Music is like another language! It will take you time and a lot of patience to master the art of reading music notation. There is so much to learn and say about reading music but in this entry blog post I will just ‘skim’ over the essentials!

Where do I start?

Start by learning the notes from Middle C to Middle G (5 notes) If you are learning to play piano or keyboard rest your fingers on the keyboard so that each finger covers one of the 5 notes. The notes that we read and play on an instrument are written on a staff or stave. see below:

Keeping things very simple when you see a Treble Clef on a Staff this means to play the tune with your Right Hand

Here is what a treble clef looks like:

Your hand position should be like this:

So the Five notes from middle C to G will be written on the treble staff as follows:

You will notice that a note has to be written either on a line or in a space on the staff. Looking at the picture above you can see that there are 5 lines and 4 spaces to the staff. Middle C is written on it’s own line below the staff- we call this smaller extra line a ledger line… notes that fall outside of the staff are always written on ledger lines.

What’s Next?

You need to find very simple tunes that contain just these five notes so that with practise you will recognise them quickly and easily.

Rhythm and Length of Notes

As well as getting to know these five notes you also have to have some knowledge of rhythm, you have to know how long to hold each note for when playing tunes.

Here are some basic types of notes you will come across when you start reading and playing music:

Try and find simple tunes that contain the 5 notes middle C to G and also have basic note lengths as above.

What are the two numbers placed after the clef?

As well as getting to know the  basic note lengths you also need to know how many beats or counts to play in each bar of music. The Time Signature tells you this and is placed on the staff after the clef symbol. So a time signature of…

simply tells you that every bar or measure of music must have no more than 4 beats or counts. The top number is the important one for now, don’t worry too much about the bottom number, we’ll talk about that later.

Playing Your First Tune (piano or keyboard)

It is very tempting to want to look down at your fingers when playing you first few tunes, try not to do this you need to keep your eyes on the music. If your eyes keep moving from looking at the music to looking down at your fingers you will probably find that when your eyes return to the music you will have ‘lost’ your place in the tune.

Need More Help?

There is no substitute for finding an experienced music teacher to help you on your way. Most often when you teach yourself you pick up bad habits that are hard for the teacher to correct. Technique is very important when you learn to play an instrument so finding a good teacher is essential.

If you are local to Worcester UK and are searching for a piano or keyboard teacher then please get in touch with me through my web site The Music Chamber. I give lessons in Piano and Keyboard for beginners and advanced students, and all ages are welcome.

Have a great time learning to play a few simple tunes and check out part 2 of the blog…

Scott Lannie