Jibbidy-F and ACE, a way to remember the lines and spaces of the Grand Staff

Below is the cover of a piano book that I have used over the years with beginning students. It was this book that taught me a new way to teach students how to remember the letter names of the bass and treble staff lines and spaces. As you may be know, there are various methods used to teach the names of notes on the staff. Most of the time the student learns sentences that name the lines and spaces of both bass and treble clefs. For the treble clef lines sentences like "Every Good Boy Does Fine," "Every Girl Bakes Delicious Fudge," "Empty Garbage Before Dad Flips" are used. The spaces for the treble clef spell the word "FACE." For the bass clef lines, sentences like "Good Boys Do Fine Always" and "Great Big Dreams For America are used. The spaces are connected to the sentence "All Cows Eat Grass" or "All Cars Eat Gas."

What I find, however, is that the student may learn the lines and spaces using sentences but he/she, most often, forgets which sentence goes with which clef. In the book pictured, the lines and spaces are all learned at once by using clever "characters" name "Jibbidy-F" and "ACE."

I have included a "poem" to help illustrate what the book teaches.

Jibiddy-F and ACE

Jibbidy-F and ACE

Are my musical friends you see.

Keep them in mind

When you want to know the grand staff lines.

Jibbidy-F and ACE.

Remember to start at the bottom of the staff

With a G-sound as in giraffe.

Quickly say the letters

Until the note is found.

Jibiddy-F and Ace help us to remember better.

RED©1985

As illustrated above on the second grand staff, all the spaces of the staff are learned by starting with ACE and then GBDF.

The following staff illustrates only the lines by repeating the letters across the lines.

Practice and learn the names of both the lines and spaces of the grand staff. Let me know if you have success.