Mnemonics, or "Every Good Boy Does Fine"

[Mikey]

Remember those mnemonics you used to learn when you were first taught the
musical notes on the page? Are they still used in teaching today? I seem
to recall an approach that it was better to learn the staff in a sort of
holistic manner (direct association?), rather than rote mnemonics, as the
former made for better sightreading.

Anyway, here are the mnemonics I learned:

Treble staff spaces: FACE

Treble staff lines: Every Good Boy Does Fine
Schaumm's version: Every Good Bird Does Fly
-- I think Schaumm was trying to avoid male chauvinism. Also, isn't there
some popular CD out titled "Every Good Boy Deserves Fervour"?

Bass staff spaces: All Cows Eat Grass
Schaumm's version: All Cars Eat Gas
-- And SUV's even more so, but there's no S on the scale.

Bass staff lines: Grandma Bakes Doughnuts Friday Afternoon
Schaumm's version: Great Big Dogs Fight Animals

Sharps sequence: Father Can Go Down And Eat Breakfast
also: Fred Can Go Down An Escalator Backwards

Flats sequence: BEAD + Geese Can Fly
(for the musically challenged, the flats sequence is the reverse of the
sharps)

Any others?

A similar exercise one teacher had us do was write out words on the staff,
e.g., CABBAGE, EDGE, BAGGAGE, DC CAB, etc...

[fish...@nerve.com]

In article <8FBABB8BBav...@207.172.3.46>,

>holistic manner (direct association?), rather than rote mnemonics, as the
>former made for better sightreading.

I still resent learning "Every Good Boy Does Fine/Good Boys Do Fine Always"
because, no matter how hard I'm concentrating, I often find myself going
through the mnemonics -- even though I *know* the staff, 30 years experience,
15 years since college...

[Robert Ian Smit]

> -- I think Schaumm was trying to avoid male chauvinism. Also, isn't there
> some popular CD out titled "Every Good Boy Deserves Fervour"?

Favour, actually. Old Moody Blues album.

[David McKay]

Quite a few kids know the mnemonics, but can't see the point! A colleague
used to teach 'em where G is on the G clef and where F is on the F clef, and
get em to make a chart like this
C
B
A
G
F
E
D
C
B
A
G
F
etc, etc, etc [Yul Brynner, King and I]
and get em to work out the notes that way. For quite a few kids, it worked
better than the mnemonics, which they didn't seem to be able to use.

For bass lines, I like
Great Big Dreams For Australia
and after Cathy Freeman's effort Monday night, sometimes these dreams come
true!
David McKay

[eroml...@my-deja.com]

aveenyally...@aol.com (Mikey) wrote:

> Sharps sequence: Father Can Go Down And Eat Breakfast
> also: Fred Can Go Down An Escalator Backwards
>
> Flats sequence: BEAD + Geese Can Fly
> (for the musically challenged, the flats sequence is the reverse of
the
> sharps)

I always learned it "Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Bugs". The order
for the flats I learned the same as you. These are also the order of
the Circle of Fifths and the open strings of many stringed instruments.

Don

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[eroml...@my-deja.com]

In article <8qq9q9$ikp$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
Raphael Gest <raphae...@sap.ap-hop-paris.fr> wrote:
>
> Ok that's fine. Now, how are we French and Italians supposed to
> learn "Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si" with this method ? :-)
>
> As I see it, the only interest in those mnemonics lies in the fun
> factor they can provide, always a plus when teaching children.

I think that the mnemonic devices for learning the order of sharps and
flats are quite useful, but I agree that learning the lines and spaces
of the staff has limited use.

I personally learned the notes on the staff by noting that the C's are
symmetrical between treble and bass clefs and then taking my bearings
from there. One space above octave C is always E; one line above
middle C, high or low C is also E.

