How to Read Music

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Categories: Learn To Play | Music | Education | How Tos

  • If written music looks like Greek to you, but you still dream of being a rock star (or maybe just first chair in your high school band), then it might be time to learn the basics. Read on for an easy-to-follow guide that will have you fluent in musicese (also known as common notation) in no time at all.

  • Reading Music Tips

    1. Use a mnemonic device to remember where notes fall on the staff.
    2. The most common time signature is 4/4—four beats per measure, with a quarter note getting one beat.
    3. Most sheet music is in the treble clef.
    4. Practice!


  • If written music looks like Greek to you, but you still dream of being a rock star (or maybe just first chair in your high school band), then it might be time to learn the basics. Read on for an easy-to-follow guide that will have you fluent in musicese (also known as common notation) in no time at all.

  • Reading Music Tips

    1. Use a mnemonic device to remember where notes fall on the staff.
    2. The most common time signature is 4/4—four beats per measure, with a quarter note getting one beat.
    3. Most sheet music is in the treble clef.
    4. Practice!

  • Introduction

    • Written music is called music notation. Music notation tells you which notes to play and how to play them. Many types of music notation have been invented but this guide will focus on standard notation, also known as common notation. Get your equipment ready:
    1. Sheet Music (pick songs for beginners or songs you are familiar with)
    2. Pencil
    3. Instrument (your voice is fine too)
    • And now read on to learn everything you need to know about reading music.

  • Lesson 1: Basic Structure of Sheet Music

    • Before you can read music, you have to familiarize yourself with the basic structure and symbols of music notation. Just like when learning any new language, you have to know the alphabet.

  • Staff

    1. The staff is five horizontal lines with six corresponding spaces; each line and space represents a pitch.
    2. The pitches are given letter names: A, B, C, D, E, F, G and are called notes.
    3. In addition to notes, the staff contains a clef, a key signature, a time signature, and various symbols that affect the tempo and pitch of each note.
    4. Music on a staff is read from left to right.

  • Bar Lines

    • Vertical lines on the staff are called bar lines.
    1. Bar lines separate the staff into sections called measures (or bars).
    2. Double bar lines mark the end of a section.

  • Ledger Lines

    • Ledger Lines are additional parallel lines above and below the staff, which act as an extension of the staff. Notes sit above, below, or on the ledger line.

  • Clefs

    1. There are two main clefs: the treble clef and the bass clef.
    2. The type of clef determines the octave the notes are played in.
    3. It also determines where the letter names of the notes (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) will fall.
    4. Using different clefs makes music notation clearer because fewer ledger lines are needed.

  • Treble Clef

    1. The treble clef is also called the G Clef because it encircles the G line.
    2. Most music uses the treble clef; it is used for higher pitched instruments and tenor, bass, alto and soprano voices.

  • Bass Clef

    1. The bass clef is used for lower pitched instruments and bass and baritone voices.
    2. The bass clef is also known as the F Clef because its two dots center around F.

  • Grand Staff

    • A grand staff combines the treble and bass clefs. A vertical line on the left side connects the staffs.
    • Multiple staves that are meant to play together are also connected by a left vertical line and can be connected at each bar line.
    • NOTE: A piano plays the treble clef and the bass clef at the same time. The left hand plays the bass clef and the right hand plays the treble clef.

  • Lesson 2: All About Notes

    • Now that you can identify basic symbols, you need to be able to identify notes. Named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, each note corresponds to a single musical sound: A, B, C, D, E, F. They correspond to the lines and spaces on a staff.

  • How to Remember Note Names

    • You won't be able to read music until you memorize note names and positions. Here are a few tricks to make it easier. Remember, notes on the treble clef differ from notes on the bass clef.
    1. Treble Clef:
      1. Reading from the bottom up, the names of the notes on the open spaces are F-A-C-E.
      2. Reading from the bottom up, the names of the notes that sit on lines are E-G-B-D-F.
    2. Bass Clef:
      1. Reading from the bottom, notes on the spaces are A-C-E-G.
      2. Notes on the lines are G-B-D-F-A
        • Acronym: Good Boys Do Fine Always.
    • If you don't like these tricks, there are many others—or you can create silly acronyms of your own.
    • TIP: Another great way to learn notes (and other symbols) is to use flashcards.

