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Sight Reading is the ability to read and then play a piece of musical notation or score. This is one of the most difficult things that you can learn to master as a piano player or musician.

Sight Reading is the ability to read and then play a piece of musical notation or score. This is one of the most difficult things that you can learn to master as a piano player or musician.

A lot of piano players don’t even learn to play by reading notes, they just learn to play by ear with chords. Using chords is fun. It gives you freedom to play and not be bound by sheet music. However, it is important to learn read music to become a well rounded piano player.

Mind and Body

This isn’t just a physical activity that requires you to have strong fingers and agility. It’s a mental thing. If you are still learning to sight read you will notice that your fingers will outlast your brain. After about a half hour or so you will start to get a headache because of how hard your brain is working.

It’s important to take breaks when reading music. It is very strenuous on your brain because of how hard you have to focus on the sheet music. Tray and only sit at the piano for about thirty minutes to keep from getting a headache. Take about a fifteen minute break before you get back to work.

Theory

You have to know your theory to read music. There are two clefs, the treble clef and the bass clef where notes are placed to tell the musician what to play. On each clef there are lines and spaces. Each note sits on a line or on a space which makes it a certain note.

Along with knowing what notes to play you also have to know how long to hold each note out for. this is called note duration. Note duration tells you how long a certain note is held in a score. Examples of note duration would be a whole note, half note, and quarter note. A whole note is held for 4 beats, a half note is held for 2, and a quarter note is held for 1.

Tips

Make sure that you always take time when you are practicing to sight read. The more you practice the better you’ll get. It’s not like riding a bike though, if you don’t practice you will forget. So, here are some tips to help you read music.

• Practice sigh reading everyday
• Do finger exercises before you start to warm up you hands
• Start with the treble clef then work on the bass clef
• Lines on treble clef E, G, B, D, F
• Spaces on treble clef F, A, C, E
• Line on bass clef G, B, D, F, A

Click to go to Lessons #11 – Music Rhythm
Back To Lesson #9 – Bass Clef Notes
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Sixteenth notes are type of musical notation that is played very fast and represents 1/16 of a whole measure.

Sixteenths are almost identical to an eighth note. An eighth note has one flag and a sixteenth has two.

There are two ways that you might see this type of note written in a piece of music. The first is a sixteenth written by itself. This will look like an individual note with two flags off of the stem. The other way you will see this note is when two or more are together or side by side. These notes together will have the flags connected.

Subdivision of Sixteenths

Each note represents a sixteenth of a whole note. This note can be subdivided into 1/16th of a whole measure. So there are sixteen sixteenth notes in in each measure in four four time.

Each measure in a piece of music is made up of four beats. These four beats are called quarter notes since there are four of them in one measure. If you look at the image below you can see how each a sixteenth can be subdivided from a quarter note.

There are eight eighth notes in four quarter notes and sixteen sixteenths in eight eighth notes.

How to Count Sixteenths

Counting sixteenths is mouth full. Starting at the beginning of the measure it goes one e and a, two e and a, three e and a, four e and a.

Click play on the above player to hear how to count these notes.

The first note is called one and each consecutive note is given e, and, a.

The entire phrase looks like this. One-e-and-a

Counting Sixteenths With Other Notes

These notes will commonly be combined with other notes. In order to read these notes along with others you need to count the other notes in this same One-e-and-a pattern.

This makes it easier to count the correct time that each note receives without confusing yourself while counting.

Look at the example and you will see how it makes it much easier to count this set of notes while keeping the pattern we learned above.

You don’t have to count using the pattern but it makes it a lot easier to keep track of the timing of the other notes because things are starting to get really fast.

Sixteenth Rest

A sixteenth rest is identical to a sixteenth note except instead of playing a note you don’t play anything, you rest.

The sixteenth rest is 1/4 of one beat.

Look at the image above and you can see how the sixteenth rest is similar to a sixteenth note. It also has two flags coming off the main stem.

This rest is very fast and can be counted just like a regular note.

Sixteenth Examples

There are many different types of patterns that you will see sixteenths in. Here are a few examples of note patterns.

Remember to count these notes with the phrase we learned above to keep in time with the music One-e-and-a, Two-e-and-a, Three-e-and-a, Four-e-and-a

The sixteenth can be difficult to count especially along with other notes in the same measure. With practice, it will become easier and almost spontaneous and you won’t even have to think about it.

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Suspended chords are a very common piano chord used in todays contemporary music. They are used a lot in guitar driven songs.

