Reading music in brief
- Five lines
- Notes sit on lines or in spaces; the higher a note sits, the higher it sounds.
- The clef
- It sets the pitches: treble clef for higher notes, bass clef for lower ones.
- Seven letters
- A, B, C, D, E, F, G; then the series starts over, an octave higher.
- Your instrument
- Which clef you read and how written notes sound depend on your instrument.
The notes in treble clef
Five steps to reading music
- The staff and the clef.
The staff has five lines and four spaces, counted from the bottom. The clef at the start of each line sets which note sits where: the treble clef curls around the second line and makes it G4, so it's also called the G clef.
- Find the natural notes.
In treble clef, the lines from the bottom are E4, G4, B4, D5 and F5, and the spaces are F4, A4, C5 and E5. Short ledger lines extend the staff below and above, for example for C4, middle C.
- Note values and time.
A whole note has a hollow note head and no stem, a half note a hollow head with a stem, a quarter note a filled head with a stem, and an eighth note adds a flag or a beam. In 4/4 time, they last four beats, two beats, one beat and half a beat. A dot to the right of the note head adds half the note's value, and rests show how long you stay silent.
- Sharps, flats and naturals.
A sharp (♯) raises a note by a half step, so F becomes F sharp; a flat (♭) lowers it, so E becomes E flat; a natural sign (♮) cancels either. The key signature, the sharps or flats right after the clef, applies to those note names in every octave until a new one appears, and helps you recognize the key. An accidental inside a measure holds for that line or space until the bar line, unless another accidental replaces it, and across a tie it also covers the tied note.
- Read at your instrument.
Read a note, say its name, then play it: on the piano on the right key, on the violin with the right finger on the right string, on the trumpet with the right valve combination and embouchure. As you play in tonestro, the app listens through the microphone and shows you on every note whether pitch and rhythm are right.
Memory aids and practice tips
- Anchor notes first. Memorize three notes: C4 on its ledger line, G4 on the line the clef curls around, and C5 in the third space. Count your way to the others from the nearest anchor.
- Spot steps and skips. From a line to the space just above, you move up one note; from a line to the next line up, you skip one.
- Short and regular. Practice in short, regular sessions and come back to the notes you're unsure of. In tonestro, you can slow tricky passages to 80 or 60 percent speed.
Notes and fingering charts
- Bass clef notes
- Piano keys with note names
- Violin fingering chart
- Alto saxophone fingering chart
- Bb trumpet fingering chart
- Saxophone sheet music
Questions about reading music
What are the different clefs?
Common ones are the treble clef, the bass clef, and the alto and tenor clefs. The treble clef is a G clef and marks G4, the bass clef an F clef that marks F3; alto and tenor clefs are C clefs, and their center marks C4.
What is the mnemonic for the treble clef notes?
For the lines from the bottom, E, G, B, D, F, try “Every Good Boy Does Fine.” The spaces from the bottom spell the word FACE: F, A, C, E.
How do I learn the bass clef?
Learn its lines, G, B, D, F and A from the bottom, and its spaces, A, C, E and G, then play every note you read. A picture, mnemonics and a trick from the treble clef are on Bass clef notes.
Can I learn an instrument without reading music?
Yes: one or two notes are enough to start, and with them you play along with a real song with a band in your first ten minutes with tonestro. Once you read music, you can work out the pitches and rhythm of a new piece on your own.
Which app can help me learn to read music?
In tonestro, you read the music in the app and play it on your instrument; on every note, you see right away whether pitch and rhythm were right. You can show the note names in the settings for as long as you need them.
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