Ways You Can Learn To Read Music
You do not have to learn to read music in order to play it. However it is equally true that there is no need to learn how to read and write in order to speak. In both cases it is about increasing your ability to communicate and present your ideas.
Like a new language there are certain terms to get used to. The first thing is to identify what you are looking at when looking at a sheet. The five lines that the symbols are written on are called the staff. You read it in the same way you would conventionally look at words on a page.
Instead of a capital letter to denote the start of a sentence we use what is known as a clef. There are two main types of clef. A top clef is probably the most well known example and covers most high pitched instruments and most singing voices. It is also known as a G clef due to the fact that it meets in the middle where you will find a G note. In this case the notes go from E, G, B, D and F when played from top to bottom with F, A, C, E in the space between the notes. F, A, C, E is relatively easier to remember, but most teachers come up with a mnemonic such as Elvis Grew Beard Dandruff Fuzz.
You can follow these notes in order starting from the note E and then the sequence goes G, B, D and F. You can make up a mnemonic to help you remember this, such as Edgar, Graham, Bill, Dan and Fred. The space between these notes appears as F, A, C and E and therefore is a lot easier to remember. For a lower pitched instrument such as the tuba a bass or F clef is used. In this case the notes are arranged as G followed by B, D, F and A with A continuing with C, E and G in the spaces between the notes.
The time signature is the next part to concentrate on. This shows you how many beats are there in each note, usually a 4. It resemble fractions that you would see in a mathematical problem, the most common example being 4 and 4, so much so it is often marked as C for common. The lower 4 indicates the amount of beats in a note.
Now that you know the clef, key signature and time signature you can read the notes and rests. Examples of this include half, quarter and whole notes, accompanied with quarter, half and whole rests. Whole notes are indicated by circles, with a half symbolised by a d. The rests are symbolised with rectangles. There are other symbols and it is worth checking online for a full guide to the whole range of notes.
As stated before this is a basic guide to help you start to learn to read music. There are online demonstrations that can go into more depth and can be more specific to the instrument you are learning or your own type of singing voice. It is often a good idea to get tuition for a more in depth learning experience. With hard work and dedication you can learn the language of music.
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