How To Learn To Read Music

When you take  piano lessons in DC, you will inevitably learn how to read music. When your child signs up, that is the first thing they need to know. You cannot interpret and reproduce music if you do not know how to read the notes.

Reading music, however, is completely different from reading a book. This is why you need a few methods that might help. Everyone is different, and there are a few ways that you can make this work depending on your learning style and/or preferences.

For what it’s worth, the writer believes that the Middle C method is the best approach to take because piano plays in both treble and bass clef. However, there are reasons for you to try all the methods on this list depending on what works for the student. If you are new to this, this is pure memorization. If your child is learning to read music, remember that they often need a tip, hint, or clue that makes their life easier. “Just memorize it” is typically not enough for a kid who is playing this massive and completely foreign instrument.

The Landmark Method

The landmark method that comes from the Alfred Piano Method books is based on learning a long string of notes with certain landmarks along the way. Now, the landmarks make sense because they will fit the student’s hands the moment they touch the keyboard for the first time.

The landmarks are F at the top of the bass clef staff, middle C, and G at the bottom of the treble clef staff. When you place your hands on the keyboard, you can easily make out all the other notes in between by counting. The note above F at the top of the bass clef staff must be G and so on. 

When you lay your fingers across the keyboard, the next finger is the next note. This means the next note is A and then B. Now you are at middle C. This is your next landmark, and you can count from there. The next note must be D, then E, then F, and now you are at G which is your final landmark. 

This works for some people because they memorize a few notes and can work out the rest of the notes as they go. The only problem with this is that it kind of requires you to look at your hands while you are playing. Yes, you’ll eventually figure it out, but there is a lot of back and forth.

Middle C

The Middle C method (in the writer’s opinion) is the best method for new students. Why? It makes the most sense. Middle C is called Middle C because it sits in the middle of the treble and bass clef staves. Yes, one ledger line above the bass clef staff and one below the treble clef staff are the exact same note. Now that you know that, it is easy to make out other notes. 

Because beginning piano music is so simple, you will learn five notes at a time. By the time you have learned those five notes, you have had some time to work out all the other notes on the staff. It’s a process of elimination. For example, a kid who learns Mary Had a Little Lamb knows five notes. It stands to reason that they can go just a couple lines down and learn a few extra notes. Before you know it, you know the whole staff. 

This is not memorization so much as it is “acquisition” of the note names and where they are on the keyboard.

Bass vs. Treble Clef

While this might not work for young kids, an adult can learn treble and bass clef separately. A lot of adults who start learning piano already know how to read one clef. You played, for example, trombone in high school. You know how to read bass clef. You just need to take a little time to learn treble clef. 

The same is true if you played, as the writer did, bass clarinet in high school. You already know treble clef, so you just need to spend a little time learning bass clef. 

Mnemonic Devices

If you want to use the elementary method, you can try some mnemonic devices to help students remember where all the notes are. The most popular (counting lines on the staff from the bottom to the top) are:

• Treble Clef—Every Good Boy Does Fine
• Bass Clef—Good Boys Do Fine Always

While you can make up your own saying or phrase, these are so common that kids might have already heard them in music class in school. If an adult is learning to play piano, they might remember these tips or have heard them through their child’s music teacher. 

Give Piano a Try Today

Piano lessons in Alexandria, VA will teach you how to read music. These tips make it a little bit easier to navigate sheet music before you feel comfortable. Everyone is different, and that is why you should try each method until you find something that works for you.