RE: [Harp-L] Music Reading Basics was: diatonic tablature...

[Michael Peloquin <peloquinharp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

ellent post Phil. I am saving this for explanation for any student that is wanting to learn how to start reading music. 
> Remember, confusion is the first step of learning.
and learning how to read music is easy compared to learning how to play music. Michael Peloquin http://www.harpsax.comhttp://www.myspace.com/harpsax> From: Philharpn@xxxxxxx > There are a few things "that everybody knows" who > reads music. And you need to know these things to make sense out of notation. > > The treble clef, also called the G clef because that cursive looking g wraps > around the G line on the five-line staff. The lines are EGBDF (Every Good Boy > Does Fine) and the spaces are FACE like the word face. Flats go down (like a > flat tire) and sharps (like a point) go up. The same note can a flat or sharp > depending where you start. An apartment ceiling is somebody else's floor. > Depends where you stand.> > Key signature is that bunch of "b"s or ### at the beginning of each line (or > at least the first line of the tune). That tells you the key (which you can > deduce from your Circle of Fifths which adds a # (sharp) to each key clockwise > from C and adds a b (flat) to each key counter clockwise.> > The key of C has no flats or sharps; this is why piano players and harmonica > players like it so much. What you see is what you get. Once they key changes, > the player has to remember which note is no longer what it seems. In the key > of G, every F is no longer an F, it's an F# (half step higher: push the button > in on the chrome). F is the first space inside the treble clef. On the piano, > the black key next to the white F is F#. This is a half-step higher, to the > right.> > For flats, going counterclockwise from C on the Circle of Fifths is the key > of F which has Bb (B flat). This means every time you come to a note on the > third line (B) you have to play a note a half-step lower. On the piano, the Bb is > the black key below (left of) the white B.> > You can tell what key the key signature stands for by knowing: One sharp (#) > is G, one flat (b) is F. From there, sharp keys: the next note above the far > right sharp. For flat keys, second b from right. (double check with your Circle > of Fifths).> > Then the basic major scale: Just like the piano keyboard, start on a C and > every note is a full step (black key + white key) except the 3&4 (E&F) and 7&8 > (B&C). This is helpful if your are trying to figure out the I, IV and V chords) > based on the 1st, 4th and 5th note of the scale.> > Also, if you are trying to figure out a pentatonic scale or blues scale, > which are all based on the standard everyday major scale.> > > Why the piano? The piano is the absolutely best way to understand music > notation because it was designed after everybody decided how to write down music. > (oversimplification, but true).> > If this all sounds complicated, it's really not. You can either forget about > it or buy a cheap paperback on How to Read Music for a couple of bucks at a > book store or music store.> > Remember, confusion is the first step of learning.