How to Read Sheet Music for Beginners

Learning how to read sheet music is essential if you want to play a musical instrument or
sing. Sure, it may seem intimidating at first, but look at it this way:
Music is simply a language (the universal language, they say). And if you learned to read
English, you can learn how to read sheet music. In fact, the basics are quick and easy to pick
up. So let's get started.
Click a Treble Bars & Notes on Rhythm
Subject... and Bass Measure the Staff
Clefs s

Accidental Key Time Dynamic Articulatio

s Signatur Signatur s n
e e

Treble and Bass Clefs

When learning how to read sheet music, we start with a blank music staff. 5 horizontal lines
and 4 spaces. Every line and space represents a pitch of sound.

The symbol you see here is called a treble clef, or a G clef. Why? Because it looks like the letter
G and sits on the second line, which marks that pitch as G.

The symbol you see here is called a bass clef, or an F clef. (Because it's centered on the fourth
line, which marks that pitch as F.)

Together, these two clefs look like this:

Both clefs are joined by a brace, forming what's called the grand staff. If the note appears
lower on the staff, it's lower in pitch. If it appears higher on the staff, it's higher in pitch. So
you sopranos and altos will usually read music on the treble clef, while tenors and basses read
it on the bass clef.
The grand staff is your foundation for learning how to read sheet music.

Bars & Measures

The vertical lines you see are called bar lines. They divide the staff into measures or bars. In
this example, there are four measures. When you know how to readsheet music, they help you
organize the music into beats.
The beat of a song is that pulse that you want to clap along with. The number of beats in a
measure is determined by the time signature.
The double bar at the end tells you that the song is finished.

Notes on the Staff

Notes are markings of pitch on the staff, which we talked about earlier. The image below is
strewn with little ovals (whole notes), one for each line and space on the grand staff. The name
of each note is right above or below. Every note is labeled with one of seven letters, A, B, C, D,
E, F, or G.
Lastly, there's one imaginary line sitting in between the two clefs. The note on that line is
called middle C, because it sits in the middle. But here's a trick for how to read sheet music:

The notes on the treble clef lines from bottom to top are: EveryGood Boy Does Fine.
E, G, B, D, F.
And the spaces, from bottom to top spell the word face.
F, A, C, E.
The notes on the bass clef lines from bottom to top are: Good BoysDo Fine Always.
G, B, D, F, A.
And the spaces from bottom to top are: All Cows Eat Grass.
A, C, E, G.

Rhythm
When you learn how to read sheet music, rhythm is very important. Without it, we wouldn't
know when to start playing a note, or when to stop. Look at this chart. It shows you the
symbols for different notes and rests, and how many beats they're worth.
On the chart, you'll see that I mention rests. Rests are symbols that indicate silence. For
example: If you see a quarter rest, you don't play or sing for one beat.

One more thing about rhythm: If you see a dot next to a note or rest, it extends that note or
rest by half its own value. For example, if you see a half note with a dot next to it, it's actually
worth three beats. When you learn how to read sheet music, this comes naturally.

Accidentals
Imagine the keys of a piano. Until now, we've only talked about the white keys. Now we'll talk
about the black keys. Accidentals are symbols that sit next to notes that modify their pitch.

One type of accidental is called a sharp. If a sharp is sitting in front of a note, it raises the pitch
of the note by one half step. In this picture, a C becomes C sharp.
Another kind of accidental is called a flat. When a flat is sitting in front of a note, it lowers the
pitch of the note by one half step. In this picture, a B becomes a B flat.
If an accidental shows up next to a note, it stays that way until the end of the measure. Or
until another accidental takes its place. Which leads us to our next topic...

Key Signature
Have you ever heard someone say, "Oh, that sounds like Bach's Violin Concerto in E Flat
Major." Well, they were talking about the song's key. Without the different keys, every song
would sound the same. And that would be boring.
A key signature appears right after the clef symbol. It makes things easier by telling you which
key the song is written in. Otherwise, you'd see a whole song written like this:

Accidentals everywhere! What a mess! But if we establish B major from the start, it looks like
this:

So every time a note appears in those five places, you actually play it sharp (one half step
higher). Much simpler.

This chart shows you every possible key signature. You could just memorize it, But here's an
even better way to determine the key of a song:

If you see sharps (#): Look at the last sharp (the one closest to the right), and go one half
step up the staff. For example: What is the last sharp in the key signature to your left? G
sharp. Go one half step up the staff to find out what key we're in: A major. (Or f minor.)
If you see flats (b): The second to last flat is your key. For example: The second to last flat is C
flat. So your key is C flat major. (Or a flat minor.)

Pretty soon, you won't need these tricks anymore. You'll just knowhow to read sheet music by
instinct. How exciting is that?!

Time Signature
Right after the key signature, we see the time signature. It kinda looks like a fraction. The top
number always tells you how many beats are in a measure. The bottom number always tells
you what kind of note equals one beat.
In the example to the below, the top number is a four. That tells us there are four beats in
each measure. The bottom number is also a four, which tells us that the quarter note is equal
to one beat. See for yourself:

Four quarter notes make up one measure: One, two, three, four, Four quarter notes make up
one measure: One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four...
But it doesn't have to be four quarter notes. It can be eight eighth notes. Or a half note and
eight sixteenth notes. Or a whole rest. But whatever goes in that measure must add up to four
beats.

