Stage 1First position & the staffLesson 22 of 43 · Reading
The whole first-position map
Everything in Movement B, on one page: the whole first-position range, every natural note, all
four strings, as one map.
The map
Note
Staff
String · finger
G
below staff (2nd little line)
G · open
A
below staff
G · 1
B
just under middle C
G · high 2
C
1st ledger below (middle C)
G · 3
D
just below the bottom line
D · open
E
bottom line
D · 1
F
1st space
D · low 2
G
2nd line (the clef's G)
D · 3
A
2nd space
A · open
B
middle line
A · 1
C
3rd space
A · low 2
D
4th line
A · 3
E
4th space
A · 4 (or E · open)
F
top line
E · low 1
G
space above the staff
E · low 2
A
1st ledger above
E · 3
B
just above that line
E · 4
The four anchors, again
Open D, the clef's G, open A, open E. Know those four on sight and every other note is one or
two steps away.
52 bpm
A climb across three strings, spanning the staff. Anchor each note — open G, open D, the clef's G — then skip up to B and D. Don't re-derive from the bottom line.
A mixed line
52 bpm
Steps, a skip and a string crossing, all within the C / G / D range. Read it by pattern; check the notes after.
The usual mistake
Knowing each string on its own but freezing when a line jumps between them. The map is one
thing, not four — read by anchor and interval and the string takes care of itself.
Try
Play the mixed line above from the notation, labels hidden. If you stall, name the nearest
anchor out loud and step from it. That's the whole method.