How To Read Staff Notation:
A Primer for Guitarists
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The History of Staff Notation:
Staff notation, now sometimes also called "Standard Notation", is a means of writing musical information that is not specific to a particular instrument.
In other words, it is a universal notation which all musicians may use equally (with some exceptions in the case of the "transposing" wind instruments, like sax and trumpet), unlike Guitar Tablature, which is specific to the guitar and is un-readable by non-guitar-playing musicians. It was originally invented to record the single-line melodies of Gregorian chant, and was the brain-child of a brilliant medieval monk named Guido d'Arezzo. Guido was active in the early 11th century, almost 1000 years ago. There was an existing notation system in use in his time which could record the "ups and downs" of a melody but without precise pitches, so the singer had to hear the melody and learn it first, after which he could use the notation as a reminder. Guido improved on this system with an expanded and accurate new method which has lasted a millennium. It has gone through some evolution in the style of writing, of course, so the early versions are not so easily readable today. You can see an example of medieval notation below:
What Staff Notation does:
Staff Notation does a brilliant job of exactly what Guido designed it for, and that purpose is valid for musicians to this very day. If you, the reader, understand the purpose of staff notation, it will eliminate some of the confusion that you may have as a beginning music reader. We're going to explain to you precisely in the next few paragraphs just what the real purpose of staff notation is.The musical scale as we sing it has seven tones to the octave. (Octave means "eight". The eighth note of the scale is double the frequency of the first one.*) Although in our modern system there are a total of 12 divisions to the octave (called "half steps"), our musical scale as sung or played uses only seven of these at any one time. The purpose of staff notation is to show the particular seven tones which are in use at any given time in a linear way, leaving out the other five tones except as special symbols called "accidentals" (but it's no accident, actually, and there should be a better word!)
*Example: if we begin a scale on "A-440", which vibrates at 440 Hz, the 8th note of that scale will vibrate at 880 Hz (twice the frequency), and it has the same letter name, "A".
In modern English, we use seven letter names, A through G, to describe the 7 notes of a musical scale. In Latin countries, and sometimes in English as well, a set of seven syllables are used. The English versions of those syllables are "Do - Re - Mi - Fa - Sol - La - Ti" (pronounced "Doe - Ray - Mee - Fah - Sole - Lah - Tee".) In the Latin countries, "Do" always equals English "C". (There is also a system in English called "Movable Do Solfege" in which "Do" may be equal to any of the 12 semitones. You should know about Movable Do, to avoid confusion if you encounter this system, but we won't deal with it here.)
The purpose of staff notation is to show the seven tones of the scale in a clear and linear way. Each tone occupies consecutively a line or space on the staff. If you are competent on your instrument, you will know your scales, and reading music will be as easy as playing consecutive scale tones. If you don't know your scales — which is as good as to say that you are not yet competent on your instrument — then you will struggle with the key signatures. There is really no remedy for this except to learn the scales. Although beginners may rebel against this idea — why should I play these boring scales? — well, that's the breaks. You can remain a beginner, or learn your stuff...
Any of the seven tones may be inflected up or down a half-step (one fret) by special signs called "sharp" and "flat" signs. These signs are used in two distinctly different ways. The first way is "globally" in the form of a "key signature" which is a collection of between 0 and 6 of either the sharp or the flat signs (never both at once) posted at the left-hand end of the staff. The second way is as individual signs placed in front of specific notes in the course of the music. The second way is easy to deal with - just move the note up or down one fret on the fingerboard. The first way - the key signature - requires some attention on the part of the student.
What are the key signatures for, anyway?
The key signature tells you which of 12 possible different sets of 7 notes are in use in the music that you are reading. In order to be able to read the different keys fluently, you MUST know the 12 major scales on your instrument. If you know your scales, then reading music is merely a matter of reading the consecutive notes of the scale on the consecutive lines and spaces of the staff. If you don't know your scales, then you will be struggling with the meaning of the sharps and flats in a painfully confused manner.This is the essential lesson about the meaning of staff notation. If you don't know your scales on your instrument, you will struggle! Staff notation shows scales in a linear and direct way.
Why aren't there lines and spaces for 12 tones on the staff, since the modern system has twelve half-steps in the octave?
This is a common question and a common criticism of staff notation. People say, "If there were 12 notes on the staff, then we wouldn't have to worry about all these sharps and flats!"Well - that's fine. There have been many alternative systems invented. Go find them on the I-net, use them and have fun. But the rest of the musical world uses Guido's system. And if you choose to be an educated and informed musician - and learn your scales while you're at it - you won't have any problem with staff notation. Believe me, if you have the dedication and smarts to learn one of the more recently invented 12-tone notation systems, staff notation will be easy for you. Plus, you'll probably need to know staff notation just for basic reference, since those systems are sort of like the "opposition", and depend on the thing that they oppose for a reason to exist.
And now, let's go on to the nuts and bolts of reading music:
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| Last Page Update: 03-17-08 |