Does the Value of Quarter Rest Changes According to the Time Signature?

by Owen
(U.K)

Does the value of a quarter note remains silence for one beat through all time signatures (like 3/4 4/4) or does it change according to the lengh of the bar?

How Can I Read Notes Faster?

by Frustrated Chris

Hallo,

As a senior just learning to play piano, I find myself stuck on not naming nad knowing each note according to its place on the staff. Instead I'm trying to figure how distant it is from the previous note so I'm basically looking at intervals.

Can you give suggestions as to improve my ability to read notes faster? Are there interval exercises or something?

Frustrated Chris

How to Read These Music Notes?

by Edge
(U.S.)

I'd like to know if you can tell me how to play these notes.

I have no idea how to, I am uploading a picture so you can see what im talking about.

Thnks !

Questions on RIVER FLOWS IN YOU - by Yiruma

by Staci
(Allentown, Pa, USA)

I'm trying to read the music sheet of - River flows in you by yiruma.
It's getting a little confusing since I only know my basics.

1. How do you play eighth notes with double lines?

2. What does it mean when you have two small quarter notes together in FRONT of a regular note and/ on TOP of a regular note???

3. Any other tips on how to play these song?



P.S.


Here is the website to the music sheet of River Flows In You.

Slurs And Ties

I don't fully understand the difference between a tie and a slur.

Tie=connects same notes, don't play the 2nd note;

A slur=2 different notes, you play both.

What if 2 different notes have both a slur and a tie do you play both notes?

Voices Intersection

by Robert Young
(Randolph,Ma USA)

My question is about the notation in the song Misty see attachment. How is it played?

Reading Two Voices at the Same Time

I have a general question on reading sheet music.

I have the Big Book of Jazz from Hal Leonard publications. The song All of You, in which an excerpt can be viewed from Amazon.com is the basis for my question.

I notice that on either clef I see a whole note over a quarter note.

I see a dotted quarter note over a rest.

I see a three note chord consistng of 2 quarter notes over a whole note.

I see a half note over a whole note.

Finally, I see a half note over a quarter note rest. Are these misprints?

How can you have different notes of duration contained in a interval and how can you have a rest combined with actual notes in a interval?

Thank you.

Counting Eighth Notes with Both Hands

by Mitchell
(United States)

How are you supposed to count eighth notes when your playing with both
hands?

Do you count "one and two and..." for the right hand
and "one and two and..." for the left hand at the same time or can you combine the counting of both hand together?

Counting Eighth Notes Through The Whole Piece

Hi, I watched the Eighth Notes Tutorial from the beginning and I'm currently on the eight note lesson.

I just want to ask about the counting, When you count 1 and 2 and etc... are you supposed to be counting eighth notes until you finish the whole piece?

Or do you count eighth notes just in the area where you're having them?

I don't know if this question sounds weird but I'm just a little bit confused.

eigth notes-clapping out time signatures

by Curtis

Hi,

I believe I do have a clear understand how to clap out time signatures but this one is giving me trouble. It's 4/4 time measure. Of course the eigth notes has a tie in the middle. Which is giving me trouble on figuring out exactly how this intro is suppose to sound like. can you help, please? Thanks

Curtis

Playing OFFBEATS

by Ido from www.piano-play-it.com
(Israel TLV)

Hi Curtis,

I would like you to listen to the following audio example a few times.

Play Audio

In the example above you can see the pattern in the image above only I have added the counting of the beats for each eighth note (One and Two and …).

The reason for you find this pattern difficult is because all the notes which are played with the right hand are placed between the downbeats (on the “and”).
So you're basically supposed to play on the OFFBEAT which is more difficult to feel, (unless you grew up on Latin music), and the way improve your ability to feel it, is to practice the following exercises.

The first step is to clap your hands on the downbeats only ( on “One”, “Two”,” Three”,” Four”) while saying “One and Two and Three and Four and”.

Play Audio

The next step is to clap downbeats and to say out loud only the “and” part:

Play Audio

The example above is quite similar to the next example, except for one thing: each “And” lasts longer, and runs into the next “And”. It looks more complicated because of the ties but you're basically going from one of beat to the other just like the previous example.

Play Audio

Now, try to clap only on the 1st and the 3rd beat, while saying the same “ands" as you did in the previous example.

Play Audio

The last example is similar to the same rhythmic pattern that you gave me…
Instead of clapping your hands on the 1st and the 3rd beat, you can play the F->E->Eb with your left hand. And instead of saying the “ands" you can play the notes you have written for the right hand.

