Question 1

Is reading sheet music difficult?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

Learning by ear is how musicians learn traditionally, by emulating sounds they hear either on voice or an instrument. Only later do they learn to put names on the sounds and then learn to read. So don’t worry too much if you haven’t yet learned to read sheet music.
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 the process also comes with a certain amount of frustration and will take some patience on your part. There’s also a seemingly endless amount of variation and symbols in use. It’s more useful and appropriate to start reading when you have some performing skills already in place…then learning to read sheet music will become easier.
There are many advantages to learning how to read sheet music, for example, the ability to play with a group or to play music written for another instrument on your own instrument. Whether you decide to do it on your own or with a Teacher, once you make up your mind you want to learn how to read music, rest assured with the knowledge that you will do it.

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. One key in the beginning is to find music that is simple enough to follow for a beginner. Many folk songs or even nursery rhyme melodies make a good starting point. It might help if you are already familiar with a piece to understand how it is written and played on your instrument. If you play guitar or piano, or any other instrument capable of playing chords, you should learn to play the chords too. They will be shown in published examples of piano/vocal/guitar easy sheet music.
Over time, you should see some improvement in your abilities to play and read music. Even if it feels like you are moving forward slowly, take comfort in the fact that if you continue to practice you will continue to improve as well. It’s amazing to watch someone who knows how to read music well, but they also started out at some point when they couldn’t read anything, and needed to practice to learn and improve. 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 a language. Symbols are like letters and groupings of notes in a measure (bar) are like a word. Grouping of bars are like phrases, while multiple phrases can form a sentence.
Just like with a language, we must begin with learning the alphabet, then how to spell words, and then grammar for using the words together. The totality of how music is written, and the symbols used is a sub-topic of music theory, which analyzes music in its written and aural forms.
For anyone wishing to learn to read music, it might be a good idea to study music theory first. This can be done independently using books and online video tutorials, but can also be studied in school or with a Private Teacher.
Read the rest of this article for explanations of the various symbols used in sheet music, and how they work together.

Question 4

How do you memorize sheet music?

Tom Stein · Accepted Answer

Memorization is an important technique for musicians. Memorizing copious amounts of music is a way to improve learning in general and enhances brain function. Studies have shown that children who study 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 going to be most effective. Understanding the totality of the piece should be the starting point.
For example, here’s a list of steps you might take in memorizing a piece of music:

How long is the piece? How many bars (count them)?
What are the sections of the piece? How many separate sections are there and how many bars in each section? Can we name the sections (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 (highest and lowest notes)? If there are chords, how many are there?
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. If you make mistakes, 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 idea is to break a piece of music down into its smallest components and 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.

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 expend in learning to read. For anyone in a hurry, I think it is helpful to take classes or lessons in reading and sight-reading. (They are two different things). Having a Teacher or a class to hold you accountable will force you to practice more regularly and intensively.
It is very important to dedicate daily time to practicing and to practice the right things 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 a daily practice regimen.
It 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. It can also help to learn to read on one instrument if you already know how to read on a different instrument.
For the complete musical beginner or a musician who knows how to play an instrument but doesn’t read, it’s reasonable to expect to spend a minimum of one to two years of practice to learn how to read.

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. The place to start is by understanding the symbols used, for example: notes, clefs, the staff, stems, beams, flags, and rests, and what each of them means. It’s really not different from learning any language, where you start with understanding the alphabet and the sounds indicated by letters, words, and punctuation.
Keep in mind that the vertical aspect of written music indicates higher and lower notes sounding at the same time, or chords, and the horizontal aspect indicates the passage of notes through time, or rhythm and melody. Also, it’s helpful to know that written rests are just notes that are played silently.

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, Vivace, and MuseScore. There are also some good music theory app trainers available which would be helpful in learning to read sheet music well. Try a few different apps to see which ones will work the best for you.

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