Apr 4

The Easiest Way To Read Sheet Music For A Beginner Part. 2

In the last lesson, we talked about music intervals, clefs, and octaves on the piano. Today, we will go deeper and learn more about how to read a piece of music.


💡Reminder: Don’t be afraid to read the wrong notes. Even famous musicians sometimes make mistakes. Just keep practicing!

STEPS

Below, you’ll see a short line of music. Can you notice how the notes move in small, even ways? One note sits on a line, the next in a space, then again on a line, and so on. We call this kind of movement steps.

Steps happen when the notes move to the very next letter in the music alphabet. Let’s take a look at how this works:

- Start from a line note (Middle C)
- Move to a space (D)
- Then to the next line (E)
- Continue onward...

That’s a step—a small move to the next musical letter. It feels like climbing stairs, one step at a time.

SKIPS

If steps are small moves, skips are jumps. In music, when we skip a letter, we also skip a space or line. For example:

From C (on a line) to E (also on a line), we skipped D (which is in a space).

Or from A (space) to C (space), skipping B (line).
A skip means you jump over a note in the music alphabet.

Combining Steps & Skips

Now, let’s try to combine both. Imagine arrows:

🔼 Arrow up? Play a higher note.
🔽 Arrow down? Play a lower note.

But What If Music Doesn’t Follow This Pattern?

In real music, the space between notes isn’t always small like steps and skips. Sometimes, notes are far apart—and that brings us to a new concept: Intervals.

 What Are Intervals?

An interval is the distance between two notes. Examples:

C to D = 2nd interval
C to E = 3rd interval

After you begin practicing, you'll start to recognize different and larger intervals more easily.

For example, the 4th interval (from C to F) is shown by a note on a line moving to a note in a space, with a wider distance. This is also known as a leap.

Similarly, the 5th interval represents an even bigger distance—either between two lines or two spaces.

LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER!

We’ve gone through each music reading concept step by step—now it’s time to bring it all together into one musical staff and try reading it all!

Let’s see if you can identify everything: notes, skips, steps, and intervals.

As soon as you look at the music, you might recognize Middle C. Use this as your starting point.

The next note is placed on a line quite far from Middle C. Looking at the distance, you can tell this is a 5th interval. If you observe carefully, this note sits on the line that is wrapped by the curve of the G clef (Treble Clef), so this note is G!
After that, we return to Middle C, then step up three times to reach F, and finally step down to D.

TIPS TO READ NOTES FASTER

Flash Cards

Train your eyes to recognize notes quickly by using flashcards. Ask someone to quiz you for even better results!

Sight-Reading Book:

A beginner-friendly book that clearly teaches note reading is one of the most effective ways to both practice and apply your skills.
PLAY LIKE A PRO 1 – BEGINNER LEVEL is a book created by DMA especially for beginners, filled with easy-to-follow instructions and basic steps to help you on your piano journey.
And don’t forget, you can also learn and practice along with teachers through the DMA Online Course, taught by experienced pianists and vocal coaches. This will boost your music skills faster and more effectively!

And just like that, you've learned the foundation of music reading. Remember:

PRACTICE IS THE KEY! Keep going and you’ll be confident and ready to take on the next challenges.