Grades K–1
Number the Lines and Spaces
A staff has five lines and four spaces. Number them from the bottom to the top, then fill in the facts.
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Free printables · kindergarten to 5th grade
Free music theory worksheets for kids
50 free worksheets for elementary music class, piano lessons and homeschool, in 10 topics: the staff, note values, rests, rhythm, treble clef notes, piano keys and bass clef, dynamics and tempo, instrument families, composers and listening. Real music notation, 44 answer keys and one of Kevin Coulston’s cartoon characters on every page.
The staff and music symbols Grades K–2
Number the five lines and four spaces, tell line notes from space notes, label the parts of a line of music, match the first music symbols and count the measures.
Grades K–2
Line Note or Space Note?
A line note has a line running through it. A space note sits between two lines. Write L or S under each note.
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Grades 1–2
Label a Line of Music
Use the word bank to name six parts of a line of music, from the treble clef to the final bar line.
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Grades 1–2
First Music Symbols Match
Draw a line from each music symbol to its name.
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Grades 1–2
Count the Measures
Bar lines split music into measures. Count the measures in each line and write the number.
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Note values Grades K–3
Meet the whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, match each note to its name, count how many beats each one gets, add notes together and fill in the note value tree.
Grades K–1
Meet the Notes
Trace the name of each note, then clap and count its beats out loud.
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Grades K–2
Note Names Match
Draw a line from each note to its name.
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Grades 1–3
How Many Beats?
Write how many beats each note gets when a quarter note gets one beat.
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Grades 2–3
Note Math
Add the beats of the notes and write the total. A quarter note gets one beat.
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Grades 2–3
The Note Value Tree
Each row of the tree lasts four beats. Count the notes in every row, then finish the sentences.
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Rests Grades 1–4
Match each rest to its name, pair notes and rests that last the same time, count beats of silence, tell the whole rest from the half rest and add notes and rests.
Grades 1–2
Meet the Rests Match
A rest is a beat of silence. Draw a line from each rest to its name.
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Grades 1–3
Note and Rest Partners
Every note has a rest that lasts just as long. Draw a line from each note to its partner rest.
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Grades 2–3
Beats of Silence
Write how many beats of silence each rest gets when a quarter rest gets one beat.
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Grades 2–3
Whole Rest or Half Rest?
A whole rest hangs under the line like a hole. A half rest sits on the line like a hat. Write W or H under each rest.
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Grades 3–4
Note and Rest Math
Add the beats of the notes and the rests and write the total. A quarter note gets one beat.
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Rhythm and counting Grades K–5
Clap and say ta and ti-ti, write the counts under a rhythm, draw the missing bar lines, finish each measure with one note and work out the time signature.
Grades K–1
Clap and Say Ta and Ti-Ti
A quarter note says ta. Two eighth notes say ti-ti. Write ta or ti-ti under each beat, then clap the line.
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Grades 2–3
Count the Rhythm
Write the counts under the notes. Use 1, 2, 3 and 4 for the beats and + for the eighth note in between.
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Grades 2–4
Draw the Bar Lines
Look at the time signature. Draw a bar line every time a measure is full.
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Grades 2–4
Finish the Measure
One note is missing from every measure. Draw one note in each box to fill the measure.
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Grades 3–5
Time Signature Detective
Count the beats in each measure and write the missing top number of the time signature.
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Treble clef note names Grades 2–5
Name the line notes E G B D F and the space notes F A C E, name notes all over the staff, spell words with notes and draw the notes yourself.
Grades 2–3
Treble Clef Line Notes
The five lines of the treble staff are E, G, B, D and F from the bottom up. Write the name of each line note.
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Grades 2–3
Treble Clef Space Notes
The four spaces of the treble staff spell F A C E from the bottom up. Write the name of each space note.
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Grades 3–4
Name the Treble Clef Notes
Line notes and space notes are mixed together. Write the letter name under each note.
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Grades 3–5
Spell Words with Notes
Each group of notes spells a word. Write the note names to read it.
