worksheets for only $18.00
Lets get back to having our students name notes correctly
Now we go back to the note naming thing and investigate a tried and trusted method of getting music students to "really" understand the harmonic and melodic elements of music theory. The following material looks at a problem/situation that most music teachers find themselves experiencing on a daily basis
When they can't name notes: A common music classroom situation...
How many times in any working week do we hear students tell us that a note of C Sharp is actually "D Flat" or when asked to construct (for example) an A Major scale (containing only "natural" and "sharp" notes) proceed to identify the first four notes as being "A, B, D Flat and D"?Get rid of confusion from the very first music theory lesson
Sometimes learners can become confused by the fact that some pitches seem to have only one name while others can be assigned one of two letter names according to circumstance and our challenge is to give them a sound theoretical base from which to workIf our students do not have a secure and strong grasp of the principles that govern note naming then they will be unable to understand fully the concepts that follow on from being able to identify notes correctly.
If you take a look at the printable note naming worksheets shown above you will notice that some of them (the ones to introduce to students early is a programme of study) do not feature notation. Our students do not (in the early/intermediate stages of learning) need to be familiar with notated music in order to understand music theory. Notated music and music theory are two different things!
"Notation is a wonderful thing but why is it that we try to teach learners something that they do not currently understand (Scales Chords and keys) using a language they do not (yet) speak (notated music)?"
When our students understand that the (natural) white notes on a keyboard can have only one name while the (sharp or flat) black notes can be assigned one of two note names depending upon circumstance (such as where they appear in a scale or chord) then they are ready to progress securely in their study of music theory
First Principles of Music Theory
The Three "Golden Rules" of Note Naming
There can be said to be "three golden rules" of note naming that can help them to arrive at this understanding and they are presented in the FREE handout (or wall chart) that you can download by following the link below
Above you can see a FREE handout that you can distribute to your students and/or stick up on the wall of your music classroom that clearly sets out the basic "rules" that learners need to bear in mind when developing the ability to confidently name notes. It cannot be stressed strongly enough that students should not progress to the next topic (the study of whole and half step intervals) until they are secure in their ability to name notes with ease
If our students can not name notes correctly then they will struggle with the intervals, scales,chords and keys that come after and their whole understanding of music theory will be flawed
The resources on this site set out to provide a way to get "The Basics" of music theory across to our students as quickly and as simply as possible.
20 One Sheet Music Theory Tests
Below is an infographic which describes how a teacher might use our materials to take students from a point where they have no functional "joined up" understanding of how music theory works to a place where they "Get It!" ("it" being note names, intervals, scales, chords and Keys
When they have applied themselves to the material dealt with in the ten steps outlined below then they will be ready to study some of the more "advanced" material (Blues Scales,Blues Scales and seventh chords etc) covered by other worksheets in the download
Printable PDF Music Theory Worksheets to download to a memory stick, tablet, or phone
The music theory worksheets have been designed so as to introduce basic principles and then to test and reinforce understanding of those principles. The music worksheets and handouts give classroom music teachers (and even private instrumental teachers) a simple, flexible and powerful resource to assist in the development of a functional understanding of the principles that govern music theory.
The worksheets are not specific to a particular style of music, key stage or exam syllabus. They are concerned with developing a working knowledge of music theory
When downloaded you can print these invaluable music education and revision resources straight from the hard drive of your computer or drop the files onto a memory stick or even download them to your phoneand then take them into your school or college for photocopying etc. Flexible music teaching resources that can adapt the way you want to run your classroom? Any way you choose you can be safe in the knowledge that for the rest of your teaching career you will always have access to first class music theory worksheets.
Enjoy!
DOWNLOAD 300+ Music Theory Worksheets NOW!
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It's not just about note naming worksheets This material covers an awful lot of ground .
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Cheers! Rob!
