Learn to Read Piano Music

Learning a chord-based approach to playing the piano might

have you rockin' and rollin' in not time, but many people

want to know and understand what they are playing by

learning how to read piano music. This could take time, a few

months or even years, but those who learn to read piano

music don't have to hear a song before they play it. They

simply look over the piece of sheet music and are able to

'hear' the score before them. Understanding the notes is like

being able to read another language.

The first steps to learning how to read piano or keyboard

sheet music involve learning the notes and clefs that a piece

of music is composed of. This will let you know whether you

need to play in a treble clef, or high tone, or if the piece is

written for deeper or lower tones, called a bass clef. Next,

you must be able to designate which notes are what, where

they are located, and why they are there.

Notes are broken down and depicted individually on what is

called a stave, the five parallel lines music is written on.

Depending on where the note is on the stave, on the lines or

in the spaces, this will formulate how a song should be

played. Different parts of the musical score will detail each

section's notes all at once to help the conductor lead an

entire symphony.

The next step to reading piano sheet music is a bit more

complicated. The time signature is another important feature

to focus on because it tells you at what pace the song should

be played. These are often made up of vertical bar lines,

which indicate when and where a song begins and stops. On

this time signature there are numbers that indicate how

many beats exist per measure. You'll learn to recognize the

time signature, what it means, and how it controls the

rhythm of a song as you continue learning how to read piano

music.

The final step to understanding a piano score involves

understanding the next type of signature. This is called the

key signature. The key signature tells you in what key the

piece should be played. This can vary from sharp, to flat, to

natural. Sharp keys are the black keys found just above the

white keys on a piano or keyboard. The notations on the key

signature indicate what part or parts of a song need to be

emphasized or not. By learning to read piano music, you will

not only be able to understand the piece before you, but you

will also gain a deeper appreciation for the music.

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