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Grades 3–5
Draw the Treble Clef Notes
Draw a whole note on the staff above each letter. Check if it belongs on a line or in a space.
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Piano keys and bass clef Grades 3–5
Find every C with the groups of two and three black keys, name the white keys, then name the bass clef line notes G B D F A and space notes A C E G.
Grades 3–4
Find Every C on the Piano
C is the white key just to the left of every group of two black keys. Write C on every C, then find D and E.
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Grades 3–4
Name the White Keys
The white keys are named A B C D E F G, over and over. Write the letter name on each key that has a circle.
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Grades 4–5
Bass Clef Line Notes
The five lines of the bass staff are G, B, D, F and A from the bottom up. Write the name of each line note.
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Grades 4–5
Bass Clef Space Notes
The four spaces of the bass staff are A, C, E and G from the bottom up. Write the name of each space note.
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Grades 4–5
Name the Bass Clef Notes
Line notes and space notes are mixed together. Write the letter name under each bass clef note.
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Dynamics and tempo Grades 1–5
Match p, mp, mf and f to soft and loud, put the dynamics in order, read crescendo and decrescendo signs, learn the tempo words from largo to presto and find them in a word search.
Grades 1–2
Soft or Loud? Dynamics Match
Dynamics tell you how loud or soft to play. Draw a line from each sign to what it means.
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Grades 2–4
Dynamics from Softest to Loudest
Number the six dynamics from 1, the softest, to 6, the loudest, then finish the sentences.
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Grades 2–4
Getting Louder, Getting Softer
A crescendo gets louder little by little. A decrescendo gets softer. Circle the right word for each one.
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Grades 3–5
Tempo Words: Slow to Fast
Tempo is the speed of the beat. Match each Italian tempo word to its meaning, then put them in order.
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Grades 2–5
Dynamics and Tempo Word Search
Find twelve dynamics and tempo words. They go across, down and diagonally.
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Instrument families Grades K–5
Sort instruments into strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion, learn how each family makes its sound, solve instrument riddles, find instruments in a word search and invent a new one.
Grades 1–3
Instrument Families Sort
Write each instrument from the word bank under its family: strings, woodwinds, brass or percussion.
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Grades 2–4
How Instruments Make Sound
Every sound starts with something that vibrates. Match each family to how it makes sound, then answer the questions.
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Grades 2–5
Instrument Riddles
Read each riddle and write the instrument from the word bank.
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Grades 1–5
Instruments Word Search
Find twelve instruments. They go across, down and diagonally.
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Grades K–5
Invent an Instrument
Draw a brand new instrument. Then tell how you play it, what family it is in and how it sounds.
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Composers Grades 2–5
Read a short life story and answer questions about Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Florence Price and Scott Joplin.
Grades 3–5
Meet Johann Sebastian Bach
Read about a composer who played the organ and wrote music every week, then answer the questions.
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Grades 2–5
Meet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Read about a composer who started writing music when he was five, then answer the questions.
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Grades 3–5
Meet Ludwig van Beethoven
Read about a composer who kept writing music after he lost his hearing, then answer the questions.
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Grades 3–5
Meet Florence Price
Read about a composer who made history with her first symphony, then answer the questions.
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Grades 2–5
Meet Scott Joplin
Read about the composer known as the King of Ragtime, then answer the questions.
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Listening and composing Grades K–5
Match musical opposites, draw what a song makes you picture, keep a listening journal, compose a four-beat rhythm and write a melody of your own.
Grades K–2
Musical Opposites Match
Draw a line from each music word to its opposite.
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Grades K–2
Listen and Draw
Listen to a song with your eyes closed. Draw what the music makes you picture, then circle the words that fit.
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Grades 2–5
My Listening Journal
Listen to a piece of music two times. Write what you hear, what it reminds you of and what you think of it.
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Grades 1–3
Compose a Four-Beat Rhythm
Pick notes and rests from the rhythm bank to fill four beats in every measure. Clap what you wrote.
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Grades 3–5
Write Your Own Melody
Write a melody of eight measures using the notes C, D, E, F and G, then give your song a name.