[eroml...@my-deja.com]

In article <8FBABB8BBav...@207.172.3.46>,

aveenyally...@aol.com (Mikey) wrote:
> Remember those mnemonics you used to learn when you were first taught
the
> musical notes on the page? Are they still used in teaching today? I
seem
> to recall an approach that it was better to learn the staff in a sort
of

> holistic manner (direct association?), rather than rote mnemonics, as
the
> former made for better sightreading.
>

> Anyway, here are the mnemonics I learned:
>
> Treble staff spaces: FACE
>
> Treble staff lines: Every Good Boy Does Fine
> Schaumm's version: Every Good Bird Does Fly

> -- I think Schaumm was trying to avoid male chauvinism. Also, isn't
there
> some popular CD out titled "Every Good Boy Deserves Fervour"?
>

> Bass staff spaces: All Cows Eat Grass
> Schaumm's version: All Cars Eat Gas
> -- And SUV's even more so, but there's no S on the scale.
>
> Bass staff lines: Grandma Bakes Doughnuts Friday Afternoon
> Schaumm's version: Great Big Dogs Fight Animals
>

> Sharps sequence: Father Can Go Down And Eat Breakfast
> also: Fred Can Go Down An Escalator Backwards
>
> Flats sequence: BEAD + Geese Can Fly
> (for the musically challenged, the flats sequence is the reverse of
the
> sharps)
>

> Any others?
>
> A similar exercise one teacher had us do was write out words on the
staff,
> e.g., CABBAGE, EDGE, BAGGAGE, DC CAB, etc...
>

You reminded me of a funny story:

My mother had a silver money clip made for me for Christmas last year.
She had a treble clef stave with the notes DAG (my initials) engraved
on it. It turned out beautifully. Unfortunately my mother is not
particularly musically inclined and accidentally put the first note one
line too low on the sketch she gave the jeweler making it read "BAG".
She was mortified when I pointed it out upon receiving it. I told her
it was all right becuase no one would probably notice and that she
should look at the bright side: if she had placed the note a line too
*high* instead of too low it would have read "FAG".

[brudge]

--
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> In article <8FBABB8BBav...@207.172.3.46>,
> aveenyally...@aol.com (Mikey) wrote:
> > Remember those mnemonics you used to learn when you were first taught
> the
> > musical notes on the page?

Absolutely. In my day we were taught the order of key signatures with:

Go down and enter by force, (for the order of keys with successive sharps)

and

Flats become easy after direct guidance. (ditto, flats)

Since I can still remember over these thirty years later, it must work!!

B.

[James Dexter]

I also learned a couple for remembering the major keys (e.g., 1 sharp = G, 2
sharps = D, etc.)

Flat Keys: Fat Boys Eat Apple Dumplings Greedily, Charles

Sharp Keys: Go Down And Eat Breakfast First, Charles

Mikey <aveenyally...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:8FBABB8BBav...@207.172.3.46...

> Remember those mnemonics you used to learn when you were first taught the

[Glenn Mandelkern]

In article <8FBABB8BBav...@207.172.3.46>,

Mikey <aveenyally...@aol.com> wrote:
>Remember those mnemonics you used to learn when you were first taught the
>musical notes on the page?
>

>Sharps sequence: Father Can Go Down And Eat Breakfast
>also: Fred Can Go Down An Escalator Backwards
>

WARNING: The following mnemonic sequence for remembering
the order of sharps contains vulgar language,
so scroll down several lines if you're NOT offended. . . here goes:

Order of sharps:
F*cking Can Give D*ck An Erect Boner

(heard this one when I was 16.)

--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glenn Mandelkern "Hee, hee, hee, hee!" -- Questor the Elf
gma...@netcom.com
San Jose, CA
Software Developer / Career Advisor

"A 3-D Hiring Model for the Information Technology Industry",
http://www.techweek.com/articles/5-4-98/Log-On.html

[dn...@racc2000.com]

> Treble staff lines: Every Good Boy Does Fine

One of my students came up with:

Empty Garbage Before Dad Flips

Little kids remember this one better....because it is funny

[Steve Mack]

dn...@racc2000.com wrote:

> > Treble staff lines: Every Good Boy Does Fine
>
> One of my students came up with:
>
> Empty Garbage Before Dad Flips

Actually, your student didn't come up with that one. I remember
learning that in 3rd grade.

--
Smack

"Good jazz is when the leader jumps on the piano, waves his arms, and
yells. Fine jazz is when a tenorman lifts his foot in the air. Great
jazz is when he heaves a piercing note for 32 bars and collapses on
his hands and knees. A pure genius of jazz is manifested when he and
the rest of the orchestra run around the room while the rhythm section
grimaces and dances around their instruments." -Charles Mingus