Posted by Mike McCawley on December 14, 2002 at 17:47:38:
In Reply to: Terminology Question posted by Mark Wiseman on December 13, 2002 at 16:43:08:
It seems obvious that as soon as you say "B third space below the staff" it can only mean one thing. Your starting immediately below the staff, as soon as you add a ledger line you have visually represented a space that was there by implication. You must agree that the first note below the staff must appear in a space not on a ledger line. It seems irrelevant to identify the B as third space below the staff. If you say B below the staff everyone should be able to mentally see that note. If you want the B below that you would identify it several ways for example "pedal B", "B a 12th below the staff" and so on. As for the A in the staff it can be referred to as "A at the bottom of the staff", first space A etc. Many of us were taught to memorize the lines and spaces in ascending order eg Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge for treble clef lines. I think that the majority of musicians that I have met would instinctively identify lines and spaces in the staff in ascending order and notes below the staff in descending order. FWIW Mike