by Tania Gleaves on January 5, 2010
Music time signatures confusing you? Want to know what they are and how they work?
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When you start studying piano lessons, you will learn the basic knowledge of music which also includes music time signatures. Time signatures are composed of two numbers in the form of a fraction which tells you the number of notes and the kind of note receiving one beat in each measure. Say what?! That might have been your initial reaction upon reading this definition, believe me, I’ve been there. But don’t worry because I will break down music time signatures for you in an easier to understand manner.
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Music time signatures are commonly found at the beginning of each music sheet. These are the fraction numbers written right after the clef on the first staff. The top number lets you know how many beats there are per measure while the bottom number informs you what kind of note receives one beat. The top numbers can be any number but the bottom numbers always follow 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16. No other numbers can be represented at the bottom except for the aforementioned ones because they represent the five different notes.
If you are a bit confused by this, just imagine the bottom number in the form of a fraction with 1 as its top number. When you read the fractions, you will know right away what kind of note they stand for.
The Bottom Number With Their Corresponding Note Values:
1 – whole note
2 – half note
4 – quarter note
8 – eighth note
16 – sixteenth note
Say for example, a music sheet has 4/4 music time signature, this means that there are 4 beats in a measure and the quarter note gets a beat each time. In the staff, you will find four quarter notes or its corresponding equivalent in one measure. Some of the corresponding equivalents of four quarter notes can be two half notes, one whole note, two quarter notes and four eighths, and a few others more. Your guide for knowing the corresponding equivalents of music time signatures will be the length of duration each note has originally.
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by Tania Gleaves on December 17, 2009
Ever wished you could learn a piano piece just by looking at it? Want to learn sight reading music?
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There are some basic steps on how to develop sight reading music. Sight read music simply means easily reading a music piece and putting it into action right away without exerting much thinking effort because the music flows naturally from your sight to your fingers. This skill can be acquired and enhanced by every pianist through constant practice.
The first step to master sight reading music is to find several music pieces that meet your piano skill level or you could also use some music pieces which are a bit easier. Always be sure to use a music piece which is totally new to you because this allows the skill on how to learn to sight read music flow more naturally.
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Sit on the piano and look at the overall music piece and try to understand how the music goes without actually playing it. Look at the notes, chords, time signature, and key signature and play the music’s hymn inside your head. After that, breathe deep and start playing from the beginning. Don’t worry if you make a mistake every now and then because it is only natural. The key here is to keep on going while correcting your mistakes, don’t be frustrated if you hit the wrong notes.
After playing the piece for the first time, repeat the process until you get the hang of it, fewer or no mistakes this time around. When you feel like you are ready to add chords to the notes you are playing, go ahead, this is a perfect time for you to practice chord progression as well. When everything sounds great, start following the time signature and adding some beat to the music you’re playing.
Before you know it, you are playing the music piece without putting much thinking effort as if it flows naturally straight from your sight. This is how sight reading music works. When you have mastered the first music piece, start with a new music piece and put the basic steps into action. When you have honed the sight reading music skill, you can play any music piece thrown at you even in an impromptu performance.
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