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.