3 Ways to Read Piano Score

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-19 22:11

Learning to play the piano is challenging and takes a long time, but if you manage to learn it you can experience the enjoyment of playing music for yourself. While it's more effective to take piano classes at a music school, you can still learn how to play the piano yourself at home. This article discusses the basics of playing the piano and how to read piano scores. You can also read the dedicated guide on how to read musical notation on this site for more information.

Step

Method 1 of 3: Learning How to Read Staves (Staff)

Step 1. First identify lines and spaces (spaces)

When you view a score, you will see lines and four spaces between the lines. The entire line and space is referred to as the stave, or staff. Each line and space on the stave represents a different note. The higher the placement of the tone on the stave (vertical) the higher the tone, and vice versa. The stave has a clef that overall affects the pitch of the note assigned to each line and space.

Lines and spaces can also be created either above or below the five existing lines by drawing small lines above or below the stave, according to the tone that needs to be written

Step 2. Recognize the clef (clef)

Keys come in a variety of shapes and are located at the beginning of the stave. The function of the key is to indicate what notes each line and space represents. Its large size makes the chord easy to identify. While there are several types of chords, there are only two chords you need to know in learning how to read piano scores:

• Treble key or G key (G-clef). This key is a very familiar key and is commonly used as a symbol or decoration related to music. The shape is almost similar to the conjunction symbol 'and' (symbol "&"). If the stave contains the key of G, then the notes on the five existing lines are as follows (from bottom to top): E, G, B, D, and F. Meanwhile, with the same key, the notes for each room on the stave are (from bottom to top): F, A, C, and E.

  

• Bass key or F key (F-clef). The F key is shaped like an inverted C, with two dots behind the curve. The notes on the five stave lines in the key of F are as follows (from bottom to top): G, B, D, F, and A. Meanwhile, the notes for the space on the stave with the same key are (from bottom to top). above): A, C, E, and G.

  

Step 3. Recognize tone marks

A pitch mark is a sign that indicates a change in pitch. The original notes are labeled with the letters (ABCDEFG). If there is a change in the barrel, such as an increase of half the barrel, a sign such as # (clear, or sharp) or b (mole, or flat) will appear on the barrel (for example, A# or Bb). The markings are at the beginning of the staves, next to the chords. The lines or spaces marked with the pitch, either # or b, will have a different pitch than the original.

• In addition to being placed at the beginning of the stave, you can also place a note next to the note for which you want to change the tuning height.
• The sharp mark raises the pitch by half the pitch, while the flat sign decreases the pitch by half.
• A note, for example, a C marked with a sharp will be the same as a D marked with a mole.
• The sharps and moles are usually associated with the black keys on the piano. This will be discussed later in this article.

Step 4. Recognize the time signature

This sign is represented by two numbers and is located at the beginning of the stave (next to the key). Its function is to describe the number of beats on a note. The number on the bottom shows the type of note that each beat represents and the number on the top shows how many beats are on a bar (the bar).

Step 5. Get to know the music bar (also called the bar or measure)

On the stave, you'll notice that there are several vertical lines that divide the stave into several rooms. These rooms are referred to as bars or measures. Let's say a bar is a musical sentence, and the vertical line at the end of the bar is the end of the sentence (though this doesn't mean that you really have to pause each bar). The number of notes in a bar will depend on how many beats the bar has, and the whole bar will form a musical unit.

Method 2 of 3: Learning How to Read Notes

Step 1. Identify the parts of a note

Note consists of several parts. Like punctuation in written sentences, the parts of the note can affect the note as it is played. Understand the parts of the note so that later you understand what the sound the note produces.

• Head note. The note head is the rounded part of the note. The note head can be an empty circle or a full black circle. The placement of the note heads on the stave indicates the pitch and pitch represented by the note (such as A or C).
• The stem (or pole) is the line attached to the note head. The pole can be either up or down and the pole direction will not affect the tone.
• Flag (or tail) note. This flag is usually at the end of the note pole. A note can have one or two flags, depending on the beat of the note.

Step 2. Identify the types of notes

There are several types of notes that usually appear on a stave with different beat values. You should also recognize the different types of resting notes. Different types of resting notes, different resting beat values.

• Full notes. This note has an empty head (outline only) and has no pole. This note is indicated by the number 1 on the timepiece beat (for example, 1/1)

  

• Not half. This note has a head similar to a full note, but has a pole. This note is indicated by the number 2 on the timepiece beat (for example, x/2)

  

• Quarter notes. This note has a black head and a pole. This note is marked with the number 4 on the time signature (for example, x/4)br>

  

• Not one-eighth. This note has a black note head and a pole with a flag or tail at the end. On a bar beat, it is indicated by the number 8 (e.g., x/8)

  

• Sixteenth note: This note has a black note head, a pole with two flags.