Hope this helps
Ido Ronen from www.piano-play-it.com

Center Line on Grand Staff

by Mike
(Delaware)

When reading the Grand Staff, I understand the upper staff is the melody for the right hand and the lower staff is the bass for the left hand. How/when is the center staff played?

Thanks
Mike

Sight reading skills

Hello, Is it necessary for a beginner piano player to be scanning ahead a few bars from where he is playing and if so what is the best way to attempt to do this challenge?

Or is this a skill that will come through time?

THANK YOU

Same Musical Part is Written in Two Different Ways. What's the Difference?

Hi David,

Firstly, I must congratulate and thank you for creating such a fantastic website and helping to teach piano to anybody and everybody. God Bless You.

My question is this, I'm pretty new to playing the piano and while I was reading a sheet music, I came across a set of notes written like this (see "2" on the attached image).

Now I've usually seen such notes written as (see "1") so this was kinda new to me. I wanted to ask you, are both these notes identical or is "2" played differently than "1"

Thank you so much
Kind regards
Emma

C-flat???

by Curtis
(MIlwaukee)

Hello,

I'm learning to play this song, but I'm a little shocked because it has C-flat in the intro. There is no such thing as C-flat. So why are they calling it C-flat? Are the playing nuetral B, maybe?

here is the link below.


http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0081648

Thanks

Curtis

Multiple Note Values Upon Pulse or Beat

I have difficulty with rhythm, this is with specific regard to counting time for patterns of multiple note values upon pulse or beat. My question is basically on how to count time for such notes in a concurrent manner.

To complicate things a little, where some of the notes are dotted and coming in off the beat, then counting a steady beat does not help to accentuate a dotted rhythm in a passage of music either.

Rests, demisemi quavers and tied notes etc can easily be played or held for too long or short a time thus impacting upon the rhythm.

I am trying to find the method prescribed for achieving the right approach to all this. All books on rhythm impart a method to count a series of single notes in a bar (be it crotchets, quavers etc etc) but they fail to address the practicalities of this in actual music with all these permutations as explained above.

Where can I go to learn to read music

by Andrew
(Anderson Southcarolina)

Where can I go to learn to read music and can you teach us how to read music?

How to play these notes?

by Emma

Hi David,

I'm really stucked on this one particular set of notes and I have no idea how to play them. Could you please explain how to play it?

If you look at the attached image, there is an Arpeggio (I read somewhere that the vertical wavy line means "Arpeggio") and immediately after it is a Triplet. I am confused as to how should I play these notes.

Thank you so much.

The Directions of Stems

by Rheimgel
(Maple, Ontario, Canada)

What is the difference between a note with a stem on right side going up or stem on left side going down (like quarter note)?

Learning to read piano notes

by Sairah
(Maine)

I have just started playing the piano. I am twelve, and I am having some trouble learning the names of the notes, where they are on the piano, and what they look like on paper.
What can I do to learn this more quickly?

Music sheet takes time!!

by Migoe
(Bangalore,India )

I am learning piano through music sheet guided by a tutor for only 40 min a week !
It takes lots of time to be able to play satisfactory piece.
Those hands positions according to key signatures are difficult for me to follow!
It's been almost one year and I am still in the middle of John thompsons first grade book!
Is there a easier way to improve noticeably and faster?

question about marking your music

by Bumberbog
(USA)

I have a question about the advisability of marking your text. I'm talking about, say, marking flats and sharps and marking fingering.

Let's say a song is in B flat major. All B's and E's are flatted, and that is in the key signature. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But when I'm playing, with all the things I have to remember, I'll frequently forget to flat an E. So I write the flat symbol next to the E so that I remember.

I've never had a piano teacher, and I wonder what their philosophy would be about this. I've always felt a little guilty about it, because I can imagine a piano teacher telling me that I'm supposed to remember that from the key signature.

Yes, I know. But still I forget. Marking the text at least helps me play the song correctly.

Marking fingering is also something I feel a seasoned piano teacher might counsel me against, saying, "The fingering should be obvious!" Yet I persist in marking the fingering in virtually every note with a big number. This helps me play the piece, certainly; but it also makes it so I don't have to think when I'm playing it, and it's this that I think I would be chastised for.

So my question is: do you consider such marking a bad habit, a crutch that ultimately helps to dull one's sight-reading skills? Or do you believe I should put anything I want there if it helps me play the song correctly?

Thanks.