Solving the Mystery Behind Middle C

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Happy Tuesday!  I am looking out from my window at the clearest blue sky and beautiful oak tree branches swaying in the wind....simple pleasures!  Have you ever had students ask why there was a line going through middle C?  I have.  I could simply say that that's the way it is and be done with it but there's no fun in that so I make it into a mystery that the students need to solve.  The best way to explain this is in dialogue form with a few pictures thrown in the mix.  There's obviously a lot more dialogue happening between myself and the student but I simplified as much as possible here.  From beginning to end this mini lesson only takes 5 minutes!

The Mystery Behind Middle C
Student: Why does middle C have a line through it?

Me: Ah! I am so glad you asked that.  There is actually a very good and logical reason for it.  In order to understand why Middle C has a line through it let's back track a little bit by revisiting the staff.  It will all make sense in the end.  Remember learning that the staff has 5 lines and 4 spaces?  Well, now that you are able to easily identify the staff and know it's purpose you are ready for a little more information.  A single staff is actually made up of 5 lines and 6 spaces.  (Place one plastic magnetic chip on the top line of the staff and one right below the bottom line of the staff).  Did you know that the area right above and below the staff is considered a space as well and these notes are space notes?  Go ahead and place a chip on the rest of the spaces of the staff.  How many space notes do we have?
Student: 6 space notes.
Me: Now place a chip on every line of the staff.  How many staff lines are there?
Student: 5 lines.
Me: So the staff is actually made up of 5 lines and 6 spaces do you see it now?
Student: Yes!

*Don't forget to have them clean up the board with the magnetic wand.  They really enjoy doing that.

Me: Music is made up of so many patterns which is one of the reasons why I love it so much!  Even the piano itself has patterns like 3 black keys, 2 black keys, 3 black keys, etc. The white notes are a pattern of letters from A-G that repeat as well.....ABCDEFG-ABCDEFG-etc.  Remember! A pattern is a group of items that repeat themselves over and over again without changing.

Me: Do you see a pattern on the staff itself?  I see a pattern of spaces and lines (starting with the topmost space) space, line, space, etc.  So even the staff has a pattern.  So cool!

*I pull out a blank grand staff and I have the student place a chip on the very top line and below the bottom line of the treble and bass staves to remind them of what they just learned.

Me:  Let's follow the pattern of spaces and lines that make up the grand staff.  I want you to place a chip on every space and line while saying the words "space" and "line".  Let's start with the chip you've already placed on the top space of the treble staff.  Ready?

*So the student is going along down the treble staff until they get to the middle area of the grand staff where there are two space notes in a row.

Me: Whoa!  That breaks the pattern of line and space notes and we can't break the pattern so what do we have to do to keep it going?

*The student may try to take away the space note below the treble staff or the topmost space note on the bass staff to keep the pattern going but I let them know that those notes cannot be removed since they are part of the 6 spaces that make up both the treble and bass staves.
Me: Hmmm.  Let's look at that middle space of the grand staff again.  Remember how I shared with you that Middle C is found in the very  middle space of the grand staff?  It's in between these two space notes.                                                      
*Place a magnetic chip in between the two space notes in the middle space of the grand staff.  Choose the same color chip as the space notes. The student will realize that having three space notes in a row breaks the pattern as well.
Me:  Does this continue the space/line note pattern?
Student: No, because there are three space notes in a row.  The Middle C note needs needs to be blue and have a line going through it but how do we make it a line note.  There are no lines in the middle space of the grand staff.  (I chose to alternate between blue and pink chips to help my kiddos see the space/line pattern more clearly but you can use all different colors or all one color if you have enough in your set to do so.)    
Me: Well, why don't we draw a line through it. (I cut a thin piece of black construction paper out and taped it to one of my blue magnetic chips instead of drawing a line in the space)
                                                      Student: Oh!  I didn't know we could do that!
Me:  Yuppers! We can.  It's called a ledger line.  Ledger lines are extra lines added in the middle space and beyond the grand staff lines.
*Once again, keep the information regarding ledger lines as simple as possible for now.  No need to overload the kiddos with information they don't need at this point.*
Me:  You have just solved the mystery behind Middle C's line. A line goes through middle C to keep the space/line pattern going on the grand staff.  Now we can continue with our pattern through the bass staff.

When my kiddos discover the meaning behind Middle C's line they get SO excited.  I've had parents tell me that their children came home from that particular lesson wanting to show them their discovery.  Those "Aha" moments give me such a thrill as a teacher!

Next time, I'll share with you how I get my students to easily recognize letter names of staff notes (besides memorizing flash cards which they do as well) and more importantly correctly locating them on the piano in relation to Middle C.  Stay tuned!  Piano blogger signing off.......