Sheet music can look like a secret code at first, but it follows a few simple rules. Once you understand them, reading music becomes a skill like reading words.

The staff

Music is written on five horizontal lines called the staff. Notes sit on the lines or in the spaces between them. The higher a note sits on the staff, the higher it sounds.

Clefs

A symbol at the start of each line tells you which notes the lines represent.

  • Treble clef: used for higher sounds, such as the right hand on piano, violin, flute and voice.
  • Bass clef: used for lower sounds, such as the left hand on piano, bass guitar and cello.

Remembering the notes

In the treble clef, the lines from bottom to top are E, G, B, D and F, remembered as “Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit”. The spaces spell F-A-C-E.

In the bass clef, the lines are G, B, D, F and A (“Good Boys Deserve Fun Always”) and the spaces are A, C, E and G (“All Cows Eat Grass”).

Note lengths

  • Semibreve (whole note): 4 beats.
  • Minim (half note): 2 beats.
  • Crotchet (quarter note): 1 beat.
  • Quaver (eighth note): half a beat.
Read a little music every day, even just one line. Fluency comes from frequency.