  • Note Duration

    • Shape indicates note length. Common note lengths include:
    1. Whole Note
      • Looks like an egg on its side. Head is not filled in.
      • A whole note lasts for a whole measure.
    2. Half Note
      • Looks like an egg on its side but has a vertical line at one end. Vertical line can draw up or down, depending on the note's location on the staff. Head is not filled in.
      • A half note lasts for half a whole note.
    3. Quarter Note
    4. Eighth Note
      • Looks like a quarter note but has a flag off the stem. If notes are grouped together, the flag becomes a beam linking the notes.
      • An eighth note lasts an eighth of a whole note.
      • Remember, note lengths within a measure work like math fractions. For example, four eighth notes equal one half note.
    5. Sixteenth Note
      • Looks like an eighth note but has two flags. If notes are grouped together, double beams link the notes.
      • A sixteenth note lasts for a sixteenth of a whole note.
    6. Thirty-second Note
      • Looks like an eighth note but has three flags; is grouped to other thirty-second notes by three beams.
      • Lasts for a thirty-second of a whole note.

  • Rests

    • Each note length has a corresponding rest. A rest represents silence in music.
    1. Whole Rest: A dark rectangle attached to a bar line, which faces downward.
    2. Half Rest: A dark rectangle attached to a bar line which faces upward.
    3. Quarter Rest: A squiggly vertical line.
    4. Eighth Rest: A slanted line with one dot.
    5. Sixteenth Rest: A slanted line with two dots.
    6. Thirty-second Rest: A slanted line with three dots.

  • More Notation

    1. Ties: An arc connecting two or more notes indicates you should slide the notes together as you play or sing.
    2. Accents: An accent above a note means you should emphasize the note.
    3. Dots: You may see a dot next to or above notes in your music.
      • If you see a dot by any note or rest, the duration of the beat is increased by half. For example, a dotted quarter note will equal three eighth notes.
      • A dot above a note, however, means you should perform it in a shortened, staccato style.

  • Volume

    • View a complete list of terms here.

  • Lesson 3: Key Signature

    • Musical notes are written in keys.

    1. The key signature is located to the right of the clef sign.
    2. The key signature indicates if a note should be flat, sharp, or natural throughout the entire piece of music.
    3. If individual notes are played sharp, flat or natural (occurring once or twice in a piece) then the symbols appear next to the individual note.
      • These pitches are called accidentals because they are not in the key signature.
    4. Here are what sharp, flat, and natural symbols look like:
      • Flat: Looks like the letter b. Lowers the note a half step.
      • Sharp: Looks like a pound sign (#). Raises the note a half step.
      • Natural: Cancels out a flat or sharp note.

  • Determining Keys

    • The key signature can help you figure out which major key the music is in. Until you memorize the different key signatures, follow these rules and you'll always know the major key:
    1. If the key signature contains sharps:
      1. Look at the last sharp.
      2. The note one half step above the final sharp is the name of the key.
      3. For example, if the last sharp is C sharp then the key is D major.
    2. If the key signature contains flats:
      1. The second-to-last flat names the key.
      2. For example, if the second-to-last flat is A flat then the key is A flat major.
    3. This trick does not work for:
      1. C Major
      2. F Major

  • Note Sounds

    1. Clef
    2. Key Signature
    3. Line or space it sits on.

  • Lesson 4: Time Signature

    1. On a staff, the time signature is to the right of the key signature and appears at the beginning of a piece of music.
    2. Time signature is indicated by a fraction:
    3. There are two types of meter: simple and compound.
    4. Instead of a fraction, a time signature may also be indicated by:
      • A big C: this means Common Time, which is the same as 4/4 time.
      • A big C with a vertical line through the center: this means the same as 4/4 time but the notes are cut in half.

