How to Read Music

Here is another music sheet release. This is targeted towards beginners just to review the very basics of music reading.

Music Worksheet #4

Answer Sheet #4

Here is what you should aim to do:

• Identify all the notes
• Recognize the one flat I put in there
• Practice reading this sheet repeatedly to enhance your speed reading

Here are some additional posts you can refer back to if you need more references:

• Bass clef notes
• Treble clef notes
• Back to basics with reading music

 

If you want more practice worksheets, check out our Music Theory Worksheets page to find more downloads.

If you haven’t already, you should see my post here about notes on the black keys to help you get started on this short lesson. If you have already read that post, keep reading.

I mentioned in my previous post that black keys are primarily sharps and flats. I also mentioned that there are such things as a double sharp and a double flat. Check out this image below to see what they look like… [ Learn More ]

When I was younger, I thought that if I was practicing a song that had no sharps or flats, that would be totally awesome because then that means, I only have to concentrate on white keys which is fine! Because that for a young kid was EASY.

However, it’s time to move on from easy and move on with using the black keys.

If you find yourself avoiding the black keys on the piano, I hope this post will help solve your issues. You see, I was scared of them until someone told me one simple trick to memorizing them on the piano. Here’s the trick… [ Learn More ]

I have made posts on treble clef and bass clef but here, I really want to tie it all together with videos to really point out what I mean. I want to answer questions regarding just how do you read music so if you have any questions at the end of this post, please feel free to comment.

I want you to feel confident enough that you can walk away feeling confident that the when I publish the next worksheet (to be released next Friday), you can either…

a) be able to read music

or

b) have the skills and techniques to figure out each note.

Learning to Read Music Basics

The first thing you need to learn is what the different clefs are. In piano, there are two clefs you actually need to focus on: the bass clef and the treble cleff.

The purpose of a clef is so that you know what note the composer is trying to notate. Notes on the bass clef and the treble clef are different so you cannot know what note it is until you see what clef it is.

Bass clef is generally for the left hand and the notes are generally played to the left of Middle C.

Treble clef is usually played by the right hand and the notes are generally played on the right side of the piano.

There are exceptions to these rules, however, we’re going to start with the basics.

Reading the Bass Clef

I created a video demonstration of how to read the bass clef.

If you are unable to view the video, click here to view it on Youtube – Bass Clef Notes.

In the video, I wrote out the order of the notes from bottom to top:

G A B C D E F G A

Here is a labeled picture of all the lines and spaces labeled:

Here is where you can read more about the bass clef notes.

Reading the Treble Clef

Here is another video demonstration of how to read the treble clef.

Again, you can click to view it here on Youtube – Treble Clef Notes.

I said in the video that the bottom line is always E. It climbs up in this order:

E F G A B C D E F

Here is all the lines and spaces on the treble clef labeled.

Here is where you can read more about treble clef notes.

Remember that even with this post, it is up to you to practice reading music. Practice is key to mastering any skill!

In my previous post about how to enhance your piano performance, I showed you a video that mentions that you can improve your performance by controlling your volume. This volume control is called dynamics. You can think of as you were painting a picture with music. Your volume would give your picture dimension – like the difference between a cartoon versus a computer animated movie.

Here are some things you may come across in sheet music that notates changes in volume. [ Learn More ]

Here is a question: What makes a great piano performance? Is it not messing up on reading the music notes? Is it playing everything right? A GREAT piano performance is much more than just doing things right.

Playing piano is much more than just pressing the right keys and following the rhythm correctly. Playing piano should be a creative outlet for your emotions. That should be your purpose to play. It should be more than just creating some sounds and looking impressive. It should be a way to unleash your energy!

Playing piano should be an experience. Playing a song you have played a billion times should not be something that you feel like you do on autopilot. I’ve played through the same songs a billion times and it is always more enjoyable when you treat every experience as… an experience! Instead of thinking “Yes, I’ve played this song before” and just go through the motions, treat every performance uniquely where every time you play it, you’re trying to express how you feel at that point in time.

Great music is filled with emotions and the end mission is to let people be able to feel your emotions. Your emotions being felt through your performance is the line between a good performance and a mediocre performance. What are some of the ways to enhance your piano performance?

Keep reading.

[ Learn More ]