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.
The first thing you should see at the beginning of the first line is the time signature; this tells you about the rhythm of the piece. It looks like two numbers on top of one another. The bottom number tells you what kind of note gets a beat, and the top one tells you how many beats per measure. If you see a big C, that means common time, or 4/4. A slashed C means cut time, or 2/2.
The second thing you'll see at the beginning of the piece is the key signature. It will look like a group of sharps or flats. If you don't see any, then there are no sharps or flats, and you're playing either in C major or A minor. If you see a sharp sign, it means that every time you see a note on that line, you'll play the sharped version of that note.
In the rest of the piece, each symbol tells you two things about a note: it's pitch and its duration. The location of the note tells the pitch, in the treble clef, starting from the bottom line, the notes are EFGABCDEF where F is the top line. In the bass clef, the notes are GABCDEFGA where A is the top line. You'll need to have this memorized really well to be able to play in real time.
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.
Finally we can talk about rhythm. I've made a short rhythm video which is much easier to understand than a description. Basically, you find out which note is one beat from the time signature, and then you have to time everything else accordingly.
So there is your basic intro to reading music. There really isn't much more to teach than that, it's just one of those things that's easy to learn, but difficult to master. - 30455
The first thing you should see at the beginning of the first line is the time signature; this tells you about the rhythm of the piece. It looks like two numbers on top of one another. The bottom number tells you what kind of note gets a beat, and the top one tells you how many beats per measure. If you see a big C, that means common time, or 4/4. A slashed C means cut time, or 2/2.
The second thing you'll see at the beginning of the piece is the key signature. It will look like a group of sharps or flats. If you don't see any, then there are no sharps or flats, and you're playing either in C major or A minor. If you see a sharp sign, it means that every time you see a note on that line, you'll play the sharped version of that note.
In the rest of the piece, each symbol tells you two things about a note: it's pitch and its duration. The location of the note tells the pitch, in the treble clef, starting from the bottom line, the notes are EFGABCDEF where F is the top line. In the bass clef, the notes are GABCDEFGA where A is the top line. You'll need to have this memorized really well to be able to play in real time.
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.
Finally we can talk about rhythm. I've made a short rhythm video which is much easier to understand than a description. Basically, you find out which note is one beat from the time signature, and then you have to time everything else accordingly.
So there is your basic intro to reading music. There really isn't much more to teach than that, it's just one of those things that's easy to learn, but difficult to master. - 30455
About the Author:
Mike Eggers is the Author of many articles for students who want to Play Piano Now. He has also written several reviews of products like Pure Pitch Method Review.
