How to read scores: guide for beginners
A score tells you what note to play and how long it lasts. We explain to you pentagram, keys, figures, comas and alterations with daily exercises to read fluently.
To read a score is to answer two questions at once: What a note.as per its height at the pentagram and key and how longeverything else, as commas, alterations or dynamics, is built about these two ideas.
The order we recommend to start with is: pentagram and key, note names, figures and quiet, comas and, finally, alterations. At the end you will find a 10-minute daily routine for reading to become automatic.
To sum up
- The pentagram has 5 lines and 4 spaces that are counted from bottom up. The higher the note, the more acute it sounds.
- The key indicates what note goes in each line: the sun key sets the Sun at second line and the fa key sets the Fa at 4th.
- The figure's shape says how long it lasts: round 4 times, white 2, black 1, half clasp, in black compas.
- Before you play, check key, armor and compass, and first read the rhythm with palms.
- Ten minutes of reading a day give up more than an hour a week.
The pentagram: where the notes are written
The pentagram is the set of five horizontal lines about which the music is written. Lines and spaces are numbered from bottom up: The first line is that of the bottom. A note can go about a line (the line crosses it half) or a space (between two lines).
- The higher the note, the more sharp it sounds, the lower, the worse.
- When a note gets out of the pentagram, it's written with Additional lines, small rayites that prolong the pentagram up or down.
- The bars and rods they are vertical lines that divide the music into compas and the final double bar indicates that the work was complete.
Sunkey and fa key: the note names
The pentagram just doesn't say what note that's what. That's what the key's for, the sign at the start of each line of music. Sunkey It's wrapped around the second line and gives her the name of Sun. It's used by the voice, violin, flute, guitar and the right hand of the piano. F4 key puts its two points around the 4th line and calls it Fa. It's used by the left hand of the piano, cello, contraple, bass and thrombon. Also there's the do key, that's what reads the viola.
| Position | Suncover | Fa key at 4th |
|---|---|---|
| Fifth line | Fa (F5) | The (A3) |
| 4th space | My (E5) | Sun (G3) |
| 4th line | Ree (D5) | Fa (F3) |
| 3 er space | Do (C5) | My (E3) |
| Section 3 | If (B4) | Ree (D3) |
| 2nd space | The (A4) | Do (C3) |
| 2nd line | Sun (G4) | If (B2) |
| First space | Fa (F4) | The (A2) |
| First line | My (E4) | Sun (G2) |
A trick to the sun key: spaces, from bottom up, say Fat.lt .d.Mi.and the lines, I-I-I-I-I.... The Piano's central Do (C4) is written in the first additional line under the pentagram and in the first additional line above with the fa key: it's the note that binds both hands.
If you play guitar, be aware that his music's been written in a code of sun but it sounds an octave more serious than what's been written. To read, nothing changes.
Figures and Silences: how long each note lasts
The form of the note indicates its duration. Each figure has an equivalent silence that lasts the same but doesn't sound. In compases as 2 / 4, 3 / 4 or 4 / 4, the black one's worth a while and the other's been measured from it.
| Figura | What's that look like? | Duration | His silence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redonda | White head with no pica | 4 times | 4th line rectangle hung |
| Blanca | White head with pica | 2 times | rectangle supported onto the third line |
| Negra | Black head with pica | 1 time | Zigzg sign |
| Corchea | Black with a clasp or attached by a bar | ½ time | Like a 7 with a hook |
| Semicorchea | Two square brackets or two bars | ♦ of time | Like a 7 with two hooks. |
- The tiptoeA point to the right of the note adds half its value: a 3-tipstick and a 1 ½ tipstick with black.
- The prolongation ligation Unite two notes of the same height: touch once and hold up the sum of both.
- Don't confuse her with the expression ligation, that binds different notes and indicates to touch them united, without cutting the sound.
