How to read piano sheet music easily

Dec 6, 2018 | Uncategorized |

Learning to play the piano is very challenging as it requires time and dedication. Learning
self-taught is even more difficult, but the satisfaction when playing the piano is even greater.
The world of sheet music is complex and difficult to understand at first. We could compare it to
learning a new language. The language of musicians is written in sheet music and the notes
that we must play to interpret a piece are written on them. As in any other language, before we
start speaking and formulating sentences, we have to learn some basic knowledge and
follow a series of guidelines .
If you want to play the piano in the best possible way, you will have to learn to read sheet
music , know its elements ( the staff, the notes, the clef, the sharps ...) and follow its rules.
But don't worry, we are going to make it as easy as possible for you to learn quickly. Keep
reading as we begin!

Learn to read piano sheet music step by step

If we take a first look at a score without prior knowledge, it will seem like an alien language and we will
have no idea where to start. But don't worry, if we analyze it correctly and with patience, reading a score
will be much easier than it seems.
Let's start with the basics:
The pentagram . Inside the score, you will see five lines and four spaces between
them. We call this structure a pentagram. Both lines and spaces are used to place notes, and
their position will determine the pitch of each one. What determines which note is assigned to
each line will be determined by the key, which we will learn about a little further down. In piano
 sheet music, you will see that the staves are divided 2 by 2. One for each hand. The top staff
being for the right hand and the bottom staff for the left hand.

 To wit: In addition to the normal five lines, lines and spaces can also be placed above and
below the staff, drawing short lines as needed to indicate the note.
The key . The name of this element perfectly indicates its importance in the score. The
clef is placed at the beginning of the score and indicates in which line or space of the staff
each note will be placed. You will recognize these clefs because they are large and occupy the
5 lines of the staff. There are several clefs, but luckily, to play the piano, you will only need
to know two : The Treble Clef and the Bass Clef. In most piano scores, the treble clef will be
associated with the notes you play with your right hand and the bass clef with those on the left.
The Treble Clef. This is the most popular clef in music in general and you have surely
already heard of it. With this key, the structure of the staff is formed like this:
The lines from bottom to top indicate the following tones: E, Sol, Si, Re and F.
The spaces from bottom to top indicate the pitches F, A, C, and E.
 Namely: With this key, you can use the G note as a quick reference point. Which is exactly the
note that will appear on the line that runs through the center of the key (the second one from
the bottom)
The bass clef . If you are a beginner, you may not know this key yet. You will
recognize it because it looks like an upside-down C with two little dots behind the arch. This
key puts together the notes like this:
The lines from bottom to top indicate the tones G, B, D, F, and A.
The spaces from bottom to top indicate the tones A, C, E, and G.

 Namely: With this key, you can use the F note as a quick reference point. Which is exactly the
note that will appear on the line that crosses the two dots of the key (the second one from the
top)
The key signature. The key signature tells you which notes will be played differently
during the performance of the score. That is, in the middle of the musical notes (do, re, mi, fa,
sol, la and si) there are semitones, which are indicated with # (Sharp) or with b (flat) .
You can easily identify sharps and flats on the keyboard itself: they are the black keys .
Sharp means that the note goes up half a tone, and flat means that it goes down half a tone.
That is, in some notes, the sharp of one can be the flat of another.
Now that you know the semitones , if we go back to the key signature, the sharp and flat
symbols that are placed at the beginning of the score will tell you the key, and the lines or
spaces on which they appear will tell you that any note at that pitch is due. play with its
respective sharp or flat.

 To wit: Sometimes additional sharps or flats can be placed in the score that will alter a single
note in particular. You will see these placed next to the note they alter.
 The signature of the compass. Along with the key, the compass
is essential when it comes to understanding the staff and being able to play the piano correctly.
The beat indicates the rhythm of the song and the pulses/beats that a note receives. They are
the two numbers that appear at the beginning of the score. The bottom number indicates the
type of note that receives a pulse/beat (below we explain what type of note corresponds to
each number) and the top number indicates how many of them there are in each measure.

 To wit: In the score you will see that there are vertical lines drawn through the horizontal lines,
the space between these lines is the measures. These help break down the music into various
sections.

Now that we are clear about the main elements that develop the structure of the score, we
have to know the elements that will give the piano its own life:
The musical notes .
How to read musical notes
Musical notes are the vital part of every score. They will be placed on the staff and with the
help of the key we will know how to identify and play them (as we have seen before)
But there is something equally important as the tone of the note: its duration. You will identify
this characteristic with the different types of notes that you should know:
Round. This is the largest note and lasts an entire measure. As its name indicates, it is placed
on the staff as a circle, without any type of stick. They are indicated with a 1 in the time
signature
White. This note is the second largest and lasts half a measure. The white one is like the
round one but has a stick facing up. They are indicated with a 2 in the time signature
Black. The quarter notes last a quarter of a measure. You will recognize it because it is like the
white one but completely black. They are indicated with a 4 in the time signature
Eighth notes. The eighth notes last an eighth of a measure. They are the same as the black
ones but have a kind of tail on one side. The eighth notes can also go together, turning their
ends into a line that connects them with the other note. They are indicated with an 8 in the
time signature
Sixteenth notes. Sixteenth notes last a quarter of a beat. They are the same as the quarter
notes but have two tails pointing to one side . They are indicated with a 16 in the time
signature
In this image you can identify the musical notes:

The silences. Finally, we have silences or pauses, which indicate a time in which we do not
have to touch anything . The silence of the beat is like a hat turned upside down. The one in
white has a hat (well placed). The quarter note one looks like a scribble, the eighth note rests
are a diagonal line with a tail and the sixteenth note rests are the same but with 2 tails.
 Practice and learn to play piano sheet music
Now that you know the main elements of the score and the musical notes. Now you can start
playing and applying your new knowledge.
We recommend that you start practicing with easy piano songs so that you can get the
rhythm and increase the difficulty of the pieces as you improve and gain experience.
There are two key points to learning to play the piano: Practice and have patience . As you
practice a new piece, you will see how over time your hands become accustomed to the
movements and you will gain confidence to play faster and faster.
Remember: don't be discouraged, practice every day and you will see how Soon you will
impress all your family and friends when they hear you play the piano!
Tips for beginners
 The 5 easiest Chopin pieces to learn to play
 How to place your fingers on the piano
 Tips and techniques to learn easy piano