Why Read Music?
Here are a few thoughts about why I think it’s important to learn how to read music. Of course, this is just my opinion based on my own experience and that of many people I have taught throughout the last several years.
Need help reading music? This is the place to go for extra help understanding music theory.
Here are a few thoughts about why I think it’s important to learn how to read music. Of course, this is just my opinion based on my own experience and that of many people I have taught throughout the last several years.
Are you having trouble reading and understanding certain rhythms in your music? The most effective way for you to truly master rhythm is by isolating it. Let me show you how to do this. It’s easier than you think!
Eighth rests are easy to spot because they look like a fancy number seven. They are the silent twin of the single eighth note receiving only 1/2 a beat.
If you’re having trouble recognizing the notes on the staff, one way of learning them quicker is by using music flash cards. Get yourself a set and then use the 3 Good Ones In-A-Row method to speed up the learning process.
The single eighth note looks like a quarter note with a flag added to the top of the stem. When eighth notes are on their own and not beamed together, this is exactly what they look like.
Eighth notes look similar to quarter notes, except they are connected by a beam. It takes a group of two eighth notes beamed together to equal one quarter note in the 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4 time signatures. That means this group of eighth notes must sound evenly over 1 beat.
Another way repeat signs are found is with the use of 1st and 2nd endings. This area usually has bracketed lines drawn over the top of the measures with a number “1” and a number “2” inside.
A repeat sign is a double bar line with two dots. It basically means to “play again”. There are two common ways that we find repeat signs in our music. Let’s take a look at both.
Slurs and ties can be easily confused with each other since they look very similar. Let’s take a look at how they are different and what each one means.
The dotted half rests are the silent partner of the dotted half notes. You can apply the dot rule just the same.