Learn to read music with this crash course covering the basics of standard music notation — plus essential reading tips. 

The guitar god Jimi Hendrix couldn’t read music. The great jazz pianist Erroll Garner never learned to read. Neither did Paul McCartney or John Lennon. 

Learning to read is challenging, and it’s not as much fun as playing and jamming. So why bother learning to read music — right? 

Wrong. The truth is that learning to read music unlocks countless new opportunities and skills for musicians. At various points throughout their careers, even those icons named above were limited or at least inconvenienced by their inability to read. Irving Berlin, a giant of the American musical theater, never learned to read, which required him to enlist a series of assistants to help him get his music down on paper. Unless you have the genius of Hendrix or the resources of Berlin, you should seriously consider reading music. 

Try passing an all-state concert band or orchestra audition without reading. Jazz band? Forget about it. Sure, we’ve heard stories of horn players “faking it” by asking their sectionmates to sing parts for them, but doesn’t that sound annoying? Theater students definitely get ahead by being able to read vocal parts. 

Even rock musicians benefit from knowing how to read, which improves their ability to write, arrange, produce and improvise. And like any musician who can read, they’ll be able to communicate more effectively with their fellow players. Reading also enables musicians to learn new pieces faster, without having to memorize every part by ear. And standard notation offers a more complete representation of pitch, rhythm and dynamics than tablature, which is specialized for string instruments and primarily shows finger placement.

The sooner a musician begins to learn to read, the better, and a child’s extraordinary ability to absorb and retain new languages will carry over to music. In Music & Arts’ lessons program, we tailor our instruction to fit each individual student, so talk to your teacher about how reading music can be incorporated into your lessons plan. We’ve never met a musician who regrets acquiring this versatile skill.

The Basics of Reading Sheet Music

What Is Sheet Music?

When we say “sheet music,” we’re talking about standard Western musical notation: a series of notes, rests and other symbols that provides a roadmap for performing a piece of music. “Sheet music” is a term used to describe printed music, most often individual compositions, but you can find standard notation in all sorts of electronic mediums as well. 

The Staff

The staff, or stave, is the foundation of written music, consisting of five horizontal lines and four spaces. Each line and space represents a different musical pitch, which changes depending on whether the treble clef or the bass clef is being used. Notes are placed on the lines and spaces of the staff to show which pitches should be played or sung. When notes fall outside the range of the staff, small lines called ledger lines are added above or below to extend the pitch range. The vertical position of a note on the staff shows how high or low the sound is, while other markings, like time signatures and key signatures, provide information about rhythm and tonality. 

Measures

A measure, also called a bar, is a segment of music that organizes beats into evenly spaced groups on the musical staff. Measures are separated by bar lines, which are vertical lines that cut across the staff. Measures help musicians keep time and follow the structure of a piece. Bar lines also serve as reference points for navigation symbols, like repeat signs, which instruct players to go back and play a section again, and D.C. al Fine or D.S. al Coda, which guide the performer to specific points in the music for repeats and jumps.

Treble Clef & Bass Clef

Clefs are symbols placed at the beginning of the staff that assign specific pitches to the lines and spaces. The two most common clefs are the treble clef and the bass clef, each used for different ranges of notes. The treble clef, also known as the G clef, wraps around the second line of the staff, indicating that this line represents the note G above middle C. It’s typically used for higher-pitched instruments and voices, such as guitar, violin, flute, trumpet and soprano or alto singers.

The bass clef, or F clef, places the note F below middle C on the fourth line of the staff, moving from the bottom to the top. It’s used for lower-pitched instruments and voices, such as double bass and bass guitar, cello, trombone, tuba and baritone or bass singers. The main difference between the two clefs lies in the range of notes they cover. Musicians learn to read the clef appropriate to their instrument or voice type. In the case of the piano and similar keyboard-based instruments, which use grand staff notation, both clefs are used together, with treble for the right hand and bass for the left.

Musical Notes and Rests

Notes on the staff show which pitch to play and how long to hold it. Each note has different parts that provide this information. The note head is the oval part of the note and shows the pitch based on its position on the staff. If the note head is solid black, it usually indicates a shorter duration, like a quarter note. If it’s open, it typically represents a longer note, such as a half note or whole note.

Attached to the note head is the stem, a vertical line that usually extends upward on the right or downward on the left, depending on the note’s position on the staff. The flag is a curved mark that appears on shorter notes, such as eighth notes, sixteenth notes and more. Each flag cuts the note’s duration in half: A note with one flag, such as an eighth note, lasts half as long as a quarter note. A note with two flags — a sixteenth note — lasts half as long as an eighth note. When grouped together, notes with flags are often connected by beams instead of using individual flags.

