Music notation allows us to specify two of the most important characteristics of music: the note to be played and its duration. The following pages will show you the essential aspects of reading music, starting with two basic concepts: beats (pulsations) and measures.

Beats and Measures Time Signature Note Value Dotted Notes and the Tie Rests Values Shorter Than a Beat Eighth and Sixteenth Notes Eighth-Note and Sixteenth-Note Rests Triplets Beat Unit Simple and Compound Meters Reading Musical Notes An Example Accidentals Key Signatures Keyboard Notes

Translated by Dan Román, revised by Sue Talley.




Search   •    Write to us


Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
José Rodríguez Alvira.