Hand Staff

The hand staff or, the Guidonian hand—was first used by Guido D’Arezzo (c. 991-c. 1033). You can use your hand staff to practice saying and remembering the letter names of the lines and spaces of the staffs. If you hold up one hand and turn it sideways, the five fingers on that hand represent the five lines of a staff. And, if you spread those five fingers apart slightly, then the gaps between those fingers represent the four spaces of the staff.

REMEMBER THAT WE ALWAYS COUNT LINES AND SPACES AND SAY THE LETTER NAMES OF THE LINES AND SPACES FROM THE BOTTOM UP, NEVER FROM THE TOP DOWN!!! 

The Grade 3 students had a wonderful time in class designing their own Guidonian Hand. Here are some of their beautiful work!