- Hi, in this video, we're asking the question,
how well do you know your ledger lines in the treble clef?
Because ledger lines often cause people a bit of grief
when they're reading music,
particularly if you're sight reading.
You suddenly see this note on a pile of ledger lines
and think what's this?
So let's have a quick look at just a few
to see how well we would get on with just looking at them
and knowing what they are.
Well, here's a clue in the treble clef
to deal with your ledger lines.
As I'm sure most people know,
if you're on one ledger line below the treble clef,
you are dealing with middle C.
There's middle C.
So we already know that this one is middle C.
Also, if you're on two ledger lines above the treble clef,
you are on another C,
and two ledger lines above the treble clef
is giving you the C that's two octaves above middle C,
so two ledger lines, C,
and also the two telling you it's two octaves,
so if this is middle C, this note here.
Then this one is C up here
two octaves above middle C.
And I think this is the best way to deal with ledger lines.
So when you look at this one, and you suddenly think,
"Oh my goodness, what's this note?"
What you don't really want to do
is start on F on the top line there
and have to count up thinking,
well, if that's F, that's G, that's A, that's B, that's C.
Takes you forever, doesn't it?
But if you think, well you already know
that two ledger lines is C, and it's this C
two octaves above middle C,
well then you can kind of skip up the next two lines,
because the next line must be E, a third above the C
because you've got a note in between,
and the next line must be a third above that,
so this note must be G, okay?
So if that's C, this is E, that's G.
So you see there it is, and you know which G it is,
because you know that two ledger lines is two octaves
above middle C, so it's G above that.
Okay, let's look at this one.
What do you think this one is?
If this one is middle C,
well you can already get to that one.
The next line down then must be two notes below C,
because you've got a space in between,
so you don't have to go C, B, A, G.
That takes too long.
You can think well this one's C, so this line must be A,
and I'm in the space below A, so it's G.
Which G is it?
It's the G below middle C, or fourth below middle C.
My goodness, what's this horrendous looking thing up here?
Well two ledger lines, remember, is C,
so that's already saved you a lot of time, isnt' it?
Instead of counting up from F on the top line,
which is what lots of people do, I find.
Then that takes you ages.
But that's C, now hop up quickly from there.
C, E, G, B,
so this is C.
Which C is it?
Well it must C that's three octaves above middle C
or this C is an octave above this C,
so if this C is this one,
two octaves above middle C,
here's C three octaves away.
Now by the time you get to notes like that,
they're often written an octave lower,
and then you get one of those little eight signs
telling you to play up the octave.
But you see how to do that.
Instead of starting here, going F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F,
G, A, B, C, by which time the piece has finished,
you might as well just start here and quickly go
C, E, G, B, that must be C.
So you can get to do these very quickly.
Okay, what about this one?
Well, here's the first ledger line below the treble clef.
We know that's middle C,
so let's skip down in thirds from one line to the next.
C, A, F, D,
so you get there quite quickly.
I do actually believe it's quite useful
just to know your ledger lines,
certainly three ledger lines above a stave
and three ledger lines below a stave.
For any serious player who's dealing in an instrument
that's going to encompass that part of the range,
just learn what the notes are.
We go to all that bother, don't we,
when we start to learn to play an instrument or to sing,
to read the notes on the stave.
People spend hours going F, A, C, E,
and all this stuff to remember what these are,
but quite often you get to a very advanced stage,
and you just don't know what the ledger lines are,
so well worth learning them sometime
up to three ledger lines above and below,
but those quick-fire methods, here's middle C,
work down the lines from there.
Here's C on the second ledger line above the treble clef,
so I can quickly get to these other notes.
That would help you to read them quicker.
So there we are, a few moments on ledger lines
in the treble clef.