How to Teach a Child to Read Music Notes: A Guide for Parents

Children learn to read music the same way they learn to read words: little by little, with lots of easy material and plenty of encouragement. You do not need to be a musician to help. Here is how to teach a child to read music notes at home.

Start with the keyboard, not the page

Before reading notes, a child should know the keyboard: the groups of two and three black keys, C to the left of the two black keys, F to the left of the three. Make it a game: find all the Cs, all the Fs.

Learn a few landmarks on the staff

Middle C, the G of the treble clef and the F of the bass clef are enough to start. Every other note is a step or a skip from a landmark. This is faster and more musical than memorising every line and space.

Read something new every day

Five minutes of a new, very easy piece every day builds reading. Repeating the same piece for weeks builds memory instead, and many children end up playing everything by ear and never reading.

Keep the black keys simple

Sharps and flats are where many young readers give up: they have to remember the key signature and rules about how long an accidental lasts. In iCanPiano Style the note itself shows the black key, so a child can play music with black keys long before learning the rules.

• F sharp: right half black. Play the black key to the right of F.
• B flat: left half black. Play the black key to the left of B.
• B natural: no natural sign. A note that is all black or all white is played on a white key.

Celebrate reading, not perfection

Praise the child for keeping going, not for playing every note right. A child who enjoys reading will read more, and reading more is what makes a good reader.

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