Is there a trick to read music scores easily?

To be honest, I can’t recall how I learned to read music. Started with the typical 6th grade band class. Got shoved into being a tuba player. But I can’t remember how I learned to associate finger positions on the tuba with notes on the page. And then learning about the key the music was in… wow. How did I do this???

I think practicing is about the only way to do it. If there was a short cut, by God I would have used it. I’m going to put a call in to my old band teacher and see what he says about this.

I was just told that “practice” and lots of it is the trick. And doing a brass instrument is different than piano. But the basic gist was to start off with basic notes, and then you put the notes together to make a simple song. Like “3 Blind Mice” or “Mary had a little lamb.” And basic scales. Over and over. I remember now the boredom that first month.

So, unfortunately, it’s lots of practice. The more time you put in, the better you get. Or so says the old band teacher…

Of course, according to my old teacher, he didn’t think by the sound of my tuba playing I ever learned to read music.

I play the flute and I have to say, practice is the only way. I will tell you that it gets a LOT easier once you get it down. You’ll be able to sight read notes and not have to even think about what it is, you’ll just know from memory.

For now, to make things easier.. do you know the whole Every Good Boy Does Fine type tricks?

Sacaver is right: lots of practice. Start simple and work up.

Practice, including memorization of notes on the staff and the notes associated with each piano key, is critical. Piano key note association is relatively simple because it is totally repetitive, only the octave changes, not the note name of the key.

There are no tricks, I am sad to say. Slow and steady and daily, like the tortoise. Not only do you use your brain, as you would to learn any other language, but you teach your fingers muscle memory. And at least on the piano, middle C is always in the same spot. Don’t try any stringed instruments for a while.

There are all the mnemonic devices, too. I learned Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge for the treble clef lines. FACE for the spaces. My kids piano teacher seems to have a different one for the lines. You can make up your own, if you like. Plus there were ones for the bass clef, too.

My son started when he was four. He’s now eight, and it’s finally starting to come more easily for him. He uses all the tricks he can, though. I don’t remember how long it took me. I do remember my trumpet teacher asking me to name the note I was playing. I knew the fingering, but not the name of the note. But one day, it kicked in, and now I can’t imagine not knowing them.

Piano is more difficult than single voiced instruments, because you do have to learn the F clef and the G clef. I still don’t know the notes of the F clef very well, and I’ve been helping both my kids with piano for 8 years now.

My daughter can now go through song after song, and she has a good voice, too. My son likes it when we jam together. Not too long, and we’ll be able to have a pretty hot combo. Although, we better not be doing that hiphop they like so much. Then again. It’s music. It’s all good.

When I was learning piano, it helped to color code the keys with those little dot stickers you can get at Office Depot and highlighting a similar color in the book, using sharpies to mark on the stickers what note it was. :) It doesn’t help with reading the music really, but the association worked.

But then I quit a few months later. :-P

Learning to play an instrument is like learning how to speak another language. That’s why it seems to be a lot easier for children to pick up instruments at a younger age, when they’re still learning their first language. I started playing piano when I was 4. I’m now 18 and I’ve nearly got my diploma of music.

Might seem tedious and childish, but some of the “learn how to play” books for piano actually have some good techniques in them. The easy pieces that you start out on will have some relation to what you’re learning at the time, and will ease you in to more complicated ideas and structures of music.

For the advanced music players in this question, who knows the significance of “Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle” and the reverse “Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father”? Helped me out so many times in theory exams.

Oh crap, what’s that called. It’s a type of scale and I forget what you call it. An arpeggio? Is that right?

Practice makes perfect.

Diagram of the mnemonics for notes on treble clef on piano in the staff; spaces first and then lines.

Every Good Boy Does Fine. FACE

chroma’s sentence gives you the order of the #s in the scales. C scale has no sharps; G scale has F#, D scale has F# and C#, etc. Reverse gives you the flats. F (caps means it is a major scale) had B flatted.

Sometimes be sharp, never be flat, and always be natural!

—So old, so hoary*
and so predictable. ^^—

*greying and ancient

huh?

Never mind. I am having my remarks removed.

Is that an outpatient procedure? Will there be general anesthesia?

thanks for the answers. I also found some note learning flash games on internet!

Flash games to teach reading music? I love the internet.

Got links to some of them?

@chroma: the circle of fifths. What do they ask about it in theory exams?

I grew up as a trumpet player, and I never could understand theory.

Having children who are learning piano, it is suddenly obvious. Piano players can see the theory. It’s not some abstract thing like it is to wind instrumenteers. Suddenly I can see thirds and fifths and minor thirds, and the way to construct a minor scale.

And of course, since my son is working on his scales, he is working the circle of fifths. So at last, after so many year, I’m beginning to understand some of these things.

Here you go
http://www.musictheory.net/trainers/html/id82_en.html
http://www.musictheory.net/index.html

For those of you who have an iPhone / iPod Touch, I also found little app called note trainer. It’s a bit expensive (4$) for what it is but anyways…

Enjoy!

I play by ear as well and relating that to clunky ole sheet music is very difficult. So what I do is play it very very slowly by reading the sheet music until I have it memorized.. then I throw away the sheet music (not really.. I keep it but.. you know what i mean)

@chromaBYTE
“Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle” and the reverse “Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father”

Memnomics for the circle of 5ths!

oops! didn’t see other answers!

Reading music is just like reading any other language. practice, practice, practice! Also, practice sight reading. That helped me.

Reading music is just like reading any other language, as @Yetanotheruser says. It is my long held belief that unless a child is completely tone deaf, if such a thing is possible, basic music skills should be compulsory at all levels up to and including high school. Everyone should be able to read a four part score at sight, know sol-fa, and ideally, have some knowledge of at least the music of his country.

jero, thanx! I esp like the chord calculator, as I’m learning the keyboard.

Use acronyms.

Notes on staff lines = (E)very (G)reen (B)us (D)rives (F)ast
Notes in-between lines = Face