I was the kind of pupil who just accepted things for how they were and rarely asked questions.
But now I am being thrown all sorts of questions about things like "who said there should be 5 lines on a stave" and "why are the sharps/flats put on the stave in that order" and "who designed the clefs" etc etc.

I know someone must have come up with them but to me, this isnt really important! But still, I want to have something to answer the darlings questions with!

Any ideas?!

Flutey x

The order of sharps and flats is the order in which they are added.

Probably not quite the authentic answer but one reason the 5 makes sense is that this is the maximum number of objects (lines?) that you can see without having to count them. (I heard that somewhere).

I sometimes refer to the 11 line stave to show where middle C actually fits and why it's 'middle' (not the centre of piano keyboard). This also helps to make sense of leger lines.

Ah the whole 5 thing- i remember that from A level psychology!

I KNOW the sharps/flats are in the order in which they are added! I think my pupils mean why put the first F on the top line rather than the bottom space etc etc. They are just being picky I think!

I know about the whole cle de fa/sol thing but its the actual symbol itself that my pupils seem to want to know about who invented it! Is the treble clef a decorated G?

A History of Western Music, by Donald Jay Grout et al, is a very good book that covers all sorts of things like this.

Basically, though, musical notation developed to reach a standard that we have today, in order to make it simple and logical to read. The G Clef (Treble) and F Clef (Bass) basically replaced all the C Clefs (such as the alto, tenor, soprano, etc) and reduced the number of leger lines needed, which make music difficult to read.

The C Clefs are still used, principally in instrumental music (Trombones, Viola, Cello mainly).

Even the use of key signatures has changed. It used to be that the last sharp or flat wasn't included, so this meant it was always added as accidental in the music.

At one time music was written onthe so called Great Stave of eleven lines. The centre line was where middle C was placed, and the sign of a K was used rather than the more inaccurate C as it gave the same sound of a hard C. It was soon realised thta many voices or instruments did not need this wide range of notes. The soprano recorder for example, did not read below middle C and so the Great Stave was divided into two staves, each of five lines. The clef signs were simply rather ornate letters showingthe positions of the notes G (the treble stave) and F (bass stave). Middle C is written on a leger line either above or below the staves as needed.

Thanks Scarpia! If they ask me, I shall just say "Buy this book"!

Because it looks nicer?

It's not cheap - so maybe you should get one for reference? It's actually very interesting, and I still use mine after 12 years.

I have this; it was given to me as a present, and I refer to to it a lot.

Just a thought

I still refer to my old Children's music encyclopedia now and again, (I've had it since I was 8!) if I'm looking for an effective way of explaining a concept to a young pupil.

Sometimes the wording used, or the way an idea is explained, can be very useful here.

xx