It is an easy chord for a musician to add variety to a song. Rather than playing a simple major chord, a sus chord can be added for a more unexpected chord change.

Playing these chords are easy, and can make your playing style a lot more unique and can help separate you from other musicians.

What does “Sus” Mean

A lot of people think that it means sustained. The word sustain means to hold out or lengthen. Thats not what we are wanting to do with a suspended piano chord.

Actually, we are wanting to “suspend” the chord.

If you think of the definition of suspend, it means to hold up above something.

How can you hold a note above another?

Later we are going to talk about how to make a suspended chord, but the basics of a sus chord is to move the third note in the chord up one half step.

So really, when you play a sus, you are playing the note “above” the more common third note in the major chord.

This is where the name comes from. Its actually being suspended, or held above the third.

Two Types of Suspended Chords

There are two types of sus chords.

One is more commonly known as a sus, while the other is normally called a “2” chord.

In many chord books, or chord charts, you might see the 2 chord called a sus2. This can be confusing with the alternate naming. If you know both names, you should be fine.

Sus4 – The sus4 chord is the more common of the sus chords. It replaces the third note in the scale with the fourth note in the scale.

Sus2 – The sus2 is more commonly known as a 2 chords, but in some variations, is called the sus2. In this chord, you replace the third note in the scale with the second note in the scale.

How to Make Suspended Chord

The sus piano chord is built off of the major scale. In order to build it, you have to first find the major chord.

To find a major chord, you first need to know the notes in the major scale.

Let’s look at the key of C. The notes in the key of C are C, D, E, F, G, A, B. To make the major scale, you need to use the first, third, and fifth notes of that scale.

Use that chart above to help you make a major chord.

Suspended 4 Chord

To make a suspended 4 chord, just replace the third note in the scale with the the fourth note. So, in this example, you would play an F instead of the E. Making the three notes in the chord C, F, and G.

There is a little more theory behind it then just replacing the third note with the fourth note. You are actually raising the third note by a half step.

Let’s say that you don’t have a chart like we do above to show you the notes in the scale. To find the suspended chord, move the the third note in the chord up by one half step.

Take a look at the image to see what it looks like on the piano. It shows moving the third note in the scale up a half step.

Suspended 2 Chord

The suspended 2 is similar to the sus4. Here you have to replace the third note in the scale with the second note in the scale.

If you look back at the chart, you can see that you replace the E note with a D note.

The theory behind this piano chord is close to the sus4, but here you need to lower the third note by a whole step. Take a look at the image to see it in action.

Formula

The easiest way to find suspended chords is to use a number formula. We discussed this a little before, but lets look at in a little more in detail.

If you look at the two charts, you can see that the formula for the two chords is slightly different.

Sus4 Chord Formula – I – IV – V

Sus2 Chord Formula – I – II – V

These two formulas will make it much easier for you to quickly and easily find the two suspended chords.

Sus Chords Want to Resolve

If you listen to sus chord, there is something special about them. They sound as though they need to resolve back to the third. Resolve means that it would sound more natural for the chord to fall back to another note or chord.

Its almost like the chord is incomplete unless it goes back to the third.

Take a listen to both of the C Sus chords and you will see what I mean.

Also, play the sus4 chord in one of your songs and see how it almost sounds out of place not resolving. You can take the song to unexpected places by not resolving the sus.

AUDIO

Sus on Sheet Music

The sus chord is going to look a little different then a major or minor chord on a piece of sheet music.

Take a look at the two. As you can see they are quite different from the major chord. You can tell that the Csus is taking the middle note and moving it up, while the C2 is moving the middle note down.

Suspended chords are an easy way to add a very contemporary sound to a song. They are easy to build, and easy to play.

If you follow the I – II – V and I – IV – V formula, you’ll have no problem finding the notes in the chord.

If you get stuck without a scales chart, just remember to move the third note up a half step to make a suspended 4, and move the the third down a whole step to make a suspended 2 chord.

Need more help learning chords? Learn almost every chord you’ll ever need with our Piano Chord Encyclopedia.

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Taylor Swift Mine is on her third album Speak Now. This record is set to be released on October 25, 2010. This song was set to be released on August 16 but was released early on August 4 because it was leaked early on the internet.

Tutorial

This song is in the key of G which has one sharp in it. The notes that make up this key are G, A, B, C, D, E, F#. The chords that make up this song are C Major, G Major, D Major, and E Minor.

