{"id":7054,"date":"2021-11-18T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T13:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klang.io\/?p=7054"},"modified":"2022-09-23T06:04:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T06:04:22","slug":"how-to-read-sheet-music-for-complete-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klang.io\/pt-br\/blog\/how-to-read-sheet-music-for-complete-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Read Sheet Music for Complete Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Learning how to read sheet music doesn\u2019t have to be hard! If you\u2019re reading this article, sheet music probably looks like a foreign language to you. You may find it difficult to understand how those crazy symbols can turn into beautiful music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If that\u2019s you, don\u2019t worry \u2014 you\u2019re not alone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every good musician felt the same way in the beginning. Heck, even I still look at some pieces and think, \u201cwow, that\u2019s impossible.\u201d And I\u2019ve been playing music for 12+ years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m here to tell you that it\u2019s not only doable to learn how to read sheet music, but it\u2019s probably not as hard as you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, let\u2019s define sheet music:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheet music is simply a \u2018how-to guide\u2019 for performing a piece of music.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like the words on this page are symbols to indicate my thoughts, sheet music indicates a musician\u2019s musical thoughts<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that said, are you ready to hear something liberating?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only things sheet music tells you are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What notes to play<\/li>
How long to play those notes<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
No matter how complex the song, those are the only<\/strong> things sheet music tells you \u2014 nothing more, nothing less. I hope that\u2019s encouraging for you as it was for me when I first started because that realization made learning how to read sheet music not as daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, this article is a 4-step guide that will teach you the fundamentals of reading sheet music. After reading this article, you\u2019ll immediately be able to read and understand sheet music of your favorite songs and artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we begin, let\u2019s look at a few reasons why you should learn how to read sheet music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5 Benefits of Learning How To Read Sheet Music<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Learn to play your favorite songs.<\/strong> This obvious benefit is probably the reason you\u2019re here. Imagine being able to read a piece of paper and all of the sudden you\u2019re playing your favorite songs!<\/li>
You become a better musician.<\/strong> Being able to read sheet music gives you the ability to learn more songs and genres quicker. And the more songs\/genres you learn, the better you become. Naturally, you\u2019ll start with reading easy pieces and gradually increase the difficulty. Being able to understand sheet music will also help you communicate better with other musicians. You\u2019ll be able to explain your musical thought process and write it out in a universal way.<\/li>
You\u2019ll be able to play any song, any time, with anyone.<\/strong> For example, a piano player can walk into any band rehearsal or live gig and join the song if he\u2019s given the sheet music.<\/li>
You won\u2019t need to memorize everything.<\/strong> This is important if you want to play live gigs. You don\u2019t need to memorize your entire 50 song set. All you need is your sheet music. This will free up space in your mind that you can use for creativity!<\/li>
You\u2019ll build physical and transferrable skills.<\/strong> Being able to read sheet music will increase your attention span, fine motor skills, multi-tasking ability and reading comprehension. These benefits will spill over into many areas of your life.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Now that you\u2019re excited to learn how to read sheet music, let\u2019s look at the 4-step process to show you the way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: The Staff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The lines that the notes are placed on is called the staff. Think of the staff as the lines on notebook paper. This is where \u2018musical sentences\u2019 are written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
As you can see, there are five lines and four spaces. Each line and space assigns each note its musical value \u2014 C, F#, D, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Clefs and Note Values<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we learn the notes on the staff, it\u2019s important to understand the cool looking symbols at the beginning of each staff. You may have seen the treble clef:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You also may have heard of the bass clef:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
These clefs tell you where<\/em> to play the notes on your instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simply put, the treble clef tells the musician to play the \u2018higher\u2019 notes. The bass clef, just like it sounds, tells the musician to play the bass\/\u2019lower\u2019 notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using the piano as an example, the treble clef tells you what your right hand<\/em> plays. The bass clef tells you what your left hand<\/em> plays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the notes that correspond with each clef\u2019s staff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
As you can see, each line and space has a designated note value. The treble clef\u2019s notes are a little different from the bass clef\u2019s. Also, each clef has cute little acronyms to help you memorize the notes. I personally use \u2018FACE\u2019 and \u2018ACE-G\u2019 to remember the spaces for each clef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you memorize FACE and ACE-G for the spaces, it\u2019s easy to figure out the notes on the lines. Realize that each step going from a space to a line (also called an interval<\/em>) is simply going chronologically to the next letter in the alphabet. So you can identify any note that falls on a line by simply counting up one letter from the space beneath it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ex: in the treble clef staff, if the note is on the middle (third) line, what note is it? It\u2019s a B note. If we use FACE, we can move up the next letter from the second space (A) to end up at B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does that all make sense?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If not, go back and review it before continuing. If so, you\u2019re almost done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll realize that some notes can fall below OR above the staff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
These notes are on what\u2019s called a ledger line<\/em> \u2014 basically a staff that\u2019s outside of the staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The easiest way to identify these notes is to memorize the C note in the example above. Another name for this note is middle C <\/em>because it\u2019s the note in the center of the piano. If you can remember that note, then you can easily identify its surrounding notes. How? By simply using the same \u2018chronological counting\u2019 technique used with FACE and ACE-G.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s look at \u201cTwinkle Twinkle Little Star\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Using what you\u2019ve just learned, you can now identify all of the notes in this song. Try it! I\u2019ll reveal the answers at the end of the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It goes without saying, this is a VERY big piece of the musical puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember what I mentioned in the beginning of the article?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe only things that sheet music tells you are:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
What notes to play<\/em><\/li>
How long to play those notes\u201d<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
After step 3, you\u2019ll officially know the \u2018what notes to play\u2019 portion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before moving on, I think it\u2019s important to mention what a chord<\/em> looks like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I promised we wouldn\u2019t dive deep into complex music theory. So for now, just know that a chord is simply individual notes stacked on top of each other. This indicates that all of the notes should be played at the same time. If you want to learn exactly what chord this is and how chords are formed, use this<\/a> as a resource for further learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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