Understanding theory

What is musical

notation?

Throughout this section we will begin to look at what musical notation

is, how to read it and symbols that affect the way we play a piece

M

usical notation is a way composers

express to musicians how to play a

piece of music through both pitch

and rhythm. Music is written on a stave

which consists of five lines. Notes can be placed

either in the spaces or on the lines themselves

and represent one of the seven natural notes in

music. Musical notes are separated by vertical

lines called bar lines. Preceding the musical notes,

you will usually find a clef and time signature,

and sometimes you may see either a sharp or flat

representing a key signature within a particular

piece. Above the stave you will almost always find

a tempo marking either through a number or an

expressive term which will indicate the speed of the

piece. Underneath, a composer could add dynamic

markings. These show the volume at which they

want a particular section of music played.

“Musical notation...

how to play a piece of

music through both

pitch and rhythm”

Our guide to the most common notation

Understanding musical symbols

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01 Clef
There are various types of clef that
you can use in a piece of music.
This one is called the treble clef. It
tells us the pitch of the notes that
have been written. See page 32 for
more information.
02 Key signature
This will always appear at the
beginning of the piece of music.
By placing the symbols either in
the spaces or lines, it tells us the
notes that we should play as flats or
sharps. See page 40.
03 Time signature
At the start of a piece of music you
will see two numbers, one on top
of the other. The top number tells
you how many beats in a bar there
are; the bottom tells you what type
of beat it is. See page 38.
=130^04 Tempo marking
There are several ways of indicating
the tempo at the beginning of
a piece of music. The two most
common are via a written word
(usually in Italian) or in this case
by how many crotchet beats per
minute there are. See page 52.
05 Dynamics
These tell you what volume to play
the particular phrase of music at.
The two most common are f (forte)
which is loud and p (piano) which
means quiet. Adding an m (mezzo)
before either of the two symbols
means moderately. See page 50.
06 Notes
The notes in a strip of music are
the symbols that tell you both the
rhythm and pitch of the piece of
music you are playing. See page 33.
Top tip
Practise and repeat
Learning to read music can be
quite challenging at fi rst, but the
most important thing is practice
and repetition. Through these
two basic principles, in time
you will be able to play through
music without having to
think about where the
notes are fi rst.
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