READING TRADITIONAL MUSIC NOTATION

Music is traditionally written on a staff. A staff consists of 5 lines and 4 spaces which represent the different notes of the musical scale.

Staff Notes

The notes represented on the staff come from our musical alphabet. They are A, B, C, D, E, F, G. After the G note the alphabet starts over with A. This also works in reverse if you are playing or writing the notes backwards: G, F, E, D, C, B, A, G, F, etc.

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Guitar music is written on the treble clef.

The notes of the treble clef start with E on the very bottom line. The space above E represents an F note. The line above F represents a G.

Musical notes are written on the staff.

Notes can extend above and below the staff by the use of ledger lines.

There are also different versions of most notes, called accidentals. Accidentals consist of sharps (#), or flats (b). To make a note sharp (#) is to raise it one fret on the guitar. To make a note flat (b) is to lower it one fret on the guitar. One way of writing sharps (#) or flats (b) on the staff is to place the symbol before the note you want to change.

Sharps

Flats