Classical Notation and Sight-Reading
Classical musical notation features a unique set of symbols designed to convey virtually all relevant information about a musical work. Unlike guitar tablature, it applies equally to most instruments. Wikipedia's List of Musical Symbols article is really excellent on this information, and I encourage you to check it out for a complete reference. I still want to walk through the basics though.
Contents
Staff
The Staff is a set of 5 parallel, horizontal lines that form the majority of "ink on the page". These correspond to pitch, with lower pitches towards the lowest line and higher pitches towards the highest. Notes are marked on top of a line, or between a pair of them (called spaces).
Ledger Lines
Sometimes notes have pitch lower or higher than the lowest or highest line of the staff. To accommodate this, the notation uses Ledger Lines, additional lines drawn above or below the staff. Unlike the staff, however, ledger lines are short line fragments that are only as long as necessary for one or several consecutive notes that do not fit on the staff. The number of lines drawn is however many are necessary to get from the lowest note on the staff to the note desired - in some cases it can be a lot.
Key and Accidentals
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The Key is implied by a series of sharp or flat symbols on the staff lines/spaces after the clef (or their absence in the keys of C Major or A Minor). They indicate to play the sharped/flatted note for any note appearing on that line or space throughout the entire piece, until another key marking is indicated.
The key indicated can be overridden in any individual measure by using sharp, flat, or natural symbols to the left of the note. Once a single such marking appears, that variant of that note will persist for the duration of the measure without additional markings; however, it can still be overridden within the measure.
Clef
The Clef is typically the first marking one notices on the staff. It is one of many large, peculiar looking symbols, whose purpose is to indicate which notes align with the lines of the staff. The most common clefs are the G, C, and F Clefs (commonly known as the Treble, Soprano/Alto/Tenor, and Bass Clefs). The G Clef is used most often, aligning with the range of most classical instruments. Piano commonly uses both a G and an F Clef on two bracketed staffs, with each roughly corresponding to the left and right hands.
Each clef can be positioned higher or lower on the staff - there is a particular aspect of each clef that is designed to align to a certain note.
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- G Clef - the spiral on its lower portion circles G above middle C -
- C Clef - the arrow-like symbol in the center points to middle C - x30px - F Clef - the line or space between the two dots indicates F below middle C
The G Clef commonly places G on the second line of the staff from the bottom, so that the notes E G B D F fall on the lines and and F A C E fall on the spaces from lowest to highest. The C clef commonly places C on the middle line of the staff, and the F clef commonly places F on the 2nd highest line of the staff.
There is additionally a Neutral Clef used for pitchless instruments such as percussion, with the lines/spaces arbitrarily assigned to certain drums or sounds.
The G and F clefs sometimes have an "8" directly below them, which indicates to play an octave higher than normal.
Time Signature
The Time Signature appears like a fraction, with one number over another, separated by a slanted line. The top number indicates the number of beats per measure, and the bottom number indicates the type of note that equals a single beat. The most common time signature is 4/4, indicating 4 beats per measure, with a quarter (1/4) note equaling one beat.
The time signature not only determines the speed of the piece, by aligning the note markings to each beat of the tempo, but implies the rhythm or meter of the piece. The measures should roughly align to discrete musical ideas (melodies, harmonic progressions, etc.). By determining the number of beats per measure, the time signature creates a visual organization to the piece.
Notes and Rhythm
Note markings are vertically aligned on the staff to determine their pitch. Rests are placed in the middle of the staff, as they have no pitch content, only rhythm. The different symbols used to indicate notes and rests determine their duration, in terms of beats (dependent on the time signature). Here are the most common notes:
- Whole Note x30px - appears as an oval, not filled in
- Half Note x30px - same as a whole note with a vertical line ("stem") ascending from the right side or descending from the left
- Quarter Note x50px - same as a half note but filled in
- Eighth Note x50px - same as a quarter note but with a wavy line ("flag") on the tip of the stem
- Sixteenth Note x50px - same as an eighth note but with two flags
- Whole Rest x40px - A small rectangle whose top touches a line of the staff
- Half Rest x40px - A small rectangle whose bottom touches a line of the staff
- Quarter Rest x30px - looks like a zigzag line connected to a curve on the bottom
- Eighth Rest x30px - looks like a "7" but with ball on the top left tip
- Sixteenth Rest x30px - looks like 2 stacked eighth rests
Notice the flags on the notes shorter than a quarter note. When such notes appear consecutively, bars are used in place of the flags, so the notes are "barred" together for each beat. For example, this helps indicate that 2 eighth or 4 sixteenth notes equal the same duration as a single quarter note. x50px
Additional durations can be formed in several ways. The simplest is the placement of a dot behind the note. This indicates that the note should be its normal duration plus half its normal duration. Thus, a dotted half note in 4/4 time lasts 3 beats, or the same as a half note and a quarter note. x50px
Two notes of the same pitch that appear consecutively can be tied together with a curved line above or below them. This indicates to sustain the first note that much longer. For example, a half note and quarter note slurred together are equivalent to 3 beats in 4/4, or a dotted half note. x50px
If the curved line occurs between two different notes, this indicates a slur, which means to play legato. x50px
Tuplets are indicated the same way they are in tab, with a bracket above the notes and the ratio or number above that. x50px
Measures
Measures indicate organization, often numbered to quickly refer to a section or place in the piece. The time signature indicates the number of beats per measure, which implies meter (See Music Theory Basics). Each measure is bound on the left and right by a pair of vertical lines from the top to bottom of the lines of the staff. Consecutive measures are divided by a single bar between them. The last measure of a movement will have double bars at the end of the measure, with the last line thicker than the other. Sections can be indicated in a movement by using a double bar between measures.
