HOW TO READ

SHEET
MUSIC
Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................... 1

Header ............................................................................................ 2

Staff and Clefs ................................................................................ 2

Notes and Accidentals ................................................................... 4

Key Signatures ................................................................................ 5

Note Durations ............................................................................... 7

Tempo and Time Signature ............................................................ 9

Dynamics ...................................................................................... 10

Bonus: Mnemonic Rules .............................................................. 11

Introduction
Welcome to "How to Read Sheet Music". If you're a pianist, mastering sheet music is a key to
unlocking the full expressive potential of your musical interpretations. It's the precise
language of music, allowing musicians to recreate compositions accurately.
This ebook will guide you through the essential elements of reading piano sheet music.
Here is an example of piano sheet music:

This is the first page of the sheet music for Chopin's "Sonata No. 3 in B minor".
Even though the content may seem complex now, rest assured that you'll gradually grasp it as
you progress.

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Header
The first thing we see in sheet music is the header.
At the top center, you will always find the title. The author can be found just below the title or
on the right side, like in this example:

Occasionally, the left side may include information about the instrument or the Opus number
(Op.), which is simply the term used to catalog the publication of a work.
Understanding the title and author helps set the context for interpreting the sheet music. After
that, we can focus on the following aspects to play the sheet music.

Staff and Clefs

The staff consists of five lines.

Staves serve as the musical canvas, defining the pitch of each note. A note situated higher on
the staff will have a higher pitch, while a note placed lower on the staff will have a lower pitch.
The notes can be placed between the lines or on them. The distance between notes is called
an interval.

The clef at the beginning determines how we interpret the staff and names the notes. For
piano, generally, two clefs are used:

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 Treble Clef: The most common clef, centered on the second line,
representing the G4 note (the fourth G according to the piano
keys). It usually coincides with the range of movement of the
right hand. Higher notes.

Bass Clef: Its drawing encloses the fourth line between two
points. The note written on this line is F3 (the third F on the
keyboard). It usually coincides with the range of the left hand,
with lower notes.

In piano music, both clefs are joined by a brace. This is called the grand staff:

If a piece includes notes beyond the ranges of the staves, additional lines can be added.
Depending on the overall pitch range of the composition, two treble clefs may be used for
higher notes, or two bass clefs for lower notes.
In addition to the treble and bass clefs, there are other different clefs used in specific cases to
avoid putting many additional lines. Although they are not very common.

If a song or melody has most notes between both clefs, we can

avoid putting many additional lines above the bass clef or below
the treble clef thanks to the alto clef.

In this clef, C is on the third line of the staff. This staff would be right in the middle of the treble
clef and bass clef.

In summary, clefs are only a parameter to be able to name the notes drawn on the staff and
know to which register they belong.

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Notes and Accidentals
We have learned that the treble clef is built from the second line, representing the G4 note on
the piano. And the bass clef encloses the fourth line, representing F3.
So, from here, we can deduce the rest of the notes:

The first note that many pianists learn is middle C. This C, also called C4, is right between both
staves.
There are a total of 12 notes, but only 7 of them have specific names: C, D, E, F, G, A, B. The
rest of the notes are sharps and flats (the black keys on the piano). To represent these
accidentals, the following symbols are used (♯ for sharp and ♭ for flat).

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Key Signatures
Key signatures are placed at the beginning of the sheet music and are used to fix sharps or
flats to a specific line throughout the sheet music. Placing a flat signature on the B line will
make all Bs in the sheet music flats.

In this example, all B notes would be B♭, whether they are on the line or in other octaves.

Note: The last two Bs on the right are the same key on the keyboard. They are placed
on different staves to indicate that the treble clef staff is played by the right hand, and
the lower staff is played by the left hand.

In case there is an exception, meaning that the note should not be sharp or flat, but natural,
the natural symbol (♮) is used. The following illustration represents the different accidentals
of the same note.

Therefore, the key signature determines the key of a piece.

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Each major key has its relative minor with the same key signature. The staff without a key
signature can indicate two keys, C major or A minor.

The circle of fifths is a very useful tool to understand the relationships between keys.

