Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum A little help needed!!

Hi i was wondering if someone could help me figure out the letters and chords i have to play from my music sheet, (ive just started playing the piano, and can play it ok, but i haven't a clue on how to read music) So if someone could help me out it would be great!!

you can learn to read music from here:

http://www.musictheory.net/

Welcome Bhaval.

It takes a while to develop the skill of reading music, but try this web site to get you started notes . It can also get you started on chords (under the "triads" tab). As you progress, you'll need to be able to read notes on leger lines (above or below the grand staff), but if you're reading fairly well by then you should be able to count up or down quite easily. A good tip I got from someone on the forum is that C is two leger lines above the treble clef and two leger lines below the bass clef.

There's a host of books out there that list an unimaginable number of chords for the piano - if you have a local music store take a trip down there and have a look through some of them.

Ah cheers guys, i'll definately check out the sites you've recommended, lets just hope i learn it quickly, so i can play more easily :p

Almost everyone in the know will tell you do not learn the way I am going to show you, so you have been warned...(The reason most experts do not like this "system" is it will add a step in note identification and slow you down later).

The treble clef (the top one), if you look at the spaces there are 4 and the notes spell F A C E. 5 notes on the lines are Every Good Boy Does Fine.

On the bass clef (the bottom one, of course) the 4 spaces spell A C E G (I think of Kenny G to remember Ace G) and the lines are Good Boats Do Float Always.

There are others, but those are the ones I use, and yes, my sight reading is very slow, almost does not exist.

For chords, once you know the notes, can be built on these simple rules. When counting, every note (white and black) counts.

For a major chord - R-4-3 which means R=root, then 4 half steps to the next note, then 3 half steps to the last note = the Major chord for the 1st (R) note.

For a minor chord = R-3-4

For a 7th chord = R-4-3-3

For a Major 7th chord = R-4-3-4

For a Minor 7th chord = R-3-4-3

That should be enough for now. Good luck buddy.

I use mnemonics too and a cheat sheet.

For me, I don't think mnemonics are at all bad --I find that as my note recognition improves, I'm just automatically bypassing the intermediate steps.

whats a cheat sheet mate?