Repeats and Codas
Some measures are marked with a thick vertical line followed by one of normal size then two vertically-aligned dots (like a colon - ":"). This is called a repeat sign and indicates that this measure or section will be repeated. When the same marks are found in the opposite order, that means to return to the measure with the initial repeat sign. If there is no initial repeat sign, it means to repeat from the beginning of the song. If the measure/section are to be repeated more than once, a multiple is indicated near the final repeat sign (2x, 3x, 4x, etc.) - this indicates the total number of times the passage is to be played. For instance, "4x" or "x4" means to play it once initially, then repeat 3 more times.
Often the last (or last few) measures before a repeat sign will have a bracket above it with "1." or "2.". This indicates which measure (or group of measures) to play based upon which repetition is being played. For the initial playthrough, you play the "1." and on the repeat play the "2.". This allows sheet music to be more condensed. Often you will play the same ending multiple times ("1., 2., 3." for the same measure or group of measures) with the final time playing a different measure ("4.").
The symbols "D.C." and "D.S." are shorthand for the Italian phrases Da Capo and Dal Segno, and indicate to jump back a large distance in the piece, which may span numerous repeated measures/section. "D.C." indicates to jump all the way back to the beginning of the piece, while "D.S." means to jump back to the measure marked by the Segno sign (looks like an S surrounded by dots with a line through it). They are followed by "Al Fine" or "Al Coda". Al Fine means to play the repetition until the end of the piece, while Al Coda means to play until hitting the measure marked with the Coda sign (looks like crosshairs - a circle with a + sign through it). Once hitting the Coda, the piece jumps to the measure indicated by the next Coda (like a warp/portal). The Segno and Coda symbols only apply once you are playing the repetition indicated by "D.C." or "D.S.". On the initial playthrough, they are ignored (although you should take note of the Segno, so you know where to jump back to from a "D.S.").
A simile mark is a symbol that looks like a division symbol (a slanted line with a dot to the upper left and lower right). Some measures may have a simile mark on it/them, which indicates to repeat the previous beat or measure(s) (which should be clear from the context).
Dynamics and Accents
A ">" symbol above a note indicates to play it accented. A "^" above it indicates an even stronger accent.
Other Markings
Trills
A "tr" marking above a note indicates a trill. Rapidly alternate between the given note and the next highest note in the key.
Grace Notes
A smaller than usual usual note with a slanted line through it slurred into a normal note indicates a grace note. This means to play the grace note with as little duration as possible, using legato to get to the normal-sized note.
Legato
Different notes above/below a curved line indicate to play them legato.
Staccato
A dot above a note means to cut its duration shorter than usual, getting a percussive feel.
Quarter Tones
A backward flat symbol or half of a sharp symbol indicates to flat/sharp the note by a quarter step rather than a half-step, placing it between notes of the chromatic scale.
Arpeggios
A wavy vertical line in front of a group of notes (chord) indicates to arpeggiate the chord, playing the notes in sequence from lowest to highest quickly such that each individual note can be heard, while still giving the whole chord the duration of notes.
Section Markings
Two sections can be indicated by a double bar between measures. The end of a movement is indicated by double bars at the end of the last measure, with the last bar thicker than the other.
Portamento
A wavy line between two notes indicates portamento (or pitch slide) - to move from the first to second note by steadily ascending or descending the pitch, such as by bending or using the whammy bar.
Octave Markings
"8va" with a line above notes indicates to play them one octave higher. "15ma" indicates two octaves higher.
Sight Reading
Sight Reading is the ability to play a piece from the notation without any additional information or practice. It is literally someone handing you a piece of music and expecting you to play it as anyone else would. It requires a great deal of functional knowledge about your instrument (keys, range, ability to play certain markings).
The first thing you must do is identify the key and time signature. Then scan the notation to identify the highest and lowest notes, as well as marked techniques that you have to be ready for. This may help determine a suitable position, as well as identify which scale patterns you will use. Many instruments (such as guitar) can interpret legato numerous ways. Some instruments are incapable of sounding certain markings (portamento on piano), but can instead use a similar technique (playing the chromatic scale). You must also take note of the major repetition markings, keying in on the location of Segno's and Coda's.
Sight Singing
Sight Singing is sight reading music by singing it. This can be even more difficult than playing on an instrument, as you must hear the correct pitches in your head rather than simply locating the note on the instrument. Also, whereas with an instrument you may be intimately familiar with scale patterns and fingerings so that playing in a certain key comes naturally (such as simply by shifting positions on guitar), sight singing requires a strong understanding of possibly any key and hitting the correct note rather than being a half-step sharp/flat. This is assisted by singing the notes Solfège, which forces you to not only sing the correct pitch of the note but the correct scale degree.