Basic Instructions

1. Bookmark this page so you can come back and practice again later.

2. Select the clef you would like to learn.

3. Press BEGIN.

4. Check two or three notes you'd like to learn. Use the check boxes on the staff for now, not the "Group Toggle" buttons on the right.

5. The program will start right away — there's no score.

6. Press the letter of the note on the keyboard you think is on the screen.

7. Right answers give a "ding!"

8. Wrong answers give a buzz and show the right answer.

9. Press the right answer to continue, if you were wrong.

10. Switch to review mode if you would like to watch and learn.

That's it! Remember the key is to practice, practice, practice! With a few hours of practice, you'll know your lines and spaces better than you've ever known them before — and maybe even a few keyboard letters if you can't yet touch-type.

Hints

1. Don't guess randomly!

Research shows that guessing wrong is worse than not guessing at all. If you think you know the right answer, or your brain is pushing you to press a letter, fine. But don't just say, "Ok, I'll guess zebra!"

2. Don't try to figure out the note by counting!

The point of this is to memorize the lines and spaces, not to speed up at counting them. Try to look at the note and remember, without saying, "Every Good Boy..."

If you take too long, the computer will show you the right answer. Type it to continue. Having to type the correct answer helps you remember it for next time.

3. Don't try to learn too many notes at a time!

You learn fastest when you are guessing correctly. You guess correctly more often when there are only a few options to pick from. Start with just two or three notes, then add more one at a time as you get good at them.

4. Don't be a speed demon at first!

Look at each note. Try to recognize the note and not just guess at it. As you get better, it will become like reading a book. Gunslinger guessing causes you to guess wrong, and makes you get worse, not better.

5. Don't be afraid to back up!

As you practice, you'll get into a rhythm where you just can't seem to be wrong. That's great! But it won't stick at first. If you seem to "get out of the groove," simply slow down, uncheck some notes, and build back up to where you were.

6. Practice, practice, practice!

I can't say this enough. Come back every day, even if only for a few minutes. It can take a long time before it really "sticks" with you.

Advanced Instructions

Grace Periods

The setup screen includes an adjustable number called the "Grace Period." The grace period is a brief time, starting after the note appears, during which you are permitted to change your answer.

The purpose of the grace period is to not to count as a wrong answer what I like to call "finger glitches." When you get pretty fast, you'll come to a point where you are thinking "A", but might press "B". This generally only happens when you get quite fast. If you find yourself doing this, but aren't fast enough to get in the right answer, go ahead and make the grace period longer... but don't make it too long. The purpose is not supposed to be to give you a second chance. Remember, instant feedback, even if you are wrong, is key to getting better.

Additional Time

The setup screen includes an adjustable number called "Additional Time." This is how much extra time you get after the Grace Period before the buzzer sounds. As you get better, you should lower this number, but don't make it so low that you keep missing notes.

Group Toggles

The buttons to the right of the staff are a quick way to turn on and off large groups of notes. The buttons are in order, easiest on top, hardest on the bottom. Don't try to learn a whole group at a time though! This is just a shortcut for enabling many notes at once after you get good enough to need that many on at the same time.

Review Mode

A very good activity to help you learn is to switch to review mode. In review mode, you can guess at the letters in your head, and a split second later you will know if you were wrong or right. This is a great way to learn many notes quickly, as well as to reinforce what you have learned.

About Lines and Spaces

"Lines and Spaces" is a Flash application designed to teach you to recognize notes on the staff. It works better and will teach you faster than traditional note flash cards.

Knowing your lines and spaces is NOT the same as being able to sight reading, but is an important step to getting there. You can learn to read English by memorizing the shapes of all the words in the language... but it sure is easier when you know the alphabet, too.

I've been playing the piano since I was 5 years old, but for 30 years I couldn't sight-read music. It took me 5-10 seconds to figure out each note:

Every Good Boy Does Fine... OK, an F.
F A C... Well, that's an E.
Uh-oh, more ledger lines... I wonder what's on TV?

All those years I had to memorize the notes and play from memory, rather than sight reading from the page. Then I came across an article that talked about how you can become worse at a high-speed task if you take too long to guess, even if you guess right!

That's when I decided to write "Lines and Spaces", a musical flash card type game in which you practice reading notes on the screen.

"Lines and Spaces" gives you instant feedback. It's never wrong. It has no score. Practice with it daily, and it will help you to recognize notes instantly, instead of relying on "Good Boys Do Fine Always."

"Lines and Spaces" works with many different clefs. It knows the Grand Staff, Treble, Bass, Tenor, Alto, Mezzo-Soprano, and Soprano clefs. If you need yet another clef, just contact me at .

After I wrote "Lines and Spaces," I learned basic sight-reading — the kind I should have known when I was six — in about a week.

I decided it was too good to keep to myself, so here it is for you to use too. I hope this free resource will help you or your students more than flash card notes ever could.

FAQ

1. Thanks! What can I do to help?

Link to this page. Post about in forums. Tell your friends about Lines and Spaces. Have your students practice here. And, if you are feeling particularly generous, buy me a pint... or two... or three... ... by clicking on the PayPal panel to the left at the top. The software may be free for you to use, but my rent is not.

2. Adaptive Learning — or, why do I sometimes keep getting the same note over and over?

"Lines and Spaces" remembers how long it took you to answer the last 10 times for each note. If you get a note wrong, it automatically scores that note as having taken the full answer period. It then offers you new notes that you tend to take longest with, while staying away from notes you know well.

2. How long can I expect it to take for me to learn to sight-read?

Sight reading is more than just knowing the lines and spaces, but you can't learn to sight-read without knowing the lines and spaces first. You can expect it to take you anywhere from a few days to several weeks to get good at this.

3. I have (information for you / a site you should link to / a question / some money to give you.) How can I contact you?

You can e-mail me at .

4. How many times has this page been viewed?

464 times.

Where can I learn more?

Good place to chat with other students are Piano Street and Piano World: both links go to a discussion of Lines and Spaces.

One of my favorite places on the net to learn about music terminology is Dr. Brian Blood's 'Music Theory Online' website. When you have a question no one else can seem to answer about music theory, go there.

If recognizing the lines and spaces is step one, learning to count is step two. PracticeSightReading.com lets you practice your timing skills on randomly generated counting exercises -- a perfect companion to Lines and Spaces.

SoundFeelings has piano and keyboard resources, sight reading tips, and music reading tips on one of their pages, called "Ten amazing free secrets improve sight-reading."

Google suggests:

My other projects

I'm not much of a musician, but a good friend of mine, Rhian Campbell, wrote a song and asked me to help her record it. It's not top 10 stuff, but I was pretty happy with the result, especially considering it was our first try ever at recording a song. I wrote the little piano run in the middle. She's asking 1$ for it, but you can listen to to the whole song for free at 80 kbps. You would make her and I both happy if you listen to it and let us know what you think. It's called 'Saying Goodbye'.

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