Some things in music that should be easy just aren’t. If you’re having trouble wrapping your brain about some of the concepts that you think should be easy, don’t beat yourself up. Learning to read music isn’t any different than learning a new language.
Continue reading →Reading music from the printed sheet music involves several inter-related areas including melody, harmony, and rhythm.
Continue reading →Most people play the piano by reading music and playing what is on the written sheet music, and that’s fine.
Continue reading →Learning to read music is a process which involves learning to read the melody of a song as well as all the harmonic support.
Continue reading →Music is written in notation that includes a staff (five horizontal lines), ledger lines, time and key signatures, and other symbols that tell what notes are to be played and how long they are to be played. In addition to notes, rests of varying lengths are used.
Continue reading →Aside from the academic study of music theory, which explores the theories surrounding music issues, such as whether or not a piece of music fits into one category or another, music theory is really the nuts and bolts of music. It’s the way that music is composed, and performed. Whether you are thinking about musical harmony, the way a concerto is orchestrated, and even the simple basics of how to read music, then you’re thinking about aspects of musical theory.
Continue reading →The best of all worlds, however, is to be able to read music as it is written in a sheet music score, but also be able to read the chord symbols. Then the musician is free to choose which is best — the written part, or an improvised part. The sky is the limit for musicians who can do both.
Continue reading →Sight reading is the act of reading and playing a piece of music before having ever seen it: on sight. This technique is an important one for musicians to learn. Being skilled in sight reading makes reading a piece of music easier; the musician doesn’t have to labor over every note and re-teach themselves the common patterns. Sight reading, after a decent amount of practice, becomes like second nature.
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