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One topic
Each topic has a pack of its five sheets and their answer keys: the staff, note values, rests, rhythm, treble clef, piano and bass clef, dynamics and tempo, instruments, composers, listening.
How to use them
- Start a lesson: hand out one sheet as a five-minute warm-up while you tune, set up or take attendance. Line Note or Space Note? and How Many Beats? are quick ones.
- Clap before you write: clap the line on Clap and Say Ta and Ti-Ti together, then let kids fill in the boxes. Do the same with Count the Rhythm.
- Teach the sayings: Treble Clef Line Notes and Treble Clef Space Notes each give kids a saying to remember, then Spell Words with Notes turns note reading into a puzzle.
- Leave them for a substitute: the composer pages, Instrument Families Sort and both word searches need no instruments and no music training.
- Listen and respond: play any piece and use Listen and Draw with younger kids or My Listening Journal with older ones.
- Let them compose: finish a unit with Compose a Four-Beat Rhythm or Write Your Own Melody, then play or clap what each child wrote.
Start here by grade
- Kindergarten and 1st grade: Number the Lines and Spaces, Meet the Notes, Clap and Say Ta and Ti-Ti, Musical Opposites Match, Listen and Draw.
- 2nd grade: How Many Beats?, Meet the Rests Match, Count the Rhythm, Treble Clef Line Notes, Instrument Families Sort.
- 3rd grade: Note Math, Finish the Measure, Name the Treble Clef Notes, Find Every C on the Piano, Tempo Words: Slow to Fast.
- 4th and 5th grade: Time Signature Detective, Bass Clef Line Notes, Name the Bass Clef Notes, Meet Florence Price, Write Your Own Melody.
- Piano students: Name the White Keys, Treble Clef Space Notes, Bass Clef Space Notes, Getting Louder, Getting Softer.
More free printables for the classroom
- Classroom activities and gamesBrain teasers, bingo, scavenger hunts and whole-class games.
- Math worksheetsFractions go well with note values: 200 math pages for K–5.
- Thinking sheets500 one-page draw-and-write sheets for feelings, planning and reflecting.
- Free drawing pagesStep-by-step How to Draw pages for early finishers.
- Social studies worksheetsMaps, communities, history and holidays around the world.
- SEL worksheets200 pages for feelings, calming down, friendship and kindness.
Books for early finishers
The characters on these worksheets come from Kevin Coulston’s drawing books. Keep one in the music room for kids who finish early: the How to Draw books build a drawing one small step at a time.
Questions
Are these music theory worksheets free?
Yes. All 50 worksheets, the 44 answer keys and the topic packs are free to print for music class, piano lessons, homeschool and home practice. Print one sheet, a topic pack of five or the whole set in one PDF.
What grades are they for?
Kindergarten to 5th grade. Each card shows the grades it suits best, and the grade buttons hide the rest. The grades are only a guide: a beginner of any age starts with the staff, note values and rhythm, and a child who already takes lessons can jump ahead to note names.
What order should I teach them in?
The topics run from easiest to hardest. Start with the staff and music symbols, then note values, rests and rhythm. Next come treble clef note names, then piano keys and the bass clef. Dynamics, tempo, instrument families, composers and listening fit anywhere in the year.
Do I need to read music to use them?
No. Every skill sheet has a short reminder box at the top with the rule kids need, and an answer key for the grown-up. A classroom teacher, a substitute or a parent can hand them out with no music training.
Do they use ta and ti-ti or numbers for counting?
Both. The youngest rhythm sheet uses ta for a quarter note and ti-ti for two eighth notes, which is how many elementary music classes start. The later sheets count with numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, with a plus sign for the eighth note in between.
Which composers are included?
Five one-page life stories with questions: Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Florence Price and Scott Joplin. They work well as a reading passage before you play a piece by that composer.
Do they print in black and white?
Yes. The notes, staffs and keyboards are black on white, and nothing depends on color. Sheets are US Letter and also print on A4.
All sheets are US Letter, print well in black and white, and are free for home and classroom use. The music symbols are set in Bravura, an open music font. More for teachers in the teacher resources library.
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