Learn the basics of standard music notation, including the parts of the musical staff, treble clef, types of notes, time signatures, tempo, using a metronome, basic rhythms, ties and dotted notes.

The Music Staff and the Treble Clef 

Before we can start to learn how to play the guitar, we must first learn how to read and understand the musical examples found in the following exercises and lessons. Music notation may seem tricky at first, but with patience and perseverance, you will discover that it is much easier than you originally thought. 

Standard Notation 

Other than tablature, the most common system of guitar notation is called Standard Notation. This form of notation is used among all instruments, including brass, woodwinds, and stringed instruments. Standard Notation uses a group of five lines called a Staff to notate the movement of pitch (unlike tablature which only shows the fretboard location) of the music. The staff is divided into measures, which contain a set grouping of notes determined by the Time Signature. Each measure is separated by a barline.  

We will learn more about standard notation in our next course where we will learn the notes of the staff and how to play them on the guitar, but for learning to read rhythms, only a basic understanding of standard notation is necessary for now.

Types of Notes

Even if we know the correct notes of a song, they need to be played in the correct rhythm. Rhythm is defined as the amount of time that each note is heard. In order to notate rhythm, we need to indicate the length of each note in the music. This is done by changing the appearance of each note to represent a specific duration. In the example below, you will see the four most common types of notes. These are Whole Notes, Half Notes, Quarter Notes, and Eighth Notes. 

 As you can see from the example above, different note types look different when written on the staff. This is so they are easily recognizable when we are reading music. 

 Tempo

When you listen to music, you will notice that some music is played very fast, and at times music can be played very slowly. The speed of the music, referred to as the Tempo, determines how fast or slowly we count the beats in a piece of music. Tempo is often referred to as the “pulse” or “heartbeat” of the music. 

Tempo is measured in beats per minute (bpm). A tempo of 60bpm is the same as one beat per second, while a tempo of 120bpm, the tempo of most modern popular music, doubles the beats per minute and therefore would double the pulse of the music. We will use our metronome to set the tempo as we practice the exercises in this book.  

Practicing With A Metronome

It is extremely important when practicing the exercises in these courses to use a metronome. A metronome is important for establishing the Tempo of the music and allowing you to hear when your playing is “in time” as the notes you play line up with the clicks of the metronome. Establishing a sense of internal time is very important to developing your overall musicianship, and a metronome is very helpful in establishing a “feel” for the music you are practicing.

One of the best ways to get comfortable using a metronome is simply to clap along with the tempo. Once you are clapping along with the metronome comfortably, you can switch to your guitar to connect the playing movement with the metronome’s tempo.

It is also strongly encouraged to count the tempo while playing guitar, which could be realized by stomping your foot (preferably the foot of the opposite leg that the guitar is resting on), or another movement that is comfortable for you to make while playing the instrument. This will allow you to “feel” the tempo internally while playing. This takes a long time to develop but is invaluable to becoming a well-rounded musician.

Time Signatures 

Once we have our tempo, we use two numbers placed at the beginning of the staff to determine how we group those beats into measures of music. These numbers are called Time Signatures. 

The lower number indicates which type of note is counted as 1 beat. The only numbers that can be on the bottom of a time signature are 1 (whole notes), 2 (half notes), 4 (quarter notes), 8 (eighth notes), and 16 (sixteenth notes).  

Time Signatures: The Upper Number 

In the following example, we have a time signature of 4/4. This means that we have four beats per measure. This means we will group the beats of our Tempo in to groups of four, and count “1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,” for each beat. This is the most common time signature in music, and is often referred to as “common time”  

In the next example, we have a time signature of 3/4. This means that we have three beats per measure. This means we will group the beats of our Tempo into groups of four, and count “1,2,3,,1,2,3,” for each measure. 

 Time Signatures: The Lower Number 

Here, we have three different time signatures, 4/4, 4/2 and 4/8. Note how the top number of all three time signatures are the same. This means that we will still count four beats per measure for each time signature, but the value of the note counted as the beat will change. 

In 4/4 time, we count the quarter note for each beat of the tempo.  In 4/2 time, we count the half note as the beat. In 4/8 time, we count the eighth note as the beat.

It is also important to remember that time signatures are independent of tempo markings. Tempo only notes how fast the beats are going, where the time signature helps us group those beats into measures and represent the beats on paper using one of our note values

Rhythm Exercises Part 1

The following exercises are designed to help you with counting and playing rhythms. The note that is used in these exercises is the note E, which is played on the open 1st string (the thinnest string of the guitar) Practice each of these exercises at a tempo of 60bpm. Make sure to count the beats as you play the notes on the guitar. 

Types of Rests

 A Rest is a symbol that tells the musician to stop playing for a short period of time. Just as there are different durations of notes, there are different durations of rests. These types are Whole Rests, Half Rests, Quarter Rests, and Eighth Rests. Just as a Whole Note lasts for 4 beats of time, a Whole Rest will last for 4 beats as well. Half Rests will last for two beats, and so on.   

 As you can see from the example above, the types of rests look different when written on the staff. This is so they are easily recognizable when we are reading music. 

Rhythm Exercises With Rests

The following exercises are designed to help you with counting and playing rhythms. The note that is used in these exercises is the note E, which is played on the open 1st string (the thinnest string of the guitar) Practice each of these exercises at a tempo of 60bpm. Make sure to count the beats as you play the notes on the guitar. 

Practice the following exercises to get comfortable playing music using rests. Remember that all of the strings need to be stopped so there is no sound for the entire duration of the rest.

Tied Rhythms

A Tie connects two notes so that when the first note is played, it is held for the duration of the original note as well as the tied note. This allows us to combine notes into irregular values. It also allows for notes to be held across bar lines, which was not possible with traditional notation. 

A Quarter Note tied to an Eighth Note would create a note that lasts 1.5 beats. The quarter note is played and held for the duration of the eighth note.

A Half Note tied to a Quarter Note would create a note that lasts 3 beats. Any two note values can be combined using a tie to create many different combinations of beats. 

Dotted Rhythms

We can use dotted rhythms to extend the value of a note. A Dot (.) added to a note adds 1/2 of the value of the previous note. For example, a Dotted Half Note would be held for 3 beats, while a Dotted Quarter note would equal 1.5 beats. Observe the following examples of each of these dotted notes. 

A Dotted Half Note adds the value of a Quarter Note (1 beat) to the Half Note (2 Beats) equaling a total of 3 beats for the Dotted Half Note.

A Dotted Quarter Note adds the value of a Eighth Note (1/2 beat) to the Quarter Note (1 Beat) equaling a total of 1.5 beats for the Dotted Quarter Note.

It is important to note that a Dotted Quarter Note is equal to a Quarter Note tied to an Eighth Note. Although they are written differently, they have the same note value, but are often used in different situations, such as holding a note across a bar line.

Rhythm Review

Play the exercises below to review all of the rhythmic concepts we have learned so far in this course. Work through each of these slowly and carefully, and make sure you fully understand each concept before moving on to the next course.