Amazing Grace Notes
Trebly's Amazing Grace begins C F A F A G F D C, then C F A F A G and up to high C. Unlike most beginner songs, it moves in leaps rather than steps, which makes it a real reading test.
Play Amazing Grace ▶Unlocks when you finish lesson 9.
The notes in letter names
| Phrase | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1 | C F A F A G F D C |
| 2 | C F A F A G C |
This is a short, simplified version of the hymn’s opening, set in an easy key with no sharps or flats. Both phrases start the same way, C F A F A G. The first falls back down to middle C. The second climbs instead, to the high C in the third space.
On the staff
The note lengths Trebly plays, written without bar lines. Hymn books usually print Amazing Grace in 3/4 time, three beats per measure, with a slightly different rhythm.
The six notes
Amazing Grace uses a pentatonic (five-note) scale: C, D, F, G and A here, plus C again an octave up. No E and no B, ever. That’s part of what gives the hymn its open, simple sound.
Why it’s harder to read
Most beginner songs move by step: each note is the line or space right next to the last one. You can read them by direction alone: “up one, up one, down one”. Amazing Grace leaps:
- Middle C up to F skips over D and E.
- F up to A skips over G.
- The last note of phrase 2 jumps from G up to high C.
So you can’t coast on the direction. You have to name each note where it sits. That’s exactly the skill that makes you a fluent reader, and why this song is one of the two rewards for finishing the Play a Real Tune lesson.
Tips for reading it
- Use the landmarks. Middle C has its ledger line, G has the clef’s spiral, and high C is the C of FACE, the third space. See treble clef spaces.
- F and A are both spaces. F is the bottom space and A the next one up, with the G line between them. When the tune jumps F A F A, it’s hopping over the G line.
- Name, don’t count. If you find yourself counting up from the bottom line, slow down and practice the spaces in Training.
About the hymn
The words of “Amazing Grace” were written by John Newton, an English clergyman, and published in 1779. Today it’s almost always sung to an American tune known as “New Britain”, which was first paired with the words in the 1800s. It’s one of the most recorded songs in the world.
Play it
Amazing Grace is one of two songs that unlock when you finish lesson 9, Play a Real Tune. Once it’s unlocked, press Play Amazing Grace at the top of this page to read it in Trebly’s Songs mode. Until then, the button opens the song list, where the other seven songs are ready to play.