Notation & Rhythm
Reading the staff and clefs, note and rest values, time signatures, and counting rhythm.
30 articles
Circle of fifths
The one diagram that turns key signatures, related keys and chords into something you can reason about — the circle of fifths, explained.
Dynamics, Slurs, and Articulations
Play Clementi's "Sonatina in C Major" while learning dynamics, slurs, articulations, and cut time to shape phrases with smooth, separated, loud, and soft notes.
Using Intervals in Songs
Hear how major and minor 2nds shape real melodies, and discover why these whole- and half-step intervals are the everyday building blocks of music.
Introducing 6/8 and 12/8 Time
Count in eighth notes with the 6/8 and 12/8 time signatures, then play a traditional tune in the new key of B-flat major.
Introducing 3/4 Time
Count in threes with 3/4 waltz time, tracing its roots to Strauss and Lanner before playing a folk tune in this lilting meter.
Alternatives to 4/4 Time
Move beyond familiar 4/4 time by understanding what a time signature's top and bottom numbers really mean, opening the door to new rhythms.
Using Accidentals
Step outside a key signature using sharp, flat, and natural signs called accidentals, and learn how long they stay in force within a measure.
Introducing Key Signatures
Discover how the sharps or flats at the start of a piece form a key signature that tells you which key you're in and which major scale a song is built on.
“Straight Eighths” vs. “Swing Eighths”
Drop the middle note of each triplet to hear where swing eighths come from, and learn why the "&" lands later than in straight rhythms.
4/4 Time Signature
Decode the 4/4 time signature placed after the clef, where the top number sets four beats per measure and the bottom number defines the beat's rhythmic value.
The Sixteenth Rest
Get to know the two-flagged sixteenth rest and play a melody that weaves together quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes with their matching rests.
Introducing Sixteenth Notes
Learn the sixteenth note, worth a quarter of a beat, along with its double flags and beams and the new "e & a" counting that divides each beat into four.
Introducing Dotted Eighth Notes
Add a dot to an eighth note to stretch it to three-quarters of a beat, then pair it with a sixteenth note to fill a single beat.
Eighth-Note Triplets
Squeeze three eighth notes into a single beat to create triplets, counting "1 trip-let 2 trip-let" evenly while spotting the telltale beamed "3."
The Eighth Rest
Get acquainted with the eighth rest, a half-beat silence, and practice a melody that mixes eighth notes and rests by clapping before you play.
Introducing Tied Notes
Discover how a tie links two same-pitch notes into one sustained sound, letting a note ring across the barline when beats run short.
Introducing Dotted Notes
Add a dot after a note to extend its length by half again, turning half notes into three-beat values and quarter notes into one-and-a-half.
Introducing Eighth Notes
Meet the eighth note, lasting half a beat, and learn how flags and beams notate it whether it stands alone or joins its neighbors.
Pickup Measures
Find out why many songs start partway into the first measure and how composers use pickup measures to drop the opening rests before the melody begins.
Introducing Rests
Understand rests as measured beats of silence, learning to count and observe one-, two-, and four-beat pauses just as carefully as the notes you play.
Counting Rhythms with Quarter, Half, and Whole Notes
Count your way through a 4/4 example by placing the right number of beats under each note, ensuring every measure adds up to the time signature.
Introducing Note Lengths
Get to grips with quarter, half, and whole notes, learning how each note's shape and stem tell you exactly how many beats it lasts.
Separating Music into Measures
Meet the rhythmic pulse behind music and learn how beats are grouped into measures with bar lines, including the final double bar that marks a song's end.
Learning the Note Names in Treble and Bass Clefs
Build a set of C-note 'guideposts' across a four-octave range to quickly recognize and read note names throughout the treble and bass clefs.
Middle C and Ledger Lines
See why middle C sits between the clefs and how ledger lines extend the staff to notate the notes that fall just above and below it.
The Grand Staff
Discover how the treble and bass clefs join into the grand staff, the standard layout for piano music where your right and left hands each read their own clef.
The Bass Clef
Meet the bass clef used for left-hand notes, and learn how the F line helps you name the notes across the lower keyboard.
The Treble Clef
Meet the treble clef used for right-hand notes, and learn how the G line and middle C anchor your reading of the upper keyboard.
The Musical Staff
Begin reading music by learning the five-line staff and how notes sit on lines and spaces to tell you exactly what to play.
Finding the White and Black Keys
Make sense of the keyboard layout by spotting the two-and-three black-key groups and using the A-to-G music alphabet to name the white keys.