How to Read Rock Guitar Sheet Music
Reading rock guitar sheet music can be confusing at first because guitar notes often can be played in two or three different places on the neck. But once you become familiar with reading music for the guitar, you will see patterns that will help you with your finger positions. Although reading guitar sheet music is not required to become a rock guitarist, it is worthwhile in order to become a better overall musician.
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Instructions
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Learn where the notes lie on the musical staff. Because guitar music is written in the treble clef, the notes on the lines read E G B D F and the notes on the spaces read F A C E. Ledger lines (staff extensions) allow the composer to indicate notes that fall above or below the lines of the staff.
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Study and learn how note length is represented on sheet music. You will notice that note length is marked by stems (or lack of) and flags. An open circle is a whole note, a closed circle is a half note, a closed circle with a stem is a quarter note and a closed circle with a stem and a flag is a eighth note.
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Study and learn the notes on the guitar. First, learn all of the string's names, and then learn every note on every string. Now, match up the guitar notes to the musical notes on the sheet music. The note the high E string produces is noted on the top space of the musical staff.
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Start learning to play simple single-note lines from sheet music. The iconic intro to Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" is a good place to start. Notice that sharp notes are marked with a symbol that resembles a number sign and flat notes are marked by a symbol that resembles a lower-case B.
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Examine chords on a piece of sheet music. To play a chord, you hit all the notes that are stacked together at once. At first, reading chords will be confusing, but after experimenting with the various ways to play the chords, you begin to recognize basic chords shapes (in rock and roll, power chords are extremely common).
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Learn how to read rock specific-guitar techniques. Hammer-ons, pull-offs and slide are written with lines (called slurs) that connect multiple notes and the letter H, P or S to designate the type of slur. String mutes are notated with an X, and palm mutes are notated with the letters PM and a line beneath the notes to be palm muted.
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Practice often. In order to fluently read sheet music, you must practice regularly. Buy rock guitar sheet music books of your favorite band's music at your local music store and practice until you know all the songs. Then buy another book and repeat the process.
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Tips & Warnings
Shorter notes are marked by adding more flags to the note stem.
Rests are written in similar fashion to notes, but the symbols used are more abstract than circles.
If you have difficulty learning how to read guitar sheet music on your own, take lessons. By taking lessons, you can work directly with more experienced guitarist.
There are several other rock-specific guitar techniques, like tapping (marked by a slur with the letter T over the first note) and harmonics (usually marked by placing the note in a diamond with instructions as to which type of harmonic is to be sounded above the note or notes). Rock guitar lesson books can acquaint you with all of these symbols.
References
- Photo Credit music notes image by mashe from Fotolia.com
