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Playing chords with Figurenotes is simple
1. Find the root note. This is the colour of the Figurenotes chord box on the page.
2. Find a friend, not a neighbour.
3. Find the next friend, not a neighbour
4. If there are any arrows in the chord box, adjust your notes to fit them.
Figurenotes guitar
You can also play chords using the setup for Figurenotes guitar. We use 4 strings instead of 6 at the start. This means we can bar open chords and learn our strumming patterns whilst playing in bands! It is then easier to progress to a six string, because you’ll have already been playing like a rock star!
What Our Users Say...
My less able piano pupils are finding piano lessons much more joyful using stage 3 Figurenotes and I'm about to start using stage 1, 2 and 3 at primary school to teach recorder and keyboard.
Felicity Palmer
I’d just like to thank you and the team for an amazing day last Saturday. I’d love if it was on again this weekend! I’ll definitely be over for next one in March.
Luke Cranitch, Music Teacher
I've realised Figurenotes can be used not just in school, but also with my private pupils. Really valuable to try out the practical activities. Thanks very much!
Emma Wright, Primary Teacher
Really brilliant! I learned a lot and had a good time. Keep it up!
Clare McBrien, Community Music Leader
Thank you! It was great to experience Figurenotes in person and have the opportunity to talk to the professionals.
Shannon Stevenson
We were shown the skills to create lessons for all abilities. I'll be able to create arrangements and resources for all levels. The course leaders were great. Excellent delivery of the course. Interactive and easy to understand. Fantastic course, and it was delivered at the right level for me and my knowledge.
Craig Hart, Secondary Music Teacher
Useful to get a refresher for general music teaching, as well as learning how to use Figurenotes. Thank you!
Lorna Williamson, Big Noise Teacher
Lots of new ideas and tips, plus refresher to help think about different music situations. Lots of ideas and good networking opportunities. Thank you!
Gordon Turnbull, Music Teacher (ASN)
Music Teacher's Toolbox has given me a new way to approach teaching, making music easier to understand and play. Everything was fantastic! I got a very comprehensive understanding of Figurenotes. I'll be back for the next one!
Luke Cranitch, Music Teacher
A great day. Many thanks! Really useful to try different things and get new ways to approach introducing rhythm and pulse.
Scott Coutts, Music Teacher (Secondary)
It has been absolutely amazing. I have learned so much from the first session to the whole day. I have so many ideas and I'm more confident going forward. It is perfectly formed. Really valuable to refresh my knowledge and being able to embed the learning. Thank you so much for allowing me to come.
Maureen Malcolm-Gourley
Very good indeed!
Connie Reilly, Music Teacher
Figurenotes will allow me to bring more structured learning to the groups and give the young people access to music theory/learning/playing that they haven't had before.
Janet Butterworth, Support Practitioner
Today's training has been a fantastic experience. Fantastic course and people! Thank you very much!
Justyna Grajewska
Thank you and keep up your good work, as the Figurenotes system has had a major impact on my teaching and learning.
I had a pupil who could not read notation due to Dyslexia. She managed to get an A in higher music with piano as her second instrument. She is now in 2nd year of Teacher Training. It is a fabulous way to learn and is such a confidence builder.
Anne Lawrence – Piano Teacher
The course was very thorough! It was really valuable to have the practical examples and see how many different ways there are to put them into action.
Jelena Sipila
A great mix of engaging activities and useful information. Thanks for the day! This will come in handy 🙂
Jelena Sipila
I gained a thorough understanding of the use of Figurenotes. I have encountered it before, but today I figures out how to use it more professionally. Also, it was great to learn to use the notation software - this will be very helpful in the future.
Jelena Sipila
Lovely staff- very relaxed and experienced, and supportive all day. Great music making experience. Thank you very much.
Maria Kelly
Looking at ways to introduce simple music making to young people was really useful. The most valuable part of the day was getting the chance to play the instruments using Figurenotes and looking at composing.
Maria Kelly
Excellent notation system to support all learners.
Maria Kelly
We are impressed with how easy it is to make music with a lot of different instruments
Lorena Sanchis
Good to get ideas for using/introducing Figurenotes into classroom teaching. Good to hear how other people use the software. Nice mix of activities. Thank you. It was a really fun day 🙂
Meg Dowling
Great to be reminded of tricks and shortcuts on the software. Awesome to play in the band, and great composing ideas. I loved getting to just play and be out of my comfort zone. All of it is valuable! Thank you.
