10 Te n u to

A single horizontal bold line above

or below a type of musical note is a

tenuto marking. This explains to us

that we should be playing that note

to its fullest value.

11 Crescendo/

Decrescendo

Similar in look to an accent, but

larger and placed under a piece of

music, this is a dynamic marking

that tells us either to get louder

(as in the example) or quieter (the

opposite of the example). These

could be replaced by the words

cresc. or decresc.

12 Accidentals

These symbols are placed in front

of the note and will indicate a pitch

that is not already shown in the key

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07 Staccato

A dot above a note is a staccato

marking. This tells us to play the

note slightly shorter than we would

normally be directed to.

08 Accent

When you see a horizontal arrow

above a note, this is known as an

accent. Through this symbol we

need to emphasise a note slightly

more, making the sound slightly

louder. Not to be confused with a

decrescendo, which is below a note.

09 Bar line

The bar line divides the notes in

to the correct number of beats as

indicated by the time signature.

There are several different types,

including repeats and double

barlines, which are used at the end

of a piece of music.

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signature. The three most common

types are flats , sharps , and

naturals.

13 1st and 2nd

time lines

These will appear above certain

bars during a repeated section

where, during a repeat, the piece

indicates a different ending.

14 Repeat bars

A double barline with two dots

means you should repeat the music

between the two sets of repeat

signs. When it’s only a left-facing

sign, repeat from the beginning.

15 Tie

Two notes of the same pitch can be

tied together with this symbol. The

second note should not be played

again, but must remain heard.

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13

14

15

12

11 05 10

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Learning to read music with a friend is a

great way to speed up your development