Lesson 17 - Reading Traditional Notation Part Two

Reading music is a skill that for any musician is a necessity but for guitarists it is an often overlooked skill. Knowing how to read music will come in handy whether you play for church, professionally, or just at home in your living room. In past lessons we have talked about the clefs and key signatures so you may want to brush up on those before beginning today’s lesson.

At the heart of notated music lie the notes. Each note length has a particular symbol associated with it. Here is how the symbols break down. There are whole, half, quarter, 8th, 16th.

We have already talked about this some in the lesson on rhythms but today we want to start playing music written in standard notation. Each measure is marked by a vertical line that cuts through all of the ledger lines. It signifies the end of one measure and the beginning of another. If we are in 4/4 time we might see four quarter notes in a measure but any combination of notes that add up to four quarters could be used. Remember the bottom number of the time signature tells what note gets the beat. If we were in 6/8 we might see six eighth notes in a measure but once again any combination of notes adding up to six eighth notes can be used. 

Try this example of some common chords in 4/4 time. Since there is no tempo marked you can play them at what ever speed you feel comfortable. You can also see them played below.  At first you may need to use the tab or the chord chart but try to look at the notation once you get the hang of it.

Ok so here is another one. This time we have added a key signature so be sure to add the appropriate sharps or flats to your chords. This one is in 6/8 so remember to play in the right time signature. You will also see a symbol you are not used to seeing. It is called a natural. This sign tells you to ignore the key signature and play the note is by with out a sharp or flat. It looks like this.

Let’s do one more and see if we can do it without the tab or chords chart.