How to Read Pitches

A few very gifted people can hear a piece of music and play it on any instrument without knowing how to read a single note. For the majority of us, learning to read pitches and rhythms is the only way we will ever be able to make music. These steps will have you reading pitches from the treble staff in no time.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Look at the staff. The staff is the set of five lines that notes are written on. Each pitch will have a place on a line or in a space on this staff.

2. Figure out if the note you are trying to read is a line or a space. If it is a line, then the line will be going through the note. If it is a space, then it will have a line above and below it.

3. Identify the line a pitch is on. Start counting from the bottom line to determine which line the note is sitting on. From the bottom, the lines are E, G, B, D, F. Use a memory aid to remember the names of the lines. Popular ones are, "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" and "Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday." For example, if the pitch is on the bottom line, then say "Every" and remember that the first line is an E. If the pitch is on the fourth line, say "Every Good Boy Deserves" and remember that the fourth line is D.

4. Identify the space a pitch is on. Starting from the bottom, the names of the spaces spell "FACE." For example, if a pitch is on the third space from the bottom, it is a C.

5. Practice over and over again. It takes a long time to be able to read pitches fluently.

Tips & Warnings

• The musical alphabet consists of only 7 letters: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. After G, start over again with A.
• Small ledger lines can be added above and below the staff if pitches go higher or lower than the notes on the staff.

[marian1936]

on 1/8/2009 We used to say "Every good boy does fine" and "Good boys do fine always". I'm amused at the more modern mnemonics.

[marian1936]

on 1/8/2009 Does the word "pitch" replace the word "note" in music (conversation) nowadays?