Things You'll Need:
- Sheet music
- Keyboard
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Step 1
Look at an easy piece of music and notice how the notes, the black dots and circles sit on the lines or in between the lines. The have distinct sounds when played on a keyboard. The higher notes belong to the treble clef; the lower notes belong to the bass clef.
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Step 2
Match the clefs to the music. The treble clef, which looks like a very fancy "S", carries the higher notes. The bass clef, which is the backward "C" with two dots after it, carries the lower notes. Remember the higher notes begin with middle C and go all the way up to the end of the keyboard; the lower notes also begin with middle C and go all the way down to the lower end of the keyboard.
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Step 3
The open circle has four beats; the open circle with a stick attached has two beats; the dark circle with a stick has one beat; the two dark circles with sticks and one bar connecting them at the top have two beats and the two dark circles with sticks and two bars connecting at the top have four beats. Count one beat per second as you're working on rhythm with the black notes with a stick attached. These are quarter notes.
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Step 4
Look at the quarter note, which is a black dot and carries one-half the value of a half-note; the eighth note is drawn with a bar attaching the top lines of two notes; this note carries one-half the value of a quarter note. As with the preceding notes, the sixteenth note has two bars attaching the top lines of four notes and carries one-half the value of an eighth note.
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Step 5
Look at the keyboard picture and find middle C on your keyboard. It's a white key in the middle of the keyboard. Starting with middle C, play eight notes up and end at the next higher C note. This is one octave.
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Step 6
Name and play each white key above middle C. Begin with D, go up to E, then F, then G. There are only seven letters assigned to all of the notes in music. As you play the next note, you'll name it "A"; the next note is named "B"; as you play the eighth note, you will name that note "C".
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Step 7
Look at the symbol that resembles a lower case "b". This is a "flat", which takes the tone of a note down one-half note. Look for the symbol which resembles the "pound" symbol -- this is called a "sharp" and causes a note to be played one-half note up. On the keyboard, the flat means you play a note on the black key, to the left of the white key; the sharp means you play a note on a white key or a black key, to the right of the original white key.
