Nicholas Tkachuk

Dr. Larson

Mus 2440

4/27/2017

Figurenotes: A Simple and Easy Way to Teach Notation

Teaching students how to read music can often be a very long and difficult process.

Students must learn not only where the notes are on the piano or what the fingering is for the

note, but also how to read a clef. It can be very overwhelming at times and can seem like a lot of

information. Not knowing how to read music can also be a huge obstacle that prevents some

people from learning how to play and instrument and becoming more interested in music.

Figurenotes is one solution to this problem. The purpose of Figurenotes is to make music more

accessible for people who struggle with reading traditional notation. It simplifies the process by

taking away some of the more challenging portions of traditional notation, like reading both

vertically and horizontally for example, that may be a bit too challenging for some students,

particularly students that have learning disabilities. I will briefly explain what I have learned

about Figurenotes, how to use Figurenotes to teach different instruments, as well as how this can

be used effectively in a classroom setting.

Figurenotes got its start in Finland when some educators from the Resonaari school

attempted to make playing music easier for children with disabilities. From there, it moved to the

United Kingdom and gained world-wide fame. Today, it is used around the world as a way for

anyone to learn music easily.

 Figurenotes uses color to designate a different note name. Each C is red, each F is blue

and so on. Whenever a note comes around that is in a different octave, the note will appear as a

different shape. A circle that is red and a triangle that is red are both a C but they are in two

different octaves. These notes all correspond to stickers that can be placed on a piano or most

other instruments that you would like to teach.

The notes are initially placed in one line, meaning that the student doesnt have to read

vertically but rather can just read the colors from left to right. Beats are divided into boxes and

the notes are then placed into those boxes. These boxes also help to denote rhythm. If a note only

takes up half of a box, then that note is only half of a beat, or an eighth note. If the note has a tail

on it, then that note is lengthened by however long the tail is. Sharps and flats can also be done

using this type of notation. Sharps are notated by adding an arrow to the top of the note that

points to the right and the flat is notated by adding an arrow to the top of the note that points to

the left. This instructs students, particularly the ones learning piano, on how the note is either

lowered or raised. Attached is an example of what the song Uptown Funk would look like in this

Figurenote style.

Chords are notated slightly differently but the same concept applies. There is a box with

the root of the chord colored in. Then, the student is told to find a friend that isnt a neighbor and

find another friend that also isnt a neighbor. The neighbor refers to a note that is directly next

to a note youre already playing. If there is an altered chord tone, that note will be put in the box

that is colored for the root.

The goal of Figurenotes is to allow students to not just learn how to play an instrument

but also to read music. This means that, eventually, we will need to move away from the linear

notation in favor of a more traditional style. To do this, there are two more intermediate steps that
are undergone before traditional notation is introduced. When the student has gotten comfortable

with reading figure notes in a line, you can take that same format but place it on a staff. This

allows the students to get used to reading both horizontally and vertically but doesnt overwhelm

them with note names and other information. Once they get comfortable with reading vertically,

then you can use regular notation but have colored note heads instead of black ones. This allows

the student to get comfortable with half notes and quarter notes as well as measures without

having to completely know the note names. Once they get comfortable with this, they can then

be introduced to traditional music notation.

When I first began researching Figurenotes, I thought that this was a terrific idea for

teaching piano because everything seemed to fit very easily into that format. However, I thought

that teaching things like recorder or even ukulele would be made much more difficult by this

notation because of the different fingerings for notes that wouldnt work nearly as well as it does

on the piano. While the piano may be slightly easier in that aspect, Figurenotes can still help with

things such as recorders because it allows students to focus on one thing at a time as opposed to

trying to learn it all at once. The ukulele can even be made simpler by tuning the strings in a way

that allows the students to simply barre the chords where the stickers are placed on the ukulele.

Attached are fingering charts for different instruments as well as the ukulele instructions and

sticker placement.

I personally think that this notation can be used to teach a group of students how to

quickly play an instrument in a group setting. I have talked to some general education teachers

who are using figure notes to start small rock bands. This notation style also has the added

benefit of allowing students to have a wide range in ability to read music to be able to play the

same music together. It also allows students with learning disabilities a chance to learn how to
read and play music. However, this is by no means a completely perfect system and while things

like guitar and piano can be very easily helped by this system, things like clarinet may not be as

effective of a use. This system may be most effective as a teaching tool for younger students in

more of a general music setting. In that setting, the simplification and intuitiveness of this

notation system can be a great stepping stone into reading and playing traditional music notation.
 Bibliography

"Home." Figurenotes. Drake Music Scotland, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.