Reading Musical Notes

Now that we know how to read rhythms, how do we then read musical notes?
Notes are written on a staff:

The clef assigns names to the notes. In the following example we show a staff with a treble clef. The treble clef is commonly used for high pitched instruments like the flute and the violin. This clef assigns the note G to the second line. Note how the treble clef shape seems to curl around the second line. All notes written on that line are a G:

The note written on the space above the G is an A and the one on the following line is a B. As you can see, the notes continue in order (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) alternating lines and spaces:

Using ledger lines we can write notes higher than the G and lower than the D:

To help the memorization of notes on the staff it is useful to memorize the names of the notes over the lines and spaces:

The notes over the spaces make the word FACE. The notes over the lines can be memorized using the following phrase: Every Good Boy Does Fine.

An Example

With all of what we have learned already, we can start reading a simple example. Let's try the well-known melody of Frère Jacques.

Accidentals

Accidentals

Note pitches can be modified by using accidentals:

Accidental	Name	Effect
	sharp	Raises the note 1 half step
	flat	Lowers the note 1 half step
	double sharp	Raises the note 2 half steps or 1 whole step
	double flat	Lowers the note 2 half steps or 1 whole step
	natural	Cancels any previous accidental

In music writing an accidental affects every note of the same name and in the same octave within a measure. In the following example the last G note is sharp (we would need to add a natural sign if we wanted it natural):

Enharmonic

Notes with the same pitch but different names are called enharmonic. G#-Ab are enharmonic notes.

All the notes we have seen so far correspond to the white keys of the piano keyboard. We will now see how to write notes that correspond to the black keys of the piano.
Here we show how the white keys of the piano are written on the staff:

How do we write the black keys?
Let's take an example. The black key located between the C and D keys can be notated by preceding the C with the symbol of the sharp accidental , or by preceding the D with the symbol of the flat accidental . The other keys can be written in a similar way:

The distance between any key and the following one is called a half-step. The sharp symbol raises a note by a half-step, while the flat symbol lowers the note by a half-step.

Whole and Half Steps

In the equal temperament tuning system the octave is divided exactly in twelve notes. The distance between each note is known as a half step. On the keyboard any key is at the distance of a half step from the next and previous key:

A whole step contains two half steps. All the white keys on the keyboard separated by a black key are at a distance of a whole step. The keys that are not separated by a black key are at a distance of a half step:

Notes corresponding to the white keys on the keyboard are called C, D, E, F, G, A and B. These notes are considered natural notes. They can be raised a half step with a sharp or lowered with a flat. A black key, for example the one between C and D, can be considered a C sharp or a D flat:

Key Signatures

Identifying Key Signatures

Each key signature is related to a major scale and its relative minor. With practice, it is possible to memorize the accidentals that are typical of each scale. Meanwhile, key signatures may be identified and built otherwise.

Identifying Key Signatures of Sharps:

The major scale to which it belongs is a half-step above the last sharp:

Identifying Key Signatures of Flats:

The major scale to which it belongs is a perfect fourth below the last flat. In case of more than one flat, tonality is also indicated by the penultimate flat:

 

Key Signatures

Major and natural minor scales built on C and A respectively do not contain any altered note. In order to build these scales starting from any other note, it is necessary to alter one or more notes. For instance, in the scale of G major, note F is sharp. If you want to write a melody in G major, you would need to alter all F notes. In order to reduce the number of accidentals at the time of writing music we resort to the use of key signatures. These accidentals, written between the key and the time signature affect all of the notes of that name throughout the piece, including those in other octaves.
Key signatures are placed at the beginning of each staff, between the clef and the meter signature:

In the former melodic fragment, all F are sharp. Therefore, if you want to write a natural F, it should be preceded by a natural.
Scales with sharps in their key signatures are the following:

Scales with flats in their key signatures are the following:

When a piece is not in the key of C Major or A Minor, it requires the use of regular accidentals. In order to avoid having to keep writing those accidentals, we can place them at the beginning of the piece using what is known as a key signature.

For instance, a piece in the key of D Major makes regular use of the notes of F-sharp and C-sharp. The key signature of D Major will then utilize those two accidentals; meaning that when this key signature is present, all F and C notes are automatically raised and become sharp notes, unless they are preceded by the symbol of the natural accidental.

Following we have a fragment from Beethoven’s famous Ode to Joy, in the key of D Major. Note how all the F and C notes are played sharp:

Click Clef Reading Exercise for more practicing in notes reading


Source: www.teoria.com