Let's look at another widely used time signature: Three-four. Three beats in a measure, and
the quarter notes gets the beat. This is calledwaltz-time. Have you ever heard of a waltz? Of
course you have! You've even sang one, it's called the Happy Birthday Song.
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Adam
Happy birthday to you.
One, two, three, one, two, three... Now you've got it.
These two are the most common, but there are all kinds of time signatures: two-four (or cut
time), five-four, six-eight, nine-eight, and so on. Just remember what each number means and
you'll be fine. When you know how to read sheet music, you get used playing all kinds of
times.

Dynamics
Now that we know which notes to play and how long to play them, we need to know how
loud to play them. When learning how to readsheet music, this is ultra important. Look for
these symbols:

Pianissimo: Italian for "very softly", it means to sing or play very, very quietly. It's marked
by a double P.

Piano: Italian for "softly", it means to sing or play quietly. It's marked with a single P.

Mezzo-Piano: Italian for "moderately softly", it means to sing or play somewhat quietly. It's
marked with an MP.

Mezzo-Forte: Italian for "moderately strong", it means to sing or play somewhat loudly. It's
marked with an MF.

Forte: Italian for "strong", it means to song or play loudly. It's marked with an F.

Fortissimo: Italian for "very strong", it means to sing or play very, very loudly. It's marked
with a double F.


Crescendo: Italian for"growing", it means to gradually increase your volume for as long as
the symbol appears above or below the staff.

Decrescendo: Italian for"shrinking", it means to gradually decrease your volume for as long
as the symbol appears above or below the staff. It's also known as diminuendo.

Misc. Articulation

Accent: Means to play the note louder and harder than the surrounding notes. If you know
how to read sheet music, you'll find a lot of these.

Fermata: Also called a birds-eye. Means to play the note for longer than its real value.
Exactly how long is up to the performer/conductor.
Legato: Italian for "tied together", means to play the notes smoothly, in one long
phrase, with no silence in between. There's no real symbol for legato, except for maybe a
slur.

Staccato: Italian for "detached", it's the opposite of legato. Play the notes abruptly, leaving
lots of room for silence in between.

Slur: A curved line over a series of notes on the staff, which means the notes should be
played legato and in one breath, forming a single musical phrase.


Tie: Looks similar to a slur. The difference is this: It only connects two notes of the same
pitch, which means to play the two notes as one single note.

All of these elements comes together to create a piece of music. They tell you what notes to
play, when to play them, how fast to play them, and how loud to play them. Now that you
know how to read sheet music, go out and use your new skills!

BT 1.1 - Introduction
Imagine you did not know the alphabet and could not read a book, a newspaper, or the words on this
web page. You would miss out on a lot of knowledge, understanding and fun.

If you can not read music notation you are really in the same situation with regards to music. You miss
out on an incredible amount of what music has to offer and of potential for yourself.

When I was 12 years old I started learning the piano-accordion for a few years. I
hated reading music. Every time my teacher gave me a new song I would struggle
through it a couple of times, reading it slowly note by note, then I would have it
memorised.
It is great to have a good memory and a good ear for music, but it can set you back
with reading music.

It was not until my forties, when I took up serious music study, that I had to face my
deficiency and develop music reading skills. I am now by no means a champion
reader, but I get by and it has made a world of difference. It enabled me to play in
Concert Bands, Stage Bands, Classical Ensembles and small groups - and my
enjoyment, understanding and knowledge of music have increased a hundredfold.

So if you can not read music take my advice : start learning right now !

Don't listen to people telling you not to worry about written music and just "do your own thing".
I am an expert on "doing your own thing" from way back. It means going around in circles and getting
nowhere. You can fool the average audience without much trouble, but you cannot fool yourself.

In this lesson and the next one I will get you started with the basics, the rest is up to you.

But remember, I am here to help you along, ask me any questions you have !
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BT 1.2 - Early History

Western music notation has developed over two and a half thousand years of civilisation.

The ancient Greeks, and later the Romans, used letters of the alphabet to indicate different pitches.

Boethius (A.D. 470-525, an adviser to the court at the end of the Roman Empire), wrote five text
books describing the music theory of that ancient era.
The first 15 letters of the alphabet were used for the pitches of two octaves, which was the official
working range of sounds in those days.
Boethius' books remained standard texts throughout
Europe during the Middle Ages and beyond.

From the 7th Century a system of Neums was

introduced for the notation of plainsong. The Neums
consisted of grave ( ` ) and acute ( ) accents and
horizontal lines, placed over the lyrics to indicate where
the melody line was going up or down.

The sign of the trill in our present system is a relic of

the old Neum system.

To present accurate note pitches the device of

the staff (or stave) was added.
This began as a single horizontal line, then more where
added until a four line staff was standardised for
the plainsong (= simple melody line without chords or harmony). This staff was probably introduced
for the first time by Guido d'Arrezo, a famous music expert around 1000-1050.
The notes were written on (and in between) the lines of this staff which defined their exact pitch.

