This morning (Saturday) my hubby got called into work. I wasn't planning on doing any studio work...but I'd been itching to complete these flashcards so I started some laundry, made a cup of coffee...and voila! The flashcards are complete!
I don't know how many teachers use FACE in the bass clef to help students remember notes, but I've created a set of FACE flashcards for both bass and treble clef. This is a spin-off of a concept used by my mentor when I was student teaching. Basically, each card contains three notes from a FACE group...the goal of the student is to identify the notes as quickly as possible.
The possibilities are many and varied. You can use these cards away from the piano and have the student(s) call out the note names, you can incorporate this into an individual lesson as an activity at the keyboard by having them play the notes, you can mix and match both sets and play a matching game (if I made these cards correctly the treble and bass sets should be identical as far as note patterns go), you can use a tabletop or floor keyboard and have students place tokens on the correct keys...as I said- many and varied! And I'm sure there are many more ways they can be used as well!
I'd love to hear of any other creative ways you can think of to use these cards! They're available for download under the printables tab. Each set consists of 3 sheets- the third sheet is a template for flashcard backs- completely up to you whether you want them to have backs or not- it always helps me when I'm looking for a specific flashcard set in a hurry!
Awesome- thank you for sharing! I use "GECA" in the left hand, as I like to read away from middle C, and since I started using it a month ago, it has been working ok, not great. Your flashcards will help!
ReplyDeleteIs it confusing for the students to use FACE in both clefs, since they start in different places?
Morgan,
DeleteThanks so much for your comment. I find it really interesting that you read away in both directions. I'd never considered doing things that way.
I don't use the BASS FACE group with all my students, but those who have used it do think it helps. As you mentioned, it can sometimes be a little confusing at first since they start at different points on the staff, but one thing that I try to emphasize as much as possible is the repetition of patterns. Even if there are small differences, I think having a pattern that works (in this case the identification group FACE) and being able to apply that in different places really helps.
I also sometimes teach students the Middle FACE group (starting with Bass F).
Hope these cards are helpful in your studio!