Tag: how to read piano sheet music

7 Tips for Reading Piano Notes

Did you know the piano is actually a percussion instrument?

Many people think it belongs to the string family, but because it actually produces sound by hammers hitting strings (the hammers are controlled by the keys), it’s part of the percussion family.

It’s important to remember this when reading piano notes because they tell you not only the pitch of the note, but also its rhythm. To learn how to read and play the pitch and rhythm of piano notes, try out the seven tips below.

#1: Labeling Piano Notes

One way to learn how to read piano notes is to label the treble and bass clefs. By labeling the spaces and the lines — and using mnemonic devices to remember them–you can begin memorizing which notes fit where.

For the treble clef, begin by labeling the spaces “F-A-C-E” from the bottom to the top. “Face” is the mnemonic device for the notes that fill the spaces in the treble clef.

Label the lines “E-G-B-D-F” from the bottom of the top of the treble clef. The mnemonic device for these notes is “every good boy deserves fudge.”

Look at the piece of music you want to play and label the notes in the treble clef. Note that this isn’t a good long-term practice, because you want to train your eye to read the notes and not the labels. But when you’re new to reading piano notes, labeling them can help.

Next, you’ll work with the bass clef. Label the spaces “A-C-E-G-B” and think about the mnemonic device, “all cows eat grass” –then just add a B at the end.

Next, label the lines “G-B-D-F-A.” You can remember these with “good boys deserve fudge always.” Again, label the notes in the piece you want to learn.

#2: Reading Piano Notes by Labeling Fingers

If mnemonic devices don’t work for you, or if you want to augment the note-labeling practice, you can label fingers. Start with the thumb of each hand and label one through five.

You can find a hand diagram or trace your hand onto a piece of paper so you don’t actually have to write on your fingers.

Middle-C, which occupies the middle space of the treble clef, will be the number one. Label two through five for the notes above and below. It’s best to pick a beginner piece that only includes five notes in each direction of the staff.

Place your thumbs on the middle C of the keyboard and play the tune according to the numbers.

#3: Flipping Your Music

Did you know people didn’t start thinking about polyphonic music until the eighth or ninth century? Polyphonic music is when there are two or more lines of music with independent melodies.

Polyphony is why reading piano notes can seem confusing at first–because your left and right hands feel like they’re playing two different songs.

But, if you flip your music clockwise, it might help you to identify the chord units stretched out (arpeggiated) across the bass and treble clefs. Then you’ll be reading your music vertically, or polyphonically.

#4: Sight Reading Piano Notes

Sight reading a piece of music is one of the best ways to acquaint yourself not only with the note pitches, but also with the rhythm.

Follow these steps to successfully sight-read a piece of music:

  1. Begin by practicing time signatures. For example, a time signature of 4/4 means there are four beats to every measure, and each beat is worth a quarter note.
  2. Next, look at the key signature. If there are sharps, move a half-step above the last sharp to get the key signature. If there are flats, the second-to-last flat is the name of the key signature (excepting the key of F Major/D minor, which only has one flat–a B-flat).
  3. Practice scales in the piece forward and backward.
  4. Tap out the rhythm of the piece with a metronome.
  5. Look through the sheet music and note any areas where you’re changing keys, slowing down, playing quietly (piano), repeating measures, etc.
  6. Sing the piece to yourself before you even touch the keys.

Now you’re ready to try to play through the music.

#5: Hunt for Patterns

Music isn’t written haphazardly, but rather in patterns. Chords, arpeggios, harmonic structures, and scale runs are just some of the common patterns in music.

By learning to recognize these, you don’t even have to read every single note. For example, if you have a scale run starting on a low E in the treble clef that goes up to a middle E and back down, you don’t need to read every note in between to play every note in between.

#6: Train Your Ear

It may not seem like training your ear to hear notes will help you to read piano notes, but in music, auditory and visual cues must work together.

A great way to get started training your ear is to find a piece of music that you have the sheet music to and a way to listen. Search the internet for piano performances of the sheet music you have, then follow these steps:

  1. Listen to the piece without looking at your sheet music once through.
  2. Listen to the piece again, this time following along on the sheet music.
  3. Listen a third time, and mark the sheet music where you have difficulty following along.
  4. Listen to the areas of difficulty until it’s easy to follow.
  5. Listen, look at your sheet music, and try to play along on your piano.

Training your ear takes a lot of repetition, but for auditory learners, it can be the most effective way to learn to read piano notes.

#7: Train Your Hands

Muscle memory can help you read piano notes by allowing you to focus on the sheet music without worrying about where to place or how to move your fingers.

Playing scales and arpeggios over and over again is the best (albeit somewhat boring) way to train your muscle memory in your hands.