  • Tempo

    • In addition to time signature, the duration of notes depends on their tempo. Tempo markings indicate how fast or slow to play the music.
    1. Tempo markings appear above the staff at the beginning of a musical piece or when the tempo changes.
    2. There are two ways to specify tempo.
      1. Metronome markings: indicate beats per minute. Musicians practice the tempo using a device called a metronome.
      2. Italian Notations: Italian words or phrases describing the way a piece of music should feel.
        1. Here are a few common tempo terms:
        2. Italian modifiers are used with tempo terms. Modifiers include:

  • Lesson 5: Reading Your Measures

    • Now that you've learned how to determine the duration of notes, you're ready to count through your measures.

  • Basic Counting

    • Basic counting is keeping the beat. Remember what you've learned about time signature, meter, and note duration. You will need to apply this information to count beats.

    1. Look at the time signature.
      1. What is the top number?
        • The top number is four, which means there are four beats to every measure.
      2. What is the bottom number?
        • The bottom number is also four, which means each beat lasts for a quarter measure.
    2. Look at the notes.
      • In the first measure the whole note gets 4 beats.
      • In the second measure each half note gets 2 beats.
      • In the third measure each quarter note gets 1 beat.

  • Understand Meter

    • Meter is a pattern of strong and weak notes. The beginning of the beat, also called the downbeat, is the strongest part of the beat. Common patterns include:
    1. Strong-weak-weak-strong-weak-weak (1-2-3-1-2-3)
    2. Strong-weak-strong-weak (1-2-1-2)

    1. In this example, every note is subdivided into eighth notes.
    2. To count, you'd say "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" (1+ 2+ 3+ 4+).
    3. Counting sixteenth notes is very similar to counting eighth notes. To count sixteenth notes: each sixteenth note becomes 1 e + a, so you'd say "1 e and a." Each part equals one-fourth of a quarter note.
    • NOTE: An exception to the mathematical precision of notes are tuplets, which are described here.

  • Repeating

    • You already know that two vertical lines mark the end of a measure, but there are a few additional notations that can help you follow along.
    1. Two dots next to those lines means you should go back to the beginning to repeat the piece.
    2. That is, unless you have another two lines with dots on the left side; in that case, repeat the intervening section.
    3. An angled line with a dot on either side indicates you should repeat the previous measure.
    4. Two lines with a dot on either side means repeat the last two measures.
    5. There are a few more symbols you may encounter: go here to learn about coda, fine, and segno symbols.

  • Lesson 6: Practice Practice Practice

    • Now that you know the basics, it's time to put it all together.

    1. Grab your instrument (or warm up your voice) and get ready to start.
    2. Experiment by playing different pitches and note durations.
    3. Select sheet music.
      • You may want to start with beginning music like Hot Cross Buns or Mary Had a Little Lamb
        • As you learn you can advance to more complicated pieces.
        • You can also pick up music lesson books at your local music store.
      • But if you've been dying to play Beethoven's Fifth Symphony or even Oops I Did It Again, play it!
        • Take it slow and don't be afraid to write notes to yourself until you have the standard notation memorized.
        • Use a pencil so you can erase anything you've jotted down when you're ready.
    4. Carefully read each line.
      1. Look at the staff.
        1. Determine the type of clef.
        2. Look at the key signature.
        3. Look at the time signature.
          • Get a feel for the rhythm.
          • Tap out the beat.
      2. Name each note.
        1. Say the name of each note out loud.
          • If you haven't quite memorized note names, write each note on the staff as a reference.
        2. Play each note, repeating the name of the note out loud, or in your head.
          • Memorize notes and symbols on the staff, so you can play without stopping.
    5. Repeat with different songs until you're able to read any piece of music that lands on your music stand.
    • NOTE: While this guide is a great start, if you're serious about music, you might want to take professional music lessons. To find a music professional in your area, check out MusicStaff.com or your local yellow pages.

  • Conclusion

    • Now that you have the know-how, with a little time and dedication you'll be reading music notation at first glance. Make some beautiful music!

  • Resources for How to Read Music


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