The compass: the two numbers of the start
After the key appear two numbers, one above the other. The top one says how many times each bar has, and the bottom one, what figure's worth a while: 4's black, 2's white and 8's clasp.
| Compas | How's that counted? | Where you found him |
|---|---|---|
| 2/4 | 2 times black: 1-2 | March and many pieces for beginners |
| 3/4 | 3 times black: 1-2-3 | Valves and corridors |
| 4 / 4 (or a C) | 4 times black: 1-2-3-4 | Most pop and rock and ballads |
| 6/8 | Two times, each of three clordes: 1 -2-3-4-5-6 | Rocumbers and many traditional rhythms |
The first time of each bar usually feels more powerful. To count aloud while reading with [methonomic]](/herramientas/metronomo) at a slow tempo, it's the fastest way to interiorize it.
Alterations and armor
- sustained (∞): The note goes up a semitone. Fa-dah's the black key to the right of the Fa.
- Bemol (∞): low note a semitone. If pg is the black key to the left of the Si.
- Basadro (): nullifies sustained or bemole and returns note to its natural status.
A change written with a note will be valid for that note, in that same line or space, up to the end of the bar. At the next bar, the note will be natural again, unless the armor says otherwise.
The armor are the bras or bemoles that appear just after the key, at every line. They affect all the notes with that name, at every octave, throughout the whole work. For example, at the bigger Sun, the armor carries Fa Mica: every Fa you see gets touched Fa Mica even if it doesn't have the sign next to it. circle of quinta It helps you to recognize every armor at a glance.
How to read a new score, step by step
- Look at the key: sun, fa, or both, as at the piano?
- Check his armor and write down his mind about what his grades are altered.
- Identifies the compas and the indication of tempo or character (Allegro, Andante, or a number as ∞ = 80).
- Take a look at the score with your eyes without touching them: look for big leaps, loose alterations, repetitions and comma changes.
- Read only the rhythm: pat and count out loud, without worrying about the notes.
- I gave the names of the notes at rhythm, as in [solpus]](/blog/que-es-el-solfeo-y-como-practicarlo) That's what I'm talking about.
- Play slow and without stopping, though you are wrong. To keep your pulse more important than to get every note right.
- When the reading's stable, the time goes up from time to time.
10 minutes to read with fluency
| Minutos | Ejercicio | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Loan note cards at your instrument key | Recognize every note without counting lines |
| 3 | Read a line of rhythm with palms and metronome at 60 | To feel his pulse and his figure |
| 3 | Read at first glance a very simple piece | Read without stop, looking a little ahead |
| 2 | Copy by hand four compas of a score | Set keys, figures and alterations |
A advice that makes a difference: read by distancesIf a note goes from a line to a space next door, it's a neighbor note and if it's leaping from line to line, leap a note. Thus your eyes recognize drawings and they don't have to name every note.
[Music Theory Classes]](/clases/teoria-musical) or at your [piano class]](/clases/piano)The teacher chooses your level and fixes the rhythm errors that you will not detect. If you are wondering how long it will take, we explain this in how long it takes to learn how to read scores.
Frequently asked questions
What key should I learn first?
That of your instrument. Guitar, violin, flute and voice read in Suncode and cello, contraband, low and trombone, and pic code. Both are learned with piano but most of them start with the Suncode.
Can you learn to read scores by yourself?
The basic thing, yes, with books and reading applications. The hard thing to learn alone is the rhythm: it's easy to misread a figure without noticing it. A teacher detects those mistakes soon and gives you fair level reading.
Do we have to read scores to play guitar?
It's not obligatory to accompany songs: many guitarist starts with chords and tablatures. But the score opens up to you the classical repertoire, allows you to play with other musicians and it's vital if you think about presenting yourself to a music race.
Is reading scores the same as knowing solphis?
They are very related. To read is to understand what was written and to read it out loud, and to say or by singing his notes at his rhythm. To practice solphis is one of the best ways to strengthen his reading.