The Basics of How to Read
Piano Sheet Music
When you are learning to play piano you must learn how to read piano sheet music. Many people learn to read music in elementary school, however, if you are not in the band or choir, you can easily dismiss all that you learned. It can help to get familiar with at least the basics of sheet music before you get into your piano lessons.
The Staff
When you look at a piece of music there are different parts or elements that make up that sheet music. The first of those elements is the staff. This is the five line, fours space area where the actual notes sit. It is basically what the music is written on. It is the lines and spaces of the staff that tell you what note to play. At the beginning of the staff you will see a clef sign, either a treble or bass. There is a key signature and then a time signature. Each of these things help you to know how to play the music.
Clefs
The treble and bass clefs tell you the octave you are playing in. Generally in piano the treble clef is the right hand and the bass clef is the left hand. The clef sign will also tell you what notes each line and space of the staff represent.
In the treble clef staff the lines, from bottom to top, represent the notes E-G-B-D-F and the spaces are F-A-C-E. In the bass clef staff the lines, from bottom to top, represent the notes G-B-D-F-A and the spaces are A-C-E-G.
Key Signature
The key signature tells what notes, if any, are flat or sharp. The marking for flat is an odd “b” and the marking for sharp is “#”. In the key signature the marking will be on the line or space of the note that is to be played flat or sharp.
Time Signature
The time signature tells you the number of notes in each measure. Measures are marked by a straight vertical line and they are used to break up the music. It looks like a fraction.
Notes
The last part of the sheet music are the actual notes. There are many different types of notes and each note has a specific length of time in which it is played. Here are some examples of notes you will see:
Whole note: Looks like an “o” Played for 4 beats.
Half note: Looks like a backwards “b”. Played for 2 beats.
Quarter note: Looks like the half notes but is filled in to make the “o” solid black. Played for one beat.
Where the notes are placed on the staff tell you what note to play. For example a whole note on the first line up from the bottom would be a G played for 4 beats.
There are many more complexities that go into sheet music, but these basics should get you started with learning how to read sheet music proficiently. Once you know these basics you can then begin to learn the more complex aspects of reading sheet music.
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If you are someone who is looking for beginner piano lessons, you’ll find that there are a number of different options open to you. Piano is a beautiful instrument, and if you are in the right mindset, you will find that it is a real pleasure to learn. One of the most important parts of getting the piano instruction that you want is to make sure that you get the right instruction that you need. When you are thinking about getting started with piano, make sure that you keep some of the basic parts of piano instruction in mind.
1. What kind of time can I devote?
When you are looking at learning piano, remember that the real learning occurs on your own while you practice. The best piano teacher in the world won’t be able to do a single thing with you if you don’t have the time to practice. Remember that you should think about how much time you are willing to budget every week to practice your lessons. Think about when you can practice and when you are going to be in the right mood to practice.
2. Where can I practice?
When it comes to beginner’s piano, you’ll find that you might not be willing to put out the money for a good keyboard or piano, but keep in mind that it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to play and to figure out if this is the instrument for you. In the first place, you will find that in many cases, a piano teacher can provide you with a piano during lessons, but even for practice sessions, you will find that you can often rent practice space from your local music shop, piano store or university. Where there is a will, there is a way, so think about what you are after.
3. What do I want to play?
When learning piano, you will find that at the very beginning that you are going to get a very basic level of instruction, but that sooner than you think, you will need to consider what kind of style that you are interested in playing. Finding an instructor who enjoys the music that you are going to be playing is quite important, so make your goals plain and let your teacher know where your interests lie.
4. Where should I start?
If you are planning to learn piano, you need to think about where you are going to start. In the first place, think about what kind of experience that you have had. If you can read music, you’ll find that you can skip that part of instruction. Remember that most piano instructors will be happy to start you from scratch and that if you need to, you can start from the very beginning. Take some time and assess where you are starting from and what you are going to need to think about working on. For more information check out the Piano Basics page.
When you are looking to get started with your beginner piano lessons, take some time and make sure that you know where you want to go, and that you take the time to practice as much as you can.