Question 1

Is reading sheet music difficult?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

Playing “by ear” is the traditional way musicians learn, emulating the sounds they hear using either their voice or by playing on an instrument (voice is also considered an instrument). Later, they learn to put names on the notes and then learn how to read.
So don’t worry too much if you haven’t yet learned to read sheet music. It’s the norm that not all musicians have learned to read. Most eventually do learn, and so can you.
Learning to read sheet music can be hard at first. It’s probably better that you don’t start grappling with learning to read until you are ready for it, since it comes with some frustration and will likely test your patience. Learning to read is much easier when you already have some playing ability.
While it can feel difficult at first, sticking to a daily reading practice is sure to give you momentum and over time it will feel easier. The key is to stick with it and keep returning to it every day. Even 10-15 minutes daily is better than nothing and can be enough to keep you moving forward. Know that it will get easier over time.

Question 2

How do I start learning to read music?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

After learning what the symbols mean, whether from a teacher, book, or the many online tutorials and tools that exist, you need a daily practice routine. 15-20 minutes might be enough for most people. 30 minutes is better. In each practice session, stay with it for as long as your concentration holds out.
When starting out, try to find music that is simple enough. Many folk songs or even nursery rhyme melodies make a good starting point for a beginner. If you are already familiar with a piece and can play it by ear, it’s easier to understand how it is written.
If you play guitar or piano (or any other instrument capable of playing chords), you should also learn how to play chords. Chords always appear in published examples of piano/vocal/guitar easy sheet music. (A chord is technically two or more notes played simultaneously.)
Chords will be written as either multiple notes that are aligned vertically on the staff, or (for guitar) as fingering diagrams placed above the staff with a chord symbol. Learning to read chord symbols is part of learning to read sheet music. Many people find learning to read chord symbols easier than learning to read single notes.
Over time, you should see some improvement in your playing and reading ability. Even if it feels like you are moving forward slowly, take comfort in the fact that if you keep practicing you will certainly improve. Even a tiny amount of progress is still progress.
It’s amazing to watch someone who knows how to read music well, but remember that when they started out they didn’t know how. Like you, they needed practice, learn, and keep improving. Nobody is born knowing how to read music!

Question 3

How do you read sheet music symbols?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

Anyone can learn to read music. It’s no different than learning any language. Musical symbols are like letters, and notes grouped together are like words. Combined note groupings are like phrases, and multiple phrases can form a sentence.
Just like with a language, we must start by learning the alphabet, then progress to spelling words, and finally, understanding the grammar for combining the words. The way music is written, or notated, and the symbols used, is a part of music theory, which analyzes music in its written and aural forms.
For anyone learning to read music it’s also a good idea to study music theory. Fortunately, there are many terrific theory books and online video tutorials. Theory can also be studied in school or with a private teacher.

Question 4

How do you memorize sheet music?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

Memorization is an important technique for musicians. Memorizing lots of music is a good way to improve learning in general and enhances brain function. Studies have shown that children who study and memorize music perform better in all academic subjects in school. Skill at memorizing is the key, and the best way to build this skill is to practice it regularly.
There isn’t one way to memorize a piece of music, but most Teachers would offer similar advice. Starting at the beginning of the piece and learning bar by bar is not how it’s done. You must start with gaining an understanding of the entire piece from beginning to end.
Here’s a list of steps you might take in memorizing a piece of music:

How long is the piece? Count the bars.
What are the sections of the piece? How many separate sections are there and how many bars in each section? Can we name each section (e.g., verse, chorus, bridge, A-section, B-section, etc.)?
How long is each phrase? (A section can have several phrases–many phrases are 4 bars.)
What’s the range of the melody (distance between the highest and lowest notes)?
If there are chords, how many are there? Can you play them all?
Play each section slowly several times. If you can’t play it slowly, you will not be able to play it at the indicated tempo.
Try playing each section without the music in front of you. If you make mistakes, then look at the music to see where you went wrong. Do NOT go back to the beginning of the piece; start just before the place where you made the mistake.

The main goal is to break a piece of music down into its smallest components and then learn those separately. Only after you can play each part will you try to play from beginning to end. If you make a mistake, try not to stop. Make a mental note to come back to work on that section separately.
You can also work on memorization of a piece away from your instrument. Looking at the music while imagining in your head how you will play it is a useful technique for times where you can’t play, such as while taking a journey by train or airplane or waiting to be seen at the dentist’s office. When learning to play a new piece from sheet music, I typically spend some time studying it without my instrument in hand.

Question 5

How long does it take to learn to read sheet music?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

This depends on the time and effort you can spend on learning to read, and the level of difficulty of a piece. For anyone in a hurry, I think it is helpful to take classes or lessons in music theory, reading and sight-reading. (Reading and sight-reading are two different things – reading means you can practice and study the piece while sight-reading means reading a piece you have never seen before.) Having a teacher or a class to hold you accountable will force you to practice more regularly and in a structured way.
It is very important to dedicate daily time to practicing the right things in the right way. For example, it will be more effective to spend 30 minutes every day than three hours once a week. Learning to read really does require daily practice. A teacher can help you structure your practice regimen for better results.
How long it will take to learn also depends on the instrument, as some instruments are harder to read on than others. For example, learning to read on bass guitar is easier than on guitar, because the guitar has more strings and an irregular tuning system, compared to the bass. The bass plays mostly single notes, while guitar also requires the ability to read chords, making it more difficult and time-consuming to learn to read.
It can also help you to learn to read on one instrument more quickly if you already know how to read on another instrument.
Whether you’re a complete musical beginner or a musician who knows how to play an instrument but doesn’t read, expect to spend a minimum of one to two years of regular practice to learn how to read passably. Even expert music readers can struggle to read difficult pieces and usually need to practice daily to maintain their “reading chops.”

Question 6

Can you teach yourself to read music?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

Anyone can learn to read music if they are willing to devote some practice time and have the right approach. There’s plenty of tutorials online and in books you could buy or borrow from the library. Start with learning about the symbols used: the staff, clefs, notes, stems, flags, beams, and rests, and what each symbol means. It’s really not different from learning any language, where you start with understanding the alphabet and the sounds made by letters, words, and punctuation marks.
Keep in mind that the vertical axis (up and down) of written music indicates multiple notes sounding at the same time, or chords, and the horizontal axis (left to right) indicates notes played consecutively, or rhythm and melody. Also, it’s helpful to know that written rests are notes that are “played” silently, and not the absence of notes. Rests are an integral part of the music and learning how to read them is super-important.
Reading (or performing) music means taking the notes off of the page and putting them into the air. Writing (or notating) what you hear is the other side of the coin: taking music out of the air and setting it down on paper. If you are learning to read, start with the basics, and then you will make progress as you learn what all the symbols and terms mean.
When I look at a sheet of music, I don’t hear anything. To really know what’s there I must either play it on an instrument or sing it. If you are an instrumentalist you should still be able to sing everything you can play on your instrument.

Question 7

What is a good app to learn to read music?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

There are a number of apps out there that can be helpful to you in learning to read music. If you are using an iPad or Android, you might try the following: Tenuto, Music Tutor Free, Clef Tutor Free, Music Note Sight Reading Trainer, Name That Note, NoteTeacher, Note Rush, Vivace, and MuseScore.
There are also some good music theory app trainers available which would be helpful to you in learning to read music. Try a few different apps to see which ones work the best for you.
Here’s a brief tutorial on how set up the Tenuto app for iOS to practice reading music notation.

This video, Top 7 Apps for Musicians includes tips and reviews of some top music learning apps.

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