Clefs

There are 2 basic kinds of clefs. The clef you will see on your music depends on what instrument you play.
Treble Clef Bass Clef

You might wonder why there are 2 different clefs. The reason is that most instruments using the bass clef usually have a lower pitch (sound) and regulary play low notes. f they were to use the treble clef the notes would appear so far below the staff it would be hard to read. !ere are the the names of the notes for both clefs. "lthough you only really need to know # or the other$ it is good practice to know both. The treble clef%

The bass clef%

Time &ignatures
Time signatures tell you how many and what kind of notes per measure there are. The number on top is the number of notes per measure$ and the bottom number is what kind of note. 'et us e(plain further. 'et us take for e(ample the most popular time signature$ )*). This means there is 4 quarter notes per measure. !ow is this so+ 'ooking at )*)$ you saw the ) on top. You already knew

that meant there were ) somethings per measure. Then looking at the bottom number probably confused you. The bottom number can be #$ 2$ )$ ,$ #-$ etc. 'ook at this chart.
Bottom .umber # 2 ) , #/alue 0hole note !alf note 1uarter note 2ighth note &i(teenth note

3or e(ample% 4*) is 3 quarter notes per measure. 5*2 is 5 half notes per measure. -*, is 6 eighth notes per measure. There are also 2 other common things you might see where the time signature should be.
Common Time &ame as )*) time Cut Time &ame as )*) but everything is cut in half. 2(ample% a half note 6 # 7uarter note$ a whole note 6 # half note.

Types of .otes%
# of the most important parts of music is learning the types and values of notes. !ere you will gain some understanding of how the notes look and sound. The icon means you can listen to it. "ll of the music samples are recorded at the same speed and are 8ust # measure. The whole note% 'ooks like% an egg on its side$ either with a line through it or not. The half note%

'ooks like%

the same as a whole not but with a vertical line attached to it. The 7uarter note% 'ooks like%

the same as a half note e(cept the circle is filled in. The eighth note% 'ooks like%

the same as 7uarter notes but with a curly off the line. They can also be put in groups of )$ 4$ or 2. The si(teenth note% 'ooks like%

the same as an eighth note but has double curlies. Can also be grouped in )$ 4 or 2 but are 8oined by a double line.

Types of 9ests%
3or each type of note you learned beforehand there is a corresponding rest. The whole rest% 'ooks like% a dark rectangle attached to a bar line$ facing downwards. (1 shown) The half rest% 'ooks like% a dark rectangle attached to a bar line$ facing upwards. (2 shown) The 7uarter rest% 'ooks like%

a s7uiggly line. (4 shown) The eighth rest% 'ooks like% a slanted line with a dot. (8 shown) The si(teenth rest% 'ooks like% a slanted line with a double dot. (16 shown)

Basic Counting%
:ne of the most obvious 7uestions is how musicians know when to play. 0ell$ its easy.. they learn to count the beats. 3irst let us present you with this. # whole note 6 2 half notes 6 ) 7uarter notes 6 , eighth notes 6 #- si(teenth notes. ;eep that in mind while looking at these e(amples. 'ets start with this e(ample.

3irst off$ looking at the time signature you know that there are 4 quarter notes per measure. n the first measure the whole note gets all the beats (#$ 2$ 4 and )) because # whole note 6 ) 7uarter notes$ and there are a total of ) 7uarter notes per measure. n the second e(ample$ each half note gets 2 beats because 2 7uarter notes 6 # half note. n the third e(ample$ each 7uarter note gets its own beat because there are ) 7uarter notes per measure (time sig). 'et<s intermingle the 2 7uarter notes and a half note.

The half note get the first 2 beats$ and each 7uarter its own beat. This makes sense because the )*) time signature means there is 4 quarter notes per measure. 2 7uarter notes = # half note (which is really 2 7uarters) 6 ) 7uarter notes$ the total number of 7uarter notes for that measure (time sig). 'ets add in the eighth notes.

n this e(ample there is something new. The = sign. t 8ust means >and>. f you said # = 2 = ... out loud it would sound like this. # and 2 and 4 and ) and 2ach eight note is #*2 of a 7uarter note$ therefore it takes 2 eighth notes to e7ual 1 7uarter note. Think of it like this% the 1 and the "and" are both half of one 7uarter note and together they form # 7uarter note and from the time sig we know there are ) 7uarters per measure. This may seem a little confusing now$ but all of the sudden it will click. You will hit yourself in the head and wonder how you never understood it. "fter you understand this$ go on to the counting basics 2 page. ?@)

Basic Counting$ Aart 2%

'et<s introduce a mi(ed e(ample.

The 7uarter note is obviously beat # because from the time sig you know there are ) 7uarter notes per measure. You also already know one half note 6 2 7uarter notes therefore the half note must be beats 2 and 4. 3inally$ you know that two eighth notes 6 # 7uarter note so they must be the >) =>. 0hen many different kinds of notes are intermingled$ it starts to become tricky to count. Busicians will sometimes subdivide the notes so the counting flows more easily. 'et<s use the above e(ample$ but this time sub divide it.

!ere every note in the measure is subdivided into ,th notes thus making it a lot more >fluid> to count. ts pretty easy to understand too... one 7uarter note is two ,th notes$ so it gets ># =>. The half note is really four eighth notes so it get >2 = 4 =>. "nd the each ,th note get a half so one is >)> and the other is the >and> of ). !ere would also be a good place to throw in a few e(amples with rests. These will 8ust show the counting and will not e(plain them. Cust think of the rests in terms of their corresponding notes and you<ll have no problemD

Counting the #-th note.

Basically counting #-th notes is similiar to ,th notes e(cept that you need to add more things to count with. was taught using >e> and >a>$ but feel free to use what you want.

2ach part$ the >#>$ >e>$ >=>$ >a> are all #*) of # 7uarter note. Together they add up to # beat according to the time sig. () si(teenths 6 # 7uarter) Eifferent time sigs and different notes. !ere you are.. the top of the note hill. Cust look at these and the counting section is overD

9emember.. from this time sig you are counting the ,th notes.

9emember you are counting half notes$ and therefore you have to subdivide the eighth notes and 7uarter notes accordingly.

:ther symbols
This page contains some of the symbols you might come across while reading music.
Alay the note #*2 step up (&harp) Alay the note #*2 step down (3lat) Alay the note normally? pay no attention to the key signature The above 4 symbols can also appear at the beginning of each line of music affecting the whole line. "lso$ if they are included in an individual measure$ they override each other and carry through ties or slurs. Compressed 9ests. The number on top specifies how many measures of rest.

3ermata. !old the note until cut off. 9epeat. Alay through normally until 2nd symbol$ then go back to #st symbol and play again$ this time ignoring 2nd symbol. Begin and 2nd. Barks the beginning and ending of a piece. Tie. Bake each note flow into the ne(t. (Eo not break them up)

&haping and /olume of Busic

3or music to have some real feeling and e(pression it must be shaped.
/olume of notes f ff fff p mp mf pp cresc &tuff that affects notes sfF tr vibrato legato &tuff that affects the speed of note poco. accel. rit. dim. !it note then back way off and build back up Trill "dd waves to sound &mooth 'oud 'oud 'oud "s loud as possible 1uiet Bedium 1uiet Bedium 'oud 1uiet 1uiet 'ouder

Gradually 3aster &lower Eiminish

soli solo

&hared solo in section # person solo (wow)