Notes, Rests and Semibreves - How to Read Music

How to Read Music Time Signature. Play the notes and rests in relation to the time signature. Now that you know which lines and spaces correspond to which notes (thanks to the clef), you can read the piece from left to right. The symbols will either represent notes or rests. Rests indicate silence, so they do not designate any pitch; they are typically placed in the same position on the staff. A variety of symbols are used to indicate the duration of a note or rest relative to other notes or rests.Notes:Rests:

A whole note or semibreve appears as a "circle" on the staff in a measure and is worth 4 beats in common time. A whole note is the base unit to which all the other fractional notes are related.

I know, I know. Notes and semibreves and rests, oh my!

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How to Read Music - Time Signature

To the right of the key signature, if a key signature is present, will be the time signature (also known as the meter signature). The music time signature typically consists of two numbers, and it looks like a fraction. It may stay constant throughout a piece of music, or it may change from time to time throughout a piece.


The top number normally determines how many beats are in a measure or bar (a measure is defined by vertical lines, or bar lines, that run perpendicular to the staff). For instance, if the time signature is 3/4, there are three beats in a measure.

The bottom number in the time signature normally determines what kind of note gets one beat. This number is most commonly 4, which means that a quarter note (see next step) gets one beat. It may also be 2, which means that a half note gets one beat, or 8, which means that eighth notes are used to determine the length of the measure.

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Learning to Read Music - Key Signature Part 2

Here are a few more basic things about Reading Sheet Music Key Signature....

The exception to this rule is the key of F, which has only one flat. In keys containing sharps, the name of the key is one step above the last sharp; for example, if there are three sharps, F, C, and G, the name of the key, one step above G, is "A".
Notes can also be designated flats or sharps by flat or sharp symbols placed right before them within the piece of music. In this case, only the corresponding notes in that measure (see next step) are modified.

Natural signs cancel a flat or a sharp.If the key signature tells you that all "B" notes, for example, should be played as "B-flats," a natural sign can be used before a single "B" note to indicate that that particular note and other "B" notes in that measure should be played as "B," not as "B-flat."

Be sure to check for key changes. Key changes will be indicated throughout some pieces and will look like a key signature. When this happens, change the key you are playing in as is indicated from there on out, or until you come upon another key change.

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