lesson
Let's begin by looking at the basics of music notation.
The Staff
Music is written on a “Staff” (or “Stave” if you’re British.) The staff contains five lines on which notes are written.
The symbol on the left side of the staff is a “Treble Clef.” Guitar music is written in treble clef. The staff is divided into “Measures” (or Bars) by “Bar Lines.” At the end of a piece of music is a double bar line (one thin, one thick), which indicates the end of the piece.
Note Names
Notes are named after the first seven letters in the alphabet (A, B, C,D, E, F, G.) After reaching G, note names repeat, starting with A again.
Don’t try to memorize the note names yet. You will do that as you advance through the lessons. Just notice that where notes are placed on the staff tells you which notes to play.
Time Signatures
When you play guitar, you hold some notes for a longer duration than others. Music notation lets you know how long to hold a note by looking at the kind of notewritten and the piece’s “Time Signature.” The time signature tells you how to count the notes in each measure.
The most common type of time signature is 4/4 (called “four four” or “common time.”) Look at the staff below. There are two numbers after the Treble Clef. The top number tells you how many “beats” or counts there are per measure. In this example there are four. The bottom number tells you which note gets a beat (or count.) In this example, a quarter note gets one beat. The 4 represents a quarter (1/4) note because 4 quarter notes make up a whole note.
Another common type of time signature is 3/4 (called “three four” time.) Look at the staff below. The top number tells you that there are three “beats” or counts permeasure. The bottom number tells you that a quarter note gets one beat. The 4 represents a quarter (1/4) note because four quarter notes make up a whole note. So in this example there are three beats per measure with each quarter note getting one beat.
Note Types
Hang in there. This will all make more sense after you learn a few note types.
Whole Notes
This is a “whole” note. It has an open note head and no stem. In 4/4 time, a whole note gets held for four beats.
You pick a whole note and then hold it for the count of four before picking the next note.
Half Notes
This is a “half ” note. It has an open note head and a stem. In 4/4 time, a half note gets held for two beats (half the time of a whole note.)
You pick a half note and hold it for two beats before picking the next note.
Quarter Notes
This is a “quarter” note. It has a closed or solid note head and a stem. In 4/4 time, a quarter note gets held for one beat (1/4 the time of a whole note.)
You pick a quarter note and hold it for one beat before picking the next note.
links
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Music Notation 2
- First String Notes
- This lesson was adapted from my book: Better Guitar Method Book 1, which is available at:
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