This article features a full introduction to the language of music, plus it includes free tools to get you started on your music journey. Do you just want to expand your general artistic knowledge? Well, learning the basics of how to read sheet music can help you achieve all of these, and in a shorter amount of time than you might have thought! They represent the pitch, speed, and rhythm of the song they convey, as well as expression and techniques used by a musician to play the piece.
Think of the notes as the letters, the measures as the words, the phrases as the sentences and so forth. Learning to read music really does open up a whole new world to explore!
Music is made up of a variety of symbols, the most basic of which are the staff, the clefs, and the notes. All music contains these fundamental components, and to learn how to read music, you must first familiarize yourself with these basics. The staff consists of five lines and four spaces.
Each of those lines and each of those spaces represents a different letter, which in turn represents a note. Those lines and spaces represent notes named A-G, and the note sequence moves alphabetically up the staff. There are two main clefs with which to familiarize yourself; the first is a treble clef. The treble clef has the ornamental letter G on the far left side. The treble clef notates the higher registers of music, so if your instrument has a higher pitch, such as a flute, violin or saxophone, your sheet music is written in the treble clef.
Higher notes on a keyboard also are notated on the treble clef. We use common mnemonics to remember the note names for the lines and spaces of the treble clef. The bass clef notates the lower registers of music, so if your instrument has a lower pitch, such as a bassoon, tuba or cello, your sheet music is written in the bass clef. Lower notes on your keyboard also are notated in the bass clef. Notes placed on the staff tell us which note letter to play on our instrument and how long to play it.
There are three parts of each note, the note head , the stem , and the flag. Every note has a note head , either filled black or open white.
Where the note head sits on the staff either on a line or space determines which note you will play. Sometimes, note heads will sit above or below the five lines and four spaces of a staff. In that case, a line known as a ledger line is drawn through the note, above the note or below the note head, to indicate the note letter to play, as in the B and C notes above. The note stem is a thin line that extends either up or down from the note head. The line extends from the right if pointing upward or from the left if pointing downward.
As a rule, any notes at or above the B line on the staff have downward pointing stems, those notes below the B line have upward pointing stems. The note flag is a curvy mark to the right of the note stem. There are four basic types of notes to learn first: eighth note, quarter note, half note, and whole note. Every note has a specific value. The value refers to the number of beats that note is held within a measure of music.
Whole notes are four beats, half notes get two beats, quarter notes get one beat, and eighth notes get half a beat. Moments of silence get counted too. Sheet music is divided into measures, which are broken up by bar lines. Each measure contains a specific number of beats. The time signature tells you how many beats are contained in every measure. Every time signature has two numbers, stacked one on top of another.
The top note signifies the number of beats contained in each measure. Dynamic marks are another important aspect of music reading skills. These are the musical terms and symbols that tell you the quality of each note or phrases of music. Dynamic marks can tell you to play very loud, very soft, or somewhere in between.
They are usually written in Italian. One of the most difficult things about learning how to read sheet music for the piano, as opposed to most other instruments, is that there is not just a single melody to be played. Piano music requires you to play more than one part at a time. Usually these parts are interconnected — they are part of a chord that you need to be able to accurately read.
A pianist can carry the bassline, chords, and melody all at once, eliminating the need for accompaniment and providing orchestra-like backing for solo instruments. Many beginners prefer to use a technique called the mental flip strategy to get more comfortable with reading and memorizing the notes. Sheet music is read from left to right.
The reasoning behind this is that music began as an exercise most focused on the progression of notes in a scale or mode in a horizontal fashion. When more than one voice was sounded together, they usually sang in unison — it was not until the 9th century that musicians became increasingly concerned with vertical harmony and polyphony. Keyboard instruments, such as the organ, the harpsichord, and ultimately the piano, were instruments developed to satisfy this changing aesthetic and the increased importance of vertical harmonies.
They were adapted into a notation that had been developed to address primarily horizontal concerns i. This means beginner piano students must learn to think about the music on the page differently from the words on a page.
