How to Give Your Students’ Note Reading a Super Boost – A Giveaway!

With the plethora of piano teaching resources constantly hitting the market it’s easy to let old favorites slip to the wayside when exploring new possibilities. I’m sorry to say that’s exactly what happened with Notebusters, a fabulous workbook created by Steven Gross and Karen Spurney. It’s been 10 years since I reviewed their original workbook and found it to be a helpful tool for reinforcing note identification with students! So I was thrilled when Steven contacted me recently to let me know that they’ve published a Beginner workbook based on the same concept that repetition breeds mastery, yet in a much more manageable size than the complete edition (80 exercises v. 240).

There are three editions: Piano, Violin, and Guitar. The piano one is divided into 4 sections. Section 1 covers treble clef notes bottom line E to 4th line D. Section 2 adds Middle C and D below the staff. Section 4 is bass clef notes 4th space C to top line A. Then Section 4 adds Middle C and B above the staff. I was curious as to the reasoning behind this selection of notes (instead of including the whole staff for each clef). Steven responded to my inquiry that they chose the notes based on their inclusion in both a C-Major and G-Major hand position. Here are a couple of sample pages to give you an idea of how they are designed.

I have a young student working through the book right now and we both remarked at his last lesson how much it seems to be helping him with his music reading. The authors recommend setting a timer for 1 minute and seeing how many notes you can name in that time frame. I’ve opted instead to have my student name all the notes and time himself to see how long it takes. His goal, then, is to increase his time, but this gives him the benefit of always working through all the notes instead of stopping part way through the worksheet if the timer goes off. I think it’s helpful that the pages are uncluttered and simple to understand; he’s really enjoying it!

Check out the Notebusters website for more information.

Now, for the best part…the authors have agree to giveaway a free copy of the Notebusters Beginner Level Piano Edition to a Music Matters Blog reader! Just leave a comment below to be entered in the drawing. One winner will be selected using a random number generator at noon on Friday, October 13.

---

Please note: Some links above are affiliate links that enable us to receive a small commission from purchases made through them. We only recommend those that we find valuable for teaching and studio use. We are so grateful for the support of teachers and musicians who use our affiliate links to help offset the costs of running Music Matters Blog and providing free resources for music teachers!