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Every musician needs to know the basic theory of music notes. Here you can learn about note reading, intervals, scales and much more...
Music You Can Read teaches all children how to read music notes, vocal and instrumental, during their primary and elementary school years...
Need to print out some music notes? You're welcome to download music notes handouts, worksheets or flash cards for your personal or educational use...
How To Read Music Notes
The core of reading music is the music notes. Sure, you couldn't really read it right if you didn't understand the base and treble clefs or the rests, but the notes are the music. The notes tell you the melody and the harmony. You can't read music if you can't read music notes.
It's not the music notes that decides the note, it's where it is placed on the bar. When you see a sheet of music, you don't see letters, you just see notes. There are seven different music notes named from A to G. Let's first talk about the treble clef, or the top bar. The note across the bottom line is E and the note that sits on that line is F.
As you go up, the notes are either on the line or between the lines. Note D is right under the bottom line and C sits alone underneath with a small line through it. Once the notes have gone from C to B up the bar, it starts back at C. These next music notes are another octave lower. On the base clef, it is the same except that it goes down.
Not every note is help for the same amount of time. The black notes you are used to seeing are help for one count by themselves. If there are two attached together by the stems, each count as one half count. If three music notes are strung together, the counts must add up to one. When notes are strung together, they are shorter.
There are also longer notes. Music notes with a stem that is a circle and not filled in is help for two counts, a note filled in with a stem and a dot is help for three counts, and a large circle without a stem is held for an entire measure. The length of these notes also depends on the time of the piece of music. Some music is counted in fours, others longer or shorter.
These are just the bare basics of reading music notes. There is so much more to learn before you can begin to play. You need to know the notes and everything around them. Don't feel intimidated because it's not as difficult as it sounds. Find more information and advanced study and visual help if reading music notes is too difficult for you.
Article Source: Music Notes Article Archive
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