You must flip the orientation of the sheet music in front of you mentally, so you can read the vertical orientation of the notes. In order to begin to think about and practice this mental flip, there is an extremely helpful strategy you can use.
You can actually turn the sheet music so you are reading the notes down the page. Doing so allows you to more easily understand the spacing between the notes and more intuitively grasp where your fingers should be placed on the keys. This technique is also helpful for visualizing the grand staff as a whole and where the octaves on the keyboard are located. With music, there are many different strategies that can help you move quickly to a better understanding.
Everyone approaches music differently. Some beginners intuitively grasp complex concepts, others need a little help along the way. Some may even find this strategy more confusing than the standard approach. The important thing is to find out which learning technique works for you and then use these tools to reach your musical goals. Learning an instrument means practicing and building muscle memory around your piano playing. You want to be able to walk into a room of musicians and join a band practice, or to get up onstage and jam out with a bunch of pros.
To truly master your music reading skills , follow these steps:. Working your new skill into your daily life, practicing, and learning from an expert are some proven ways to improve your music reading abilities.
The best way to learn how to read music notes is by taking piano lessons. With each lesson, your knowledge of the piano will grow and your music reading skills will develop.
Lesson plans that are catered to your learning style and current skill level will help you stay motivated for the long term. Once you have a handle on reading music, the playing possibilities are endless! With enough time, patience, and practice, you can develop into a well-skilled piano player.
Obtaining a stable foundation in musical note reading will make your journey toward becoming a fine pianist an exciting and fun adventure. Do you have a favorite technique for learning how to read sheet music? Let us know in the comments below! Post Author: Liz T. She is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music with a B. Learn more about Liz here! Search thousands of prescreened teachers for local or online lessons.
Sign up for affordable private lessons! Photo by Basheer Tome. Nice one for a beginner.. But as a learner of keyboard, my challenge now is on ear-training-ie how to distinguish clearly soh sound for instance from lah or fah on a given key!..
How can u help?? Hi Emmanuel-Thanks for the kind words. I do not know how to play with my left hand but I also really want to play this song. Is there some way I can learn the song in time? Hi Michael-Thanks for reaching out. Depending on your time frame, we can help set you up with a piano teacher near you.
The basics take a little bit to learn, but are fairly easy, overall. However, there are so many nuances, concepts, and skills that you can learn that it can keep you learning for a lifetime.
Some composers even go so far as to write music on staff lines that form spirals or patterns, or the even use no staff lines at all! This article should give you a good foundation to keep growing! Learn these key signatures. There is at least one for every note in the scale—and the savvy student will see that in some cases, there are two keys for the same note.
When playing the piano—and for the purposes of this article, the difference is academic. It may be of some comfort to know that composers usually write in key signatures that are comfortable for the player to read. For example, D major is a very common key for string instruments to play because the open strings are closely related to the tonic, D.
Michael Noble, PhD. The following wikiHow article will be useful: How to Read Music. You can also find books and online tutorials on the subject. Not Helpful 6 Helpful Learning to read music is not very difficult. There are mnemonic devices that are used to read the treble and bass clefs the primary staffs used in music.
Not Helpful 10 Helpful Music theory is akin to the grammar of a language. It teaches you how its structure and syntax functions.
Not Helpful 11 Helpful 9. In music, an "x" stands for a "double sharp. That means you'd play the note F two semitones above, making it enharmonically a note G. Not Helpful 4 Helpful When you're reading music, the symbol that has an arch with a dot over it is called a fermata. This symbol means you need to hold the note that has the fermata longer than what it's given value is.
Not Helpful 5 Helpful Typically, music is divided up by measures. You can recognize measures by looking for a staff that crosses the barlines. Not Helpful 7 Helpful How can I know which notes are flat or sharp when there's a certain amount of flat signs or sharp signs at the beginning of the staff? Unless the notes are marked otherwise, all the notes in the song that correspond to the keys in the beginning are the ones that are sharp or flat. For instance, if you have a song with Bs in it, and the key signature has a flat in the B note area, then all Bs are flat, unless the conductor marks it as not flat.
