How to Understand Sheet Music

To those that can't read sheet music, musical notations are like learning a foreign language or translating a secret code. Once a musician deciphers the signs, symbols and notes, he understands the meaning in the music he wants to play. With practice, a musician can master sheet music terminology. Becoming skilled at understanding what's on the music sheet opens up a whole new world to the novice musician.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Beginner Sheet Music

1. 
    
   Musical staff lines

   Look at a sheet of music. Embedded across the page are symbols and codes familiar only to a musician but difficult to decipher to the inexperienced. Five lines and the four spaces in between are the "musical staff lines." Notes and other notations situate on the lines and spaces provided. Read them from left to right and continue down the sheet.

2. 
    
   Treble clef

   Study the first symbol. It appears like a letter in script. Slightly raised above the staff lines is the symbol "clef." It rests below the bottom line. Most common clefs are treble clef and bass clef. Clef notation allots pitch to the music. Next to the clef is the "time signature." Think of it as a fraction. The upper number reveals how many beats per measure. The lower number marks each beat.

3. 
    
   Key signature

   Direct yourself to the notation next to the clef. "Key signature" denotes sharps, # and flats (similar to the letter b) and natural. If it applies to the entire piece, it is marked at the beginning. If not, look above the specific note for individual change. Refocus above "time signature." Words termed mostly in Italian are "tempo notation." Expressions such as "Light Schottische" or "Tempo di Valse" identify the tempo or speed of the music.

4. 
    
   Bar line

   Separating the staff into measures are "bar lines." Measures are the combination of notes and rests within the vertical bar lines. Each measure is broken up into "beats." Notes are written on or in between the five staff lines. Each note has a certain length or "beat" it is to be played. Notes have corresponding letters. Written in whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth and so on, each note determines the pitch of the sound played.

5. 
    
   Quarter rest

   Pausing for a certain length of time with no note present is a "rest." Indicated by symbols, rests are one-eighth, one-quarter, one-sixteenth, one-half and a whole. When there is a refrain or "repeat," a thick bar with two colons next to it are present. Play the passage between the repeat twice. Then, the music either stops the song or continues with the rest.

Resources

• Sven's guitar site: Understanding sheet music
• Glossary of musical terms
• Musical terms
• Introduction to reading music