  

• Not continued. Eighth and sixteenth notes can be connected by changing the flag of the two notes into a line joining the two notes. On a timepiece beat, this note is indicated by the number 16 (for example, x/16)

  

Step 3. Identify resting notes

These notes have a unique and, perhaps, funny shape. For example, a one-tap rest note is shaped like a squiggly line. Half-beat notes are shaped like a diagonal line with one tail, and quarter-tap breaks are like a diagonal line (like an eighth break), but have two tails. The full note rest is shaped like a thick line and is located in the middle of the bar, just below the fourth line on the stave. Meanwhile, the two-tap rest notes are similar to the full rest notes, but are positioned above the third line of the stave.

Method 3 of 3: Learning How to Play Tones on the Piano

Step 1. Get to know the stave for the left and right hands

On a piano score, there are two staves that are bound together by a vertical line at the beginning of the stave. The stave at the top is the stave intended for the right hand, while the stave below is for the left hand.

Step 2. Identify the notes on your piano keys

Each key, whether black or white, has a different pitch with a different tuning. Pay attention to the repeating pattern of the keys on the piano. These patterns have the same tone pattern, but with a different pitch (pitch). Notice also the two black keys that are close to each other and on the right side, there are three black keys that are close to each other. Memorize the position of the C key, which is the first white key located directly to the left of the first black key of two adjacent black keys. The tone pattern on the piano keys (starting from the C key, moving to the right) is: C – C# /Db – D – D#/Eb – E – F – F#/Gb – G – G#/Ab – A – A#/Bb – B - C. The notes in bold are the notes played on black keys.

You can label notes on each key to make it easier for you to remember the notes on the piano keys

Step 3. Use the piano pedals

When practicing on an acoustic piano (though some digital pianos or keyboards also have pedals), you'll notice three pedals attached to the bottom of the piano. The three pedals have different functions. The pedal on the far left is called the soft pedal (or una corda), which smooths out the key pressure mechanism and produces a smoother sound. The second pedal is the sostenuto pedal (on a grand piano) or the mute pedal (on an upright piano). On a grand piano, the sostenuto pedal serves to hold the length of the notes that are played when the pedal is pressed, while other notes that are played after are not held. In other words, if you press the C key while pressing and holding the sostenuto pedal, the length of the C note will be retained but the other notes you press after (even if you are still holding down the sostenuto pedal) will not be held. Meanwhile, on an upright piano, the second pedal (mute) serves to muffle the sound so it is not too loud. The third pedal (located on the far right) is the sustain pedal (also called the damper). This pedal is the most commonly used pedal and serves to hold the length of each key pressed as long as the pedal is still held. On the score, there is a sign indicating that the sustain pedal should be pressed.

When you find the sign “Ped.” below a note, you must step on the sustain pedal and hold it until you arrive at an asterisk, which means the end of the sustain. In addition to the “Ped.” sign, there is another sign indicating the use of the sustain pedal on the score. Signs of using the sustain pedal can be a horizontal line, a vertical line, and a small sharp angle. When you see a horizontal line extending under certain notes, you should step on the sustain pedal and hold it until the end of sustain, indicated by a vertical line. If there is a small sharp angle in the middle of the horizontal line, it means you should release the sustain pedal for a while and then step on it again

Step 4. Read the musical notation on the score

Reading musical notation is actually the same as reading writing. Assume that the stave is a sentence formed by the letters represented by the notes. Armed with your knowledge of stave and note types, start playing the music on your sheet. It doesn't matter if you have a hard time at first. The longer you try, the more you'll get used to it and the better you'll be able to play music.

Step 5. Play slowly

When you first learn the piano, you don't have to rush to play it. Play at a slow tempo and the longer you get, the more accustomed you will become to the movement of your fingers. In the end, you can easily play music on the piano without always having to look at the keys. If you are already good at playing a song on the piano at a slow tempo, you can try playing it at a faster tempo.

Step 6. Keep practicing

Reading and playing music smoothly and correctly certainly requires a lot of time and enough practice. Don't give up if you can't do it well. If playing the piano was a very easy thing to do, maybe playing the piano wouldn't be as impressive as anyone can do it. Practice every day and ask for help if you encounter difficulties.

• You can ask the music teacher at your school to teach you how to play the piano well. You can also ask your neighbors or acquaintances, such as the pianist at church, to teach you how to play the piano.
• If you're really serious about learning how to play the piano, consider taking a piano class. No need to apply to an expensive music school. There are many music students specializing in piano at your local university who can give you piano classes at a low cost. Alternatively, you can visit a community center in your city that provides affordable piano classes.