Finishing Touches

Learning to read piano notes involves learning pitch, rhythm, dynamics, music theory, and so much more.

Give yourself the time you need to learn these wonderful skills, and if you have any questions, drop us a line. You can also subscirbe to our newsletter.

 

How to Read Piano Sheet Music

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably got more than a passing interest in tickling the ivories.

Many people are put off though by the thought of learning how to read piano sheet music.

Do not despair! It’s easier than it looks. Follow our step by step guide, put in some practice and soon the notes will come to you as easily as, well, reading this article!

Key Words To Know

Take a few moments to become familiar with these few keywords:

Clef

This is the symbol that you see at the end of the line. There are two different clefs in piano music – the treble and the bass.

Stave

These are the 5 lines that the notes are written either on, between or below.

Treble Clef

Also known as the ‘G’ clef (more on that later), in piano music, this is usually played by the right hand and forms the ‘top line’ of the music.

Bass Clef

Also known as the ‘F’ clef (more on that later), the notes on this stave are usually played by the left hand and form the ‘bottom line’ of the music.

Ledger Lines

These are small lines used to show the position of individual notes. The lines and spaces of the stave are limited in the range of notes they can show. These lines indicate other notes.

The Starting Point – Treble Clef

Let’s focus first on the treble clef (the one that looks a little like a dollar sign). We can call this the ‘top line’. This will usually show you the notes from middle C upwards.

We mentioned earlier it’s also called the ‘G Clef’. This is because the main curl of the symbol wraps around the ‘G’ line – fixing its position.

Many find learning a mnemonic helps them to learn the names of the lines and spaces.

Lines

The one shown below is a traditional mnemonic, starting from the bottom line up:

First line – E – Every

Second line G – Good

Third line B – Boy

Fourth line D – Deserves

Fifth line – F – Favor

Some prefer a chant as a memory aid. Try out:

EGBDF – These are the notes of the Treble Clef.

Spaces

The spaces of the treble clef spell out the word FACE, starting from the first space and going up.

We also use the space below the bottom line for the note D, and above the top line for the G. Remember the notes go in alphabetical order, line/space, and line/space at all times.

Outside the Stave

As we can only write a limited number of notes on the 5 lines and 4 spaces of the stave, we’re going to have to use some extra lines to show notes outside of this.

Let’s start with the note we all start with – middle C. Slap bang in the middle of your piano keyboard, it’s also right in between the top and bottom lines of the piano sheet music.

This should be the first note you learn when learning how to read piano sheet music. It has its own little ledger line and sits below the bottom (E) line of the treble stave.

Please note – ledger lines are much shorter than lines of the regular stave and are only used for one note.

You can also use ledger lines to write notes below middle C, and above top F (the ‘Fun’ line). But let’s stick to cracking the basics for now.

Moving On – The Bass Clef

You’ve started doing battle with the treble stave and now its time to drop down a line, and pay attention to the bass stave.

Working from bottom to top again, we’ll use another mnemonic to help you:

1st line – G – Good

2nd line – B – Boys

3rd line – D – Deserve

4th line – F – Favor

5th line – A – Always

It’s important again to learn middle C. This time it’s on its own ledger line above the stave. This is the same note as the middle C that sits on a ledger line below the Treble stave.

We mentioned earlier it’s also called the ‘F Clef’. This is because the symbol starts on the ‘F’ line – fixing its position.

Spaces

The spaces of the bass clef sadly do not helpfully spell a word. We use another mnemonic for them.

Again, starting from the bottom space and going up:

1st space – A – All

2nd space – C – Cows

3rd space – E – Eat

4th space – G – Grass

The space below the bottom line is for the note F and above the top line for the note B.

Getting to Grips with How to Read Piano Sheet Music

OK, you know the names of the lines and the spaces – what next?

First, take a piece of piano sheet music you’d like to learn. You may find a piano method book helpful for this.

With a pencil, label the lines and the spaces at the beginning of each line.

Now go through the piece and start reading. Work a line at a time. Using the two mnemonics, try to work out on your own first what each note is and write the name next to it.

At the end of each line, check the labels you wrote at the start and see if you’re right.

Now carefully pick out the notes on the keyboard. Just at first you might find labeling the piano keys helpful too.

Now, either rub off your notations or use a clean copy of the sheet music. Carefully try to reinforce what you’ve learned by picking out the piece again on the piano.

Conclusion: How to Read Piano Sheet Music

We have seen that the key to learning how to read piano sheet music is memory aids.

It takes just a few minutes to commit them to memory and they will serve you well as your brain makes the connections between the keys and the notes on the stave.

Your next lesson should be to learn the various notes placed on and in the lines and spaces you’ve just learned and how they relate to each other.

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