While there are many musicians that never learned how to read music, there’s no reason why you can’t tackle the job and learn to read music. Musicians that are unable to read music are able to play by ear after they hear a song. These musicians are able to make improvisations on simple themes and turn them into elaborate renditions of popular songs. These musicians know their instruments as well as singers know their voices.
You may be someone who can do that. There will be some information later on about chords and improvisation. However, if you are a beginner just finding out about the piano, it is more likely that you need the help that written music can provide you. Furthermore, learning to read written music can open up a whole new world to you. You can learn songs that you have never even heard before. If you want to repeat the performance, you will have the sheet music to guide you note for note.
There is a great deal to learn. You will have to find out how each note is depicted. You will have to know what the staffs are that the notes are written on and what they look like. You will have to learn how rhythm, sharps, and flats are represented. Once you learn these basics, you can start to build on the knowledge.
You can really learn a lot just by looking at a piece of music. If you already have a songbook, some sheet music, or a hymnal, take a moment to really look at it. If you don’t have any kind of written music, either buy or borrow some.
You will notice that there are groups of five horizontal lines. If the music is for both hands, it will have two of these groups of lines connected together by a longer line along the side. The horizontal lines are called the staff. You can get staff paper that is already marked with these lines.
Along the left side of the staffs you will find the clef markings. The treble clef marking is for the upper staff. The treble clef symbol looks like a fancy backwards S that has a line going through it vertically and curling underneath. You will start out by playing the notes on the treble clef with the right hand.
On the lower staff of the two is the bass clef sign. It is something like a backwards C with two dots on the right side of it. This staff shows the lower notes, and you will begin by playing the notes shown on this staff with your left hand. The upper and lower staffs will repeat several times down the page. Look at your sheet music and identify the staffs. Now you are ready to learn the notes.
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