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Note Durations
The whole note is the longest musical figure. The rest of the musical figures represent fractions
of the duration of a whole note. The half note is half of a whole note. The quarter note is half
of a half note, or ¼ of a whole note, which is the same. We can continue dividing the notes as
follows:

Eighth notes are distinguished from quarter notes by their flags, and sixteenth notes by their
double flags. These figures can be joined together to form groups of notes to facilitate reading.

Each figure has its own silence counterpart to represent pauses. The interpretation of silence
is simply waiting for the indicated time without playing anything.

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It is possible to modify the duration of the notes with the following elements: The dotted note,
the tied note, and the triplet.
The dotted note has a dot drawn next to a figure and it adds half its value.

Tied notes are made tying two or more notes together to indicate that they should be
sustained for the duration of all of them. This is very common when the duration of a note
extends to the next measure.

The triplet is a grouping of 3 figures that should be played in the time of 2. It is represented by
placing a bar over them with the number 3.

The image above represents a triplet of 3 eighth notes, so its total duration would be like 2
regular eighth notes (1 quarter note), with the particularity of having to play 3 notes in that
same time.

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Tempo and Time Signature
One of the most important aspects is the rhythm, meaning, when to play. The tempo or bpm
(beats per minute) marks the rhythm of the song, the speed at which it should be played.
Currently, with the invention of the metronome, it is represented with a number, for example:
♩ = 120 bpm, but traditionally, Italian terms were used, which you may find in more classical
pieces. There are lists of terms with their respective bpm ranges. These are the most common:

• Adagio (slow): 66 – 76 bpm

• Andante (at a walking pace): 76 – 108 bpm
• Allegro (fast): 110 – 168 bpm

Each measure is separated by a vertical bar called a bar line, and they are numbered. The
measure number is usually indicated when starting a new staff.
The measure has a time signature or rhythmic pattern, which is nothing more than a fraction
that sets the rhythm of the piece.

The most common is the 4/4 time signature, which can also be represented with a C:

The fraction is placed at the beginning, to the right of the clef, or at the beginning of a new
measure when there is a change in the rhythmic pattern. The number on top tells us how
many beats are in a measure. And the number below indicates the value of 1 beat. Therefore,
the 4/4 time signature means it has 4 beats, and each beat has a duration of a quarter note.
Following the same logic, the 3/4 time signature has 3 beats, each with a duration of a quarter
note.

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Dynamics
At this point, we already know what to play and when to play it, but we still need to know how
to play it. Dynamics are aspects to give an idea of how to play the song. Don't be too strict, as
these are very subjective concepts.
Volume or velocity is indicated with abbreviations of Italian terms. Ordered from soft to loud,
these are the most used intensities:

• Pianissimo (pp): Very soft

• Piano (p): Soft
• Mezzopiano (mp): Moderately soft
• Mezzoforte (mf): Moderately loud
• Forte (f): Loud
• Fortissimo (ff): Very loud

Accents are transitional dynamics to go from one volume to another. There are two types:

• Crescendo (<): Progressive increase in intensity

• Decrescendo or Diminuendo (>): Progressive decrease in intensity.

The length of the accent symbol indicates the time it takes to transition from one dynamic to
another.

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Bonus: Mnemonic Rules
Now that you know everything you need to read sheet music, you might be interested in
learning mnemonic rules in order to learn more quickly. Acronyms can help you recognize
notes in sheet music:

You may have noticed that every note in the treble clef is exactly two letter names higher than
its bass clef equivalent. So, another rule is to learn the treble clef notes and then transpose
them.
The bass clef is also called the "F clef", and the treble clef is also known as the "G clef". This is
because the two little dots of the bass clef surround F on the staff, and the swirl of the treble
clef curls around G.
You don't have to read each and every single note on a sheet of music. As you get better at
reading music, you'll notice patterns that speed up the reading process.
Mnemonic rules that can help you memorize the names of the notes on the staff, but constant
practice is undoubtedly the best method to improve reading speed.

In conclusion, armed with this knowledge, you can approach piano sheet music with
confidence, mastering both the horizontal rhythm and the verticality of melodies. Remember,
consistent practice and exploring diverse pieces will enhance your fluency in reading music.
Now, go ahead and enjoy playing the piano!

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