We’ve done most of our work by ear so far, and most of the music we look at has finger marks and the names of the notes to help out.
What does it all mean, though? We won’t get too far into the weeds, but here’s a little breakdown of some of the symbols you’ll see on your music at the beginner level.
Clef
The first thing you’ll see at the start of a line (or “staff”) is the “clef”.
Violin music is written using treble clef, violas use alto and cellos use bass.
To make life easier in the beginning, and since the violins and violas are mixed together, we’re going to focus on reading treble clef. Here’s what they all look like:
Key Signature
The next thing will be the “key signature”. This tells us where the sharps (#) or flats (♭) are in the music.
Essentially, if we see a sharp in the key signature, that means every instance of that note in the piece will be sharp (unless the music says otherwise).
Example:
In D major, we say “Fis” and “Cis” because the key signature contains F# and C#.
Here are the key signatures you’ll see most in the beginning stages:
- “D-major” has two sharps (F and C). This is the key we play most in the beginning.
- “A-major” has three sharps (F, C and G)
- “G-major” has one sharp (F)
Time Signature
Next comes the “time signature”. This tells us how many beats there are in one bar. The most common is 4/4 time. This means there are four “quarter notes” or “crotchets” to a bar.
Most pop/rock music is written in 4/4. If you tap your foot along with the music, you will be tapping four times for every bar.
This is written like so:
