Sheet Music

Once you have mastered all of the interesting symbols and notes associated with sheet music, learning how to read basic music from a page is not a difficult endeavor. To begin with, notes are always written along with a set of five horizontal lines, and these lines make up what is known as a staff. The vertical lines that are placed along the staff on sheet music are intended to divide the music into different measures. Each measure is intended to contain a set number of notes. The actual name of the note is then determined by which horizontal line the note rests on or between.

On the treble clef, the notes are E, G, B, D and F. Many piano students are taught to read sheet music using mnemonics as a means for remembering. The mnemonic for the treble clef's notes is most commonly "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge", with the first letter of each word corresponding with the next note in the sequence. The notes that are located between each of these lines are F, A, C and E. The most common mnemonic for these four notes is simply the fact that the four notes spell out FACE.

On the left hand side of each staff you are going to find a clef sign. If the clef sign is a treble clef, the notes on the sheet music are usually a higher tone. If the clef sign is a bass clef on the other hand, the notes in the sheet will have a lower tone. Essentially, the clef is responsible for dictating which octave the notes on the sheet are meant to be played at in order to be played correctly.

Next to the clef you are going to find two numbers that are written in the form of a fraction. This fraction serves as the time signature for the music, and signifies how many beats should be played for each of the measures.

Each key can be sharp or flat, and these sharps or flats are shown in the key signature, which is either near the clef, or next to the note depending on how many sharps or flats are played in a particular piece of sheet music. A b sign is going to signify a flat note, and a # symbol is going to signify a sharp sign.

The notes themselves can also be different. Hollow ovals, for example, are known as semibreve notes, and they are whole notes that last four beats or an entire measure. Hollow ovals that have a stem attached to them are minim notes, which take two beats. Solid ovals with a stem attached to them are crotchet notes, and they last for a single beat. Black ovals with a stem and flag attached to them are known as quaver notes, and last for only half of a single beat. Finally a black oval note with a step and two flags attached to it is a semi-quaver note, and these notes are quarter beat notes.

These are just some basic guidelines relating to learning to read sheet music. Once you become proficient in reading the different notes and other symbols on each page of sheet, you will find it easier than ever to play the music found on those pages.