Not Helpful 29 Helpful That symbol means neutral clef, and it is used for instruments that have no pitch like a snare drum or a base drum. In neutral clef, all high percussion instruments snare have their music written on the third line of the staff, and low percussion instruments base drum have music written on the first space of the staff.
Leo Boivin. It means that two notes are played at the same time. For example, A and C are played in the same quarter note. You would pull your bow across the strings G, D, A, and E , and use correct fingering to create the notes that you see on the page. Not Helpful 26 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Practice this with your main instrument.
If you play piano, it's likely you've been exposed to reading music. Many guitar players, however, learn by listening rather than by reading. When you're learning to read music, forget what you already know—learn to read first, then jam later! Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Get sheet music to songs you like. A visit to your local library or music store will uncover hundreds—if not thousands—of "lead sheets" with the basic notation and chords for your favorite songs.
Read the music while you listen, and you'll get a more intuitive understanding of what you're looking at. Repetition and consistently practicing is key. Create flashcards or use a note-reading workbook to ensure you build a solid note-reading foundation.
Work on sight-singing. You don't need to have a good voice, but it will help you train your ears to "hear" what's on the paper. If you are really having trouble, find a teacher. This will not only help you improve and create a guide for you to follow, but it will also prevent you from getting into any bad habits. Once you get used to the wrong technique it is extremely difficult to get rid of it. Also, without a teacher, you wouldn't even realize you were making a mistake in the first place.
If you have a sheet of music, but can't remember all the notes, start small by writing down the note letter under each note. Don't do it too often, because you want to remember the notes as time goes on. Practice somewhere quiet or when it's quiet.
It's best to try piano first because piano's easy if you practice. If you don't have a piano try using a virtual piano online or a keyboard.
Once you get it, you can start learning how to play other instruments! IMSLP hosts a large archive for music performances and scores in the public domain. To improve reading music, it is suggested that you browse for composers' works and reading the music along with listening to it. It is very good to know both Western notes and sheet music.
Knowing Western notes eventually help you in the long run, and it's much easier to remember than notes. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1.
Be patient. Like learning any new language, learning to read music takes time. Like learning anything else, the more you practice at it, the easier it will be, and the better you'll become at it.
Have fun with your music because if it's just not your thing then it's hard to learn how to play. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Keep in mind the differences in musical terminology depending on where you live. For example, in Britain the names of the three most common notes are crotchet one beat , quaver half a beat and minim two beats.
Learning to read music could last a lifetime. Pace yourself! Related wikiHows How to. How to. About This Article. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: Updated: October 20, Categories: Featured Articles Reading Music. Article Summary X To read music, start by memorizing the notes on the Treble clef. Deutsch: Musiknoten lesen. Italiano: Leggere la Musica. Nederlands: Muziek lezen. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 6,, times.
I totally forgot how to do such, but I found this article, and led me to get a full score on my music project! Thank you, wikiHow! Rated this article:. More reader stories Hide reader stories. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better.
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. WikiaWang May 27, Susan Brown Jun I played until I had to get a job. I found out there weren't enough hours in a day. Now I'm retired and want to do it right. This article inspired me to start learning a new skill.
Thank you! Prince Joseph May Bob Darragh Mar 29, I didn't have time to sit around trying to learn how to play a piano or guitar working 12 hours a day, raising two children. I have written 30 songs; they just come to me.
A year ago, I bought a guitar and 7 of the songs I've written are from playing the guitar. But I am stuck on a handful of chords and strumming.
I want to learn the scales, notes, and understand reading music. Because I love music. Joshua S. Jul 14, I'm getting to the point that I need to learn to read musical notation so I can begin composing. This article helped clarify just a few discrepancies I had with reading. I would suggest to any reader that if you've never played an instrument, get to know the instrument through reading.
However, reading is becoming natural to me after playing the guitar for so long. Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Follow Us.
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