Mo Malcolm-Gourley
No matter how often I attend these training days, there is always something new to learn, and new ideas to share and take back. Great day meeting lots of interesting people and thinking about new ways of working.
Annona Thornton
Thank you - I really enjoyed the training course, especially the opportunity to use the software, bring new ideas, and create film music.
Karen McCondichie
Fab day! Thank you 🙂
Joe McGuire
The whole day was really valuable. It has been useful in every way possible!
Audrey Mackay
The day has been great! The games with Figurenotes gave me lots of new ideas. The computer session was really helpful and answered lots of my questions about how to do things. The band session was fun and illustrated how to get a group going. It was much better than I expected, as I had no idea what to expect! Loads of questions answered! Presenters were great! Thank you so much for a brilliant and inspiring day!
Amanda Frew
A well organised day; good pace. Really well resources, with instruments, computers, etc. Ideas for how to teach Figurneotes in the early stages was really useful. Breaking down the content into manageable chunks and progressing. Great to put it all together in the band session.
Johnathan Westrup – Drake Music (England)
Today was very useful. I can work on rhythm and pulse using Figurenotes to make it enjoyable for my pupils. Everything we covered was beyond my expectation. It was really valuable to have the different kinds of games you can play using simple materials. The adaptability of everything covered was really valuable.
Janet Okumu – Kodaly Instructor
Ideas for different ways of reading music, which will be very useful for a couple of students struggling with standard notation. The games ideas will be really useful too. Thank you!
Marit Falt
Learned more about using the software, which will help me build resources for my school. Loved the practical band skills. I can see this working really well in the classroom. I also enjoyed the games - would use them with ASN pupils and S1/S2. The most valuable aspect of the day was the band skills - seeing Figurenotes used on various instruments and how it might work in a group setting.
Jacqui Cockburn
The day was exactly what I needed to make me feel wildly enthusiastic again. [My partner] may find me hard to live with for the next few weeks!
Annona Thornton
Renews enthusiasm with new ideas of different way of working. Sharing ideas with other musicians and getting new ones. Excellent day. Great fun. Well done! Continue doing the good work.
Annona Thornton
Fantastic balance of active and passive sessions. The presenters were open, friendly, knowledgable, and fun. The Q&A session was particularly useful. A really fabulous day. Very informative and enjoyable.
Susannah Breaden – YourDNA Creative Arts
Great range of ideas for using and adapting Figurenotes, including games, band, and technology. I will be able to apply some of these ideas straight away, easily adapt others, and work on the technology aspect too.
Susannah Breaden – YourDNA Creative Arts
It's been so awesome. Having fun just reminded me to be using Figurenotes more. Absolutely loved the games, the skittles, the software - loved it all! Thank you for having me!
Mo Malcolm-Gourley
I've got lots of new ideas to use as teaching methods for pupils who struggle with music notation and had a laugh at the same time!
Jen Austin
Excellent! It has worked wonders and the pupils love being able to understand rhythms, as in the past they have 'forgotten how the tune goes' and, therefore, had no success at home.
Elaine Moffat
The Figurenotes notation system is very quickly understood by children (as in, by the end of the first lesson), and brings the practical advantages of a music notation system. This combination makes initial progress in terms of the musical result very fast. Nothing gets kids playing and learning tunes in the beginning like Figurenotes.
Tom Ashe – Favela Brass
Nothing translates as easily as Figurenotes. It is just so obvious that it works!
Lucinda Mackworth-Young – Pianist
Great to have new ideas, learn how to adapt various instruments and experience band arrangements. Also great to have software queries cleared up. Very thorough and staff answered all queries and questions. Thank you. A wonderful day!
Musician and Tutor
Figurenotes, starting simply for my ASN pupils, is very relatable and doable. The fact that I can make my own unique music and resources, and so can my pupils, is so valuable. Really enjoyed the training day. Extremely valuable for my pupils
ASN Teacher
Great to see that there is a useful resource to compliment me or others in delivering REAL music lessons. Really useful to see how Figurenotes can start basic and develop to full musical writing and composition.
Chloe Douglas – Primary Teacher
By attempting instruments myself I realised how easily we could help the children to access instruments. Learning to play Manic Monday on the guitar was the most valuable aspect of the day. I've waited my whole life for this LOL! Seriously though, this illustrated the above point.
Colette Edie – Support Teacher