Intro and Verses

The intro and verses for Taylor Swift Mine have the same three chords. They all start on C Major and move to G Major and then D Major. These three chords make up the entire intro and both verses.

The easiest way to play this song is to just play the chords. If you are wanting to sing along with the song the best thing to do is to learn the into and then just play the chords throughout the song.

If you are wanting to play the melody line with your right hand then see the video for detailed instructions.

Chorus and Bridge

The chords in the chorus are C, G, D, and Em.

The bridge for Taylor Swift Mine is the only part of the song that changed a little bit. You start on the E Minor chord and then play C Major and D Major.

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Taylor Swift Mine Video Tutorial

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Taylor Swift Mine Chords

Intro:     C     G     D     Repeat 4x

Verse

C     G     D     Repeat through verse

Chorus

C     G     D     Em

C     G     D     Em

Bridge

Em     C     D

Em     C     D

C     G     D

C     G     D

C     G     D     C

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Lyrics

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables
Left a small town and never looked back
I was a flight risk, afraid of fallin’
Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts
I say, “Can you believe it?”
As we’re lyin’ on the couch
The moment, I can see it
Yes, yes, I can see it now

Do you remember, we were sittin’ there, by the water?
You put your arm around me for the fist time
You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter
You are the best thing that’s ever been mine

Flash forward, and we’re takin’ on the world together
And there’s a drawer of my things at your place
You learn my secrets and figure out why I’m guarded
You say we’ll never make my parents’ mistakes
But we got bills to pay
We got nothin’ figured out
When it was hard to take
Yes, yes, This is what I thought about

Do you remember, we were sittin’ there, by the water?
You put your arm around me for the fist time
You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

You are the best thing that’s ever been mine



Do you remember all the city lights on the water?

You saw me start to believe for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter
You are the best thing that’s ever been mine

Oh, oh, oh, oh

And I remember that fight, two-thirty AM
You said everything was slipping right out of our hands
I ran out, crying, and you followed me out into the street
Braced myself for the goodbye, cause that’s all I’ve ever known
Then, you took me by surprise
You said, “I’ll never leave you alone.”

You said, “I remember how we felt, sitting by the water.
And every time I look at you, it’s like the first time.
I fell in love with a careless man’s careful daughter.
She is the best thing that’s ever been mine.”

You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

You are the best thing that’s ever been mine
Do you believe it?

We’re gonna make it now
And I can see it
I can see it now


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When you first start reading sheet music you will start with the treble clef notes. Piano teachers starts with the treble clef in the right hand to teach students right hand notes.

In order to read music you must understand the concept of clefs.

Clef

A clef is a symbol used to determine the pitch of a specific note or range of notes. There are two main clefs that musicians use to determine the pitch of a note. These are the treble and the bass clef. 

Treble Clef

he treble clef generally represents the notes ranging from middle C on the piano and up. The treble clef can also represent lower notes as well. This clef is used to signify what the right hand plays on piano.

This clef can also be called the G Clef. This is because a G note runs through the center of the symbol. the bottom part of the sybol looks a little like a G if you use your imagination.

Treble Clef Chart

IF you are really wanting to learn the treble clef, I have a nifty guide that you can use to make learning the notes in this clef super easy.

The chart below contains nearly every note that you will see on the G clef. The chart starts on an A below Middle C, and ends on a B note 2 octaves up.

This chart is super helpful because it shows exactly what notes on the piano go along with each note on the clef.

You can download a Free copy of this Treble Clef Chart by clicking the image below.

What’s even better is that this chart comes in an easy to read PDF format. This means you can even print it off and take it with you to the piano.

So make sure that you click the image above to download your Free chart now.

Staffs

The staff is what indicates the note in which the musician must play. If you look at the image above, you will see that it consists of five lines and four spaces. The spaces are the blank area between the lines. Each line and each space represents a note name.

Use the guide below to help you findng the treble clef note names.

Treble Clef Notes Trick

To help you to remember the names of these notes music teachers use these common trick to help students remember the names of the lines and spaces.

To help you remember the note names that fall on the lines you can use the commonly used acronym Every Good Boy Does Fine.

To help you remember the spaces in the treble clef us the word FACE. You can easily remember these note names by associating the spaces with the word FACE.

Conclusion

These notes are the first piano notes you should learn. Always use your right hand when playing these notes. It will take some practice to memorize these notes but with time you will have it. If you need additional help use flash cards to help you remember. There is also an app on the IPod and IPhone called IRead Music. I use this as a refresher on reading music.

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