Interested in learning how to read piano notes?

Many musicians play piano with being able to read piano notes. What they lose is the ability to learn new things written by some of the masters and more important, they can't communicate easily with their fellow musicians.

When learning to read piano notes there's one thing you should remember. Your target should be not only to play the notes written but the draw a conclusion from the piano over how you music should sound and feel. Music is a collection of sounds that creates an experience. If you'll only settle for reading the notes plainly you're going to lose the whole idea of making music.

Here's how it works.

• Rhythm: Just like people, music beats as well. So music is divided to beats. Each beat is equal to its neighbor. The length of each beat changes according to the tempo of the piece (Which is how fast or slow you play). The beats are divided in groups according to the time signature at the beginning of the piece which looks like this: 4/4 3/4 or even 6/6. The time signature tells you how many units there are in a group/bar and what's the length of each beat.

We use those beats to measure the length of sounds and pitches in music.

So you'll have to learn about different tone lengths such as the whole note, half note and quarter note to begin with.

• Geography of the piano: The piano has a wide range of pitches. Clefs were made in order to limit you to a certain register in the piano. You should learn about the Treble Clef and the Bass clef.

The first one tells you that you're supposed to play above the middle of the piano (Above middle C) and the other points at note in the lower register of the piano under middle C.

Be also familiar with the different hand positions. Most of the beginner piano pieces are based on strict hand positions.

• Note Pitches: The notes are written on the staff. The staff has five lines and five spaces.

The belly of the treble clef tells us where G above middle C is to be found on the staff while the points of the bass clef tell us where F under middle C is on the staff.

Now you can find the rest of the note according to their relative location with these two notes we just mentioned. That's basically the whole concept. Remember there are usually two staffs on a piano sheet. The upper one is for the right hand and the lower one is for the left hand.

• Last but not least you should learn to read dynamic signs. There are music signs that tell you to play loud or soft, sometimes at once and sometimes gradually. Other point at musical phrasing and ask you to play smoothly or shortly with breaks between notes. It's a rich world and this is what really makes the difference.

So now that you have an idea of the four elements you have to take care of I believe you would find it easier to start reading piano notes. Good luck with it and don't forget that it takes time and a lot of patience. Just have faith and keep up the good work.