26. Is Every Good Boy really Fine…?
“What are the notes for the bass clef? I know treble is "Every Good Boy Does Fine", and FACE. What about Bass?
I want to learn the piano, but I only know the treble clef, which means I can only play the right hand. Which, of course, poses a problem. I'll take any other advice you may want to give. Thank you.”
Question from answers.yahoo.com
Music and piano teachers like to use the mnemonic statement “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” or other words that start with the same letters to help beginners memorize the layout of the music staff. To this day, it is treated as an illustrious discovery in music education. In reality, this hint causes more harm than good.
Music and speech have a different logic behind the use of symbols. While words and phrases are strictly tied to their meanings and grammatical rules of sentence construction, musical sounds aren’t limited to any specific sequence. The tying of the letters of music notes to a sequence of words prohibits the freedom of the sounds.
By tying the notes to the first letters of words, we give the student a false support. He is, after all, not prepared to read out the sequences of “Fine Does Boy Good Every,” or “Every Does Boy Fine Good,” as that would be nonsense! Having learned the mnemonic hint, the student finds himself on a very short leash, skidding in place while attempting to read sheet music. And a slow reading of the text hinders the development of all other skills.