Music · Learn to read

Reading Music

How to read sheet music, from the five lines of the staff to key signatures and chords. Every chapter has pictures of real notation, sounds to hear and short drills.

Reading music is like reading words: at first you sound out each note, and with practice you see whole groups at a glance. These chapters go in order, and each one builds on the one before. If you haven’t played a piano before, start with Piano Basics so the keys feel familiar.

The drills are short rounds of ten questions. Do a round or two a day. Your best score at each level is saved in this browser, and a check mark shows each chapter you’ve finished.

The chapters

  1. Chapter 1: The Staff: Lines and SpacesFive lines and four spaces: where notes sit, how to count them, and how higher on the page means higher in sound.
  2. Chapter 2: The Treble ClefThe G clef and the notes on its lines and spaces, with memory aids, landmark notes and drills from the staff to the keys and back.
  3. Chapter 3: The Bass ClefThe F clef for low notes: its lines and spaces, memory aids, landmark notes, and drills from the staff to the keys and back.
  4. Chapter 4: The Grand Staff, Middle C and Ledger LinesHow piano music joins the treble and bass staves, where middle C lives between them, and how ledger lines carry notes above and below.
  5. Chapter 5: Note Values and RestsWhole, half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes, the rests that match them, dots, ties and triplets: how long each note lasts, counted in beats.
  6. Chapter 6: Beats, Measures and Time SignaturesBar lines divide music into measures; the time signature says how many beats each one holds. Count “1 & 2 &” and tap rhythms with the click.
  7. Chapter 7: Sharps, Flats and NaturalsThe signs that raise, lower and restore a note, where they go on the staff, and how long they last.
  8. Chapter 8: Key SignaturesThe sharps or flats at the start of every line: what they mean, the order they always come in, and how to name the key from them.
  9. Chapter 9: Scales and the Circle of FifthsThe major scale’s pattern of whole and half steps, why each key needs its sharps or flats, the natural minor scale, and the circle of fifths that ties every key together.
  10. Chapter 10: Intervals and ChordsMeasure the distance between two notes by counting letters, tell major from minor and perfect, and build the three-note chords called triads.
  11. Chapter 11: Dynamics, Tempo and ArticulationHow loud (p, mf, f, crescendo), how fast (Andante, Allegro, rit.), and how each note is played (legato, staccato, accents, fermatas).
  12. Chapter 12: Repeats and EndingsRepeat signs, first and second endings, D.C., D.S., Fine and Coda: the road signs that tell you where to go next.

Now put it all together: pick a song, turn on letter names if you like, and play along. Go to the songs →

@teddyrookbook GitHub