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How To Read Music

In this article, we will explain a simple method for learning how to read music.

This works best if you have already learned the names for the different notes of each key on your piano.

Hopefully you’ve learnt the names of the notes now. If this is your first taste of learning music, it can be confusing… but stick with it. It will all be worth it!

This is especially important for piano and keyboard players… as you’ll need to read music to learn songs.

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Music is notated using for basic items. we’ll explain them to you now.

Firstly, you have the music Staff. This is the five parallel and horizontal lines where the notes are written. (you’re probably familiar with this already).

Music for the piano is usually written on two staffs which are connected. There are two staffs because you have two hands.

Next, we have the Clef. There are two kinds of clefs, the Treble clef and the Bass clef.

These clefs are placed at the beginning of the staff. Their purpose is to tell you whether the notes that follow are Treble (which means they are on the right side of the piano and should be played with the right hand) or Bass (which means they are on the left side and should be played with the left hand).

Next we will cover the Notes.

Notes are shown on the staff with circular symbols. They can be placed either ON the line, or IN BETWEEN the lines of the staff.

Each and every line or space on the staff represents a different note on the keyboard.

Now you may be confused because there is obviously more keys or your piano than there are lines and spaces on a staff. The answer to this problem is something called “leger lines”.

These lines are allowed to extend the music staff up or down when needed. If you see a note above the staff with a line through it, then you’re looking at a leger line.

Next we have what are called “expression marks”. These show you how the notes should be played.

These expression marks fall into three main categories.

First, we have “phrasing” which is whether the note should be played sharply, smoothly, etc.

Then there’s tempo. These expression marks will show you the speed you should play the piece of music.

Then we have dynamics, which show you how loudly or softly you should play.

The black keys (the sharps and flats) and called accidentals in music reading. They are represented on the staff by a # symbol or a “b” symbol (remove the quotes).

The sharp of flat symbol will be next to the note. So if you find C on a staff, C sharp will be represented with the C on the staff line, and a # symbol next to it.

In conclusion, learning how to read music is an important part of learning any instrument, but particularly for learning the piano. While it can be a little tedious to learn, you’ll be glad you mastered these basics once you’ve progressed with your playing.