In the late 13th Century a classifcation of note head shapes also defined the note duration. This
important step is ascribed to Franco of Cologne.

Our present notation system developed from this plainsong staff and the old letter name system
introduced by the Greeks.

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BT 1.3 - The Great Staff

Our present notation system uses the first seven letters of the alphabet.

A-B-C-D-E-F -G
These refer to the white keys of the keyboard.

The distance between one letter and the same letter up or down the keyboard is called an octave. It
encompasses eight letters (A - A, or C - C). The seven letters are repeated to represent successive
octaves.

Notes with these seven letter names are placed on and in between the lines of our present Great Staff.

The Great Staff consists of eleven lines covering three octaves.

This represents the approximate range of the traditional four part choral harmony.

Note that the Middle C on the keyboard is on the line exactly in the middle of the Great Staff.

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BT 1.4 - Clefs in use today

Reading pitches from an 11 line staff can be confusing, and all 11 lines of the Great staff are usually not
required for the notation of a given part of music.
Music is therefore written on staffs of five lines only.

But which five lines of the Great staff are selected ?

To identify the five lines a Clef is displayed at the beginning of the staff (Clef = 'key' in French).

In our present notation system three Clefs are in use :

 1. The G Clef identifies the G line for the G above Middle C (4th line from the top).
This is commonly called the Treble Clef.
It is used for most instruments and for the right hand music for the piano.

2. The C Clef identifies the C line and Middle C in the exact middle of the Great Staff.
It is these days only used as :

o the Alto Clef for the alto singer and the viola, and as

o or as the Tenor Clef for the tenor vocalist and the cello.

3. The F Clef identifies the F line for the F below Middle C (4th line from the bottom).
It is commonly called the Bass Clef.
It is used for the piano left hand music, the baritone vocalist and for several bass instruments,
such as the contra bass, tuba and trombone.

Here is an overview of the line combinations of the various staffs in use today :

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BT 1.5 - Notes on the Treble Clef Staff
For most instruments the only staff of concern is the Treble Clef Staff.
The Clef encircles the G line on that staff, one line from the bottom.

The notes on the lines of the staff are, from the bottom to the top line :

E-G-B-D-F

This sequence of notes is memorised by numerous young (and not so young) students with the aid of
the line :

Every - Good - Boy - Deserves - Fruit.

The notes in the spaces between the lines of the staff are, from the bottom to the top line :

F -A- C - E

This spells out the word FACE.

Notes that occur outside the pitch range of the staff are placed on ledger lines.
The Middle C on the Keyboard for example is located on the first ledger line below the Treble Clef
Staff.

Here are the notes for the two octaves from Middle C on the keyboard upwards.

Audio 1

The Middle C above represents the Low C on a wind instrument.

On some instruments (flute, recorder) this Low C has the same pitch as Middle C on the
keyboard. On other instruments it does not.

The Low C on the clarinet, trumpet, tenor- and soprano-saxophone all sound like a Bb (in
concert pitch) on the keyboard. These are Bb instruments.

The Low C on the alto- and baritone- saxophone produce an Eb concert pitch. They are
 called Eb instruments.

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BT 1.6 - Notes on the Bass Clef Staff

If you don't play the keyboard or a bass instrument you do not need to read notation on the Bass Clef
Staff fluently. But it is useful to have a basic understanding of the Staff.

The Bass Clef identifies the F line (below Middle C on the keyboard), by the placement of a small dot
above and below this line.

The notes on the lines of the Bass Clef staff are, from the bottom to the top line :

G-B-D-F-A

To help you memorise these notes I made up this line :

Grizzly - Bears - Don't - Fear - Anything.

The notes in the spaces between the lines of the Bass Clef staff are, from the bottom to the top line :

A-C-E-G

You can memorise these note with the line :

All - Cows - Eat - Grass.

Notes outside the pitch range of the staff are placed on ledger lines.
The Middle C on the Keyboard for example is located on the first ledger line above the Bass Clef
Staff.

Here are the notes for the two octaves from Middle C downwards.

Audio 2
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BT 1.7 - The Piano Staff

Music for the keyboard is usually written on a Piano staff, which is a combination of two staffs. The
Treble Clef staff for the right hand and the Bass Clef staff for the left hand.
The two staffs are joined together by a brace at the left side and by connecting bar lines (see next
Lesson).

Together the two staffs cover 10 lines of the entire (11 line) Great staff. Only the middle line (for
Middle C) is missing.

Middle C can occur either on the first ledger line below the Treble Clef staff, or on the first ledger
line above the Bass Clef staff. Both notations identify the same note.

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BT 1.8 - Note Duration and Rests

In written music, the length of a note is shown by its shape.

When there is no note sounding, a rest is written and the length of the rest is also shown by its shape.

This Table shows the relative lengths of notes, the corresponding rests and their names in English
nomenclature :
 (Note and Rest names in other Languages)

When notes are above the middle line of a staff the stems are written downwards from the left hand
side of the note.

When notes are below the middle line of a staff the stems are written upwards from the right hand
side of the note.

If a note is on the middle line the stem may be written either way.