In contrast to notes, rests indicate silence. Each rest symbol corresponds to a note value — a quarter rest, half rest or eighth rest, for example — letting musicians know when not to play. Together, notes and rests shape the flow of the music.

The chart below depicts the common notes and rests, and gives their values in 4/4 or “common” time — more on that to come.

Pro Tip: How to Memorize the Notes on the Staff 

For both the treble and bass clefs, mnemonic devices help musicians remember the note names on the staff.

On the treble clef, the lines from bottom to top are E-G-B-D-F, remembered by phrases including Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, Every Good Boy Does Fine and Every Girl Buys Designer Fashions. The spaces spell F-A-C-E, which is easy to recall because it spells the word Face.

The bass-clef lines from bottom to top are G-B-D-F-A, remembered with the phrase Good Boys Do Fine Always, or Great Big Dreams for All. The spaces are A-C-E-G, often remembered via All Cows Eat Grass or All Cars Eat Gas.  

Time Signatures

Time signatures are essential in musical notation because they define the rhythmic structure of a piece. Found at the beginning of the staff, just after the clef and key signature, a time signature consists of two numbers stacked vertically, resembling a fraction. The top number tells you how many beats are in each measure, while the bottom number indicates the note value that counts as one beat.

For example, a bottom number of 4 means the quarter note gets the beat, while 8 means the eighth note gets the beat. A 4/4 time signature means there are four quarter-note beats in each measure, and this time signature is the most common in rock, hip-hop, dance music and other popular styles.

Key Signatures

Between the clef and the time signature you’ll find the key signature, which indicates the notes that are consistently sharpened (♯) or flattened (♭) throughout the piece. These changes apply to all notes of the same letter name, in any octave, until a key change occurs. Notes that aren’t part of the key signature — called accidentals — apply only for the measure in which they appear (unless they’re tied across a barline). The key signature helps define the key of the music, or its tonal center.

Dynamics and Articulation

Dynamics and articulation are markings in music that tell musicians how to play each note with regard to intensity and smoothness (or lack thereof). Dynamics refer to the volume of the music, with symbols and corresponding Italian terms like p (piano, or soft), f (forte, or loud) and mf (mezzo forte, or medium loud) helping to shape the emotion in a piece.

Articulation tells you how to attack or connect notes. For example, a staccato dot — a small dot placed directly above or below the notehead — tells the musician to play the note in a short, abrupt fashion. In contrast, a slur — a curved line connecting two or more notes of different pitches — indicates that they should be played smoothly, with no separation between them (a style called legato).

Tips for Getting Better at Reading Music

Practice Reading Music Consistently

Reading music is like any other musical skill: You can only gain it through consistent practice. Begin by building at least 10 minutes of focused music reading into your daily practice routine, and steadily work toward a half-hour as you improve. 

Progress Your Music Reading in Steps

There’s a reason so many music students want to avoid reading — it’s not easy! So begin with simple melody lines and break longer pieces of music into sections. Make sure to practice with a metronome and start slow, advancing the tempo as you get more comfortable. 

Look for Patterns and Phrases

As you read, aim to recognize the familiar patterns and note intervals that make up melodies and chords. This will quicken your progression and deepen your understanding of composition and harmony. 

Before You Play, Clap and Count Rhythms 

Counting and clapping rhythms out loud, before you even touch your instrument, is a great habit to get into when reading a new piece of music. By separating the rhythms from your instrumental technique, you’ll absorb them more thoroughly. A metronome can help solidify your sense of timing once you’re comfortable clapping the rhythm.

Focus on the Music Stand, Not on Your Hands

Avoid homing in on your hands and instrument, since you should be focused on creating a seamless connection between the information on the page and the action of performance. 

Read New Music

Reading music for songs you already know and love can be helpful because it taps into your musical passions — but it’s also crucial to tackle pieces you have less personal experience with. By reading pieces you’re not overly familiar with, you’ll avoid the temptation to “cheat” by playing solely by ear and memorization.

Sight-Read to Challenge Yourself

Sight-reading is the act of playing or singing a piece of music at first sight, without having practiced it beforehand. Effective sight-reading is about maintaining flow and rhythm, quickly grasping key signatures, time signatures and dynamics and recognizing patterns in melody and harmony. Build time into your practice sessions where you intentionally play through a piece from beginning to end without stopping, even if you make mistakes. Before you start, take 20-30 seconds to silently scan the music. Look for changes in rhythm and repeated melodies, and note the overall form of the piece. Then, dive in with confidence and keep going.  

Learn Music From Expert Instructors at Music & Arts

Music & Arts is the nation’s #1 music lessons program, offering personalized instruction from highly vetted professional teachers. We offer lessons for over 20 major instruments at more than 250 locations nationwide.