I've tried to put together a very brief article explain how to interpret sheet music. There isn't too much information to learn, but synthesizing it in real-time can be quite a challenge. To make this easier to understand, I've put together some drawings, this will make it much easier to understand what I'm talking about. Sheet music figures.
First we'll take a look at the first section of music, where you'll get information about the whole piece. Notice the two numbers stacked on each other? This is the time signature, the top number is the number of beats in the measure. The bottom number tells you which type of note counts as one beat. For example 3/2 time shows you that there are three beats per measure and a half note gets a beat.
Along with the clef, you may see a collection of sharp signs or flat signs. This is the key signature. Seeing a flat sign on a space, for example, literally means to play the flat every time you see a note on that space. The whole collection gives you some idea of which key you're playing in, for example 2 sharps is D-major or B-minor, and 3-flats is A-flat major or F-minor.
Now on to the music itself, each figure you see communicates two pieces of information: pitch and duration. You can tell the pitch from the line or the space on which the note sits. In the bass clef, from bottom up, spaces are ACEG and lines are GBDFA. In the treble clef the spaces are FACE and the lines are EGBDF. Notice that they go in alphabetical order if you write in every letter.
Those names that we just discussed are the names of the white keys on a piano. If you see the sharp or flat sign, then you'll need to play the next higher black note (for a sharp) or the next lower black note (for a flat). If there is no adjacent black note, play the next white one. For example, B-flat is also C. Remember that if sharps and flats appear in the key signature, then every occurrence is raised or lowered.
The other piece of information you get is the duration of each note, you can tell this from the shape. Remember that you know which note is a single beat from the key signature. In 4/4 time it's the quarter note. The half note gets two beats, and the whole note gets four. Similarly, Eighth and Sixteenth notes get half and quarter beats respectively. Rhythm demonstration video.
There is a basic introduction to how to read sheet music. That's really all the information that there is, but you'll have to know it like the back of your hand to read music fluently. - 31814
First we'll take a look at the first section of music, where you'll get information about the whole piece. Notice the two numbers stacked on each other? This is the time signature, the top number is the number of beats in the measure. The bottom number tells you which type of note counts as one beat. For example 3/2 time shows you that there are three beats per measure and a half note gets a beat.
Along with the clef, you may see a collection of sharp signs or flat signs. This is the key signature. Seeing a flat sign on a space, for example, literally means to play the flat every time you see a note on that space. The whole collection gives you some idea of which key you're playing in, for example 2 sharps is D-major or B-minor, and 3-flats is A-flat major or F-minor.
Now on to the music itself, each figure you see communicates two pieces of information: pitch and duration. You can tell the pitch from the line or the space on which the note sits. In the bass clef, from bottom up, spaces are ACEG and lines are GBDFA. In the treble clef the spaces are FACE and the lines are EGBDF. Notice that they go in alphabetical order if you write in every letter.
Those names that we just discussed are the names of the white keys on a piano. If you see the sharp or flat sign, then you'll need to play the next higher black note (for a sharp) or the next lower black note (for a flat). If there is no adjacent black note, play the next white one. For example, B-flat is also C. Remember that if sharps and flats appear in the key signature, then every occurrence is raised or lowered.
The other piece of information you get is the duration of each note, you can tell this from the shape. Remember that you know which note is a single beat from the key signature. In 4/4 time it's the quarter note. The half note gets two beats, and the whole note gets four. Similarly, Eighth and Sixteenth notes get half and quarter beats respectively. Rhythm demonstration video.
There is a basic introduction to how to read sheet music. That's really all the information that there is, but you'll have to know it like the back of your hand to read music fluently. - 31814
About the Author:
Mike Eggers is the Author of many articles for students who want to Play the Piano. He has also written several reviews of products like Pure Pitch Review.
