Allen's Master Theory Help & Hints

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Lessons 1-8

Basics of the Music Staff

These first eight lessons provide familiarization with the Staff and its structure. Clefs, notes (pitches) and time signatures are covered.

Common Snag #1 - In Lesson 3, question #6 asks you to all the lines and spaces from line 1 to line 5 on both staves. The thing to remember here is that you've already listed the lines and spaces separately in questions 2 thru 5. Question #6 is asking you to integrate these four separate lists so that the notes are put in order from the lowest to the highest pitch.

Common Snag #2 - In Lesson 6, remember which clef you're dealing with. Most band instrument students forget and write in treble clef note names on a bass clef staff.

Common Snag #3 - In Lesson 8, students are tempted to rush through the questions and end up answering questions 4, 5 & 6 with the number of beats rather than the type of note that gets one beat. Read the questions carefully, and refer back to the shaded area of the page whenever you're in doubt.

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