What You Should Know
What You Will Learn
- How notes are arranged on the staff
- What notes, time signatures, and other symbols mean
The Basics of Music Notation
The Staff
Music is notated on a five line staff.
Guitar music is notated in treble clef. A clef is a symbol that is placed at the beginning of each line of the music. It indicates the arrangement of notes on the lines and spaces.
Notes are arranged on the spaces and lines of the staff. The position of the note on the staff indicates the pitch of the note.
Notes on the Lines
The pitches are arranged on the lines as follows:
The notes on the line can be remembered with the saying 'Every Good Boy Does Fine' (E, G, B, D, F -- the notes that correspond to the first through the fifth lines).
Notes on the Spaces
The notes on the space spell the word 'FACE' from bottom to top.
Quarter, Half, and Whole Notes
Rhythms are indicated with various kinds of notes. The appearance of a note indicates its value. Three basic notes are given below: whole, half, and quarter notes. Details on the rhythmic value of each of these notes is explained in the lesson on counting quarter, half, and whole notes.
Whole Note
A whole note is indicated with a notehead that isn't filled in:
Half Note
Two half notes are equal to a whole note. The note below is a half note:
Quarter Note
Four quarter notes are equal to a whole note. Here is a quarter note:
Time Signatures
Time signatures are used at the beginning of a piece of music to indicate how many beats per measure and what kind of note gets the beat. It consists of two numbers stacked. The top number indicates how many beats. The bottom number tells what kind of note gets the beat.
4/4 means that there are four beats per measure. The bottom 4 specifies that the quarter note gets the beat. This means that there are four quarter notes per measure. 4/4 is also known as common time. Some music indicates this time signature with a symbol that resembles a "C" instead of writing 4/4.
Measures and Barlines
A measure is a unit of music that is equal to the number of beats specified by the time signature. For example, in 4/4, a measure would be four quarter notes. Music is divided into measures by vertical lines called barlines.
