Music Notation
The musical alphabet consists of 7 letters:
Music is written on a staff, which consists of 5 parallel lines. Notes are written on these lines and in the spaces between them.
The treble or "G" clef is placed at the beginning of each staff line. This clef indicates the position of the note G.
The head of a note indicates its position, on the staff, e.g.:
When the note head is below the middle staff line the stem points upward and when the head is above the middle line the stem points downward. A note placed on the middle line (B) can have its stem pointing either up or down.
Learning The Notes on the Staff
Extra notes can be added above or below the staff using short lines, called ledger lines.
The Quarter Note
This is a quarter note. A quarter note lasts for one beat.
The Open Strings of the Guitar
The term "open string" means a string with no left hand fingers pressed down (unfretted). When correctly tuned, the open strings of the guitar correspond to the notes E A D G B and E from low to high, as shown in the following diagram.
Notice that the open 4th string D note is in the space below the staff, while the low A and E notes are on ledger lines below the staff. Don’t worry if you can’t recognize these notes yet, they will all be introduced as the book progresses.
Here is an exercise to help you recognize the notes which represent the open strings of the guitar. Name the notes out loud as you play each one. All the notes here are quarter notes, which last for one beat each. However, don’t worry about the timing at this stage; just make sure you are playing the correct notes.
