Hey that is a really good video! Now obviously it’s only scratching the bare surface of music theory but it might be really good for beginners. Now i already noticed that you talked about what note is notated in between the bottom lines of the clefs rather then saying what note they’re marking (G, F, C). Also you talked about crescendo and decrescendo where you didn’t mention the word diminuendo but wrote it down in the timestamps. Now for 11 (key signatures) you COULD have said that you obviously stop playing the F# if the there’s a signature change, but that really isn’t a big deal. A pretty common mistake also is translating staccato with short even though it only means clearly separated but of course it is not wrong to say short since that is what composers tend to mean with staccato, especially in contemporary music. The sweeping line for phrasing marks, ties and slurs can also go below the notes. Accents is what we call the group of symbols telling us what to do with specific notes but what was shown here is actually most commonly a sforzando-accent. Depending on what you play the trill might also go to an interval below and might vary between semitones, whole tones even thirds and doesn’t have to be played super fast… Usually this is instructed in you music and also applies to turns, etc. Important to say would probably also be to say that triplets and duplets only appear in binary/ternary time signatures. Pedal marks can also be noted with a rectangular bow. Again; I really like this video. It’s fabulous. But i just think if you want to have the most important information in it you should have all of the most important information in it. Still is a great option to learn basic terms and symbols! Hope you’re doing well!
I played the trumpet for over 8 years, and it was VERY overwhelming in the beginning, but as James below says, you don't use many of the symbols in daily music, but slowly integrating them in different pieces you do over time will make things MUCH easier. Especially pacing yourself. It all connects eventually.
@@skyworm8006 yeah that really sucks because yeah people like stevie wonder aka a blind legend was able to play so well without sheet music and ray Charles who was a composer and was also blind but still was able to learn without sheet and other musicians like Eric Clapton who was not a pianist but a guitarist who like the rest of them sadly 😢 “didn’t understand the existing system and what it’s used for” 😂don’t make me laugh. Music is a form of creativity and and expression there is no system that u have to follow to be a musician because sadly stevie wonder was born blind yet the fact that he could not read sheet music never stopped him from being the great musician that he was so come back to earth for two seconds and realize that people can find anyway to learn anything if they really want it and that’s something that no amount of sheet music can teach them
You do not learn all about music at one time, it’s gradual learning about how to “read and speak” music. JUST LIKE LEARNING how to do math or actual reading or writing….it takes time to GROW
@@Terry-te7kt Ok, first of all, oh my God, please use more punctuation, I felt out of breath reading this. Second, the above comment meant a system to write down music, not to do music in general. And lastly, nobody here said you can't learn music without sheet music. But just because you can learn music without sheet music doesn't mean sheet music isn't useful.
Perfect video every music enthousiast needs to watch. I will turn back on everytime I need it. Short, sharp, basic explanations, not a single second wasted.
Thank you very much! I am self-practicing piano for three months now and I saw most of the symbols presented in this video but it was helpful you explained them.
Your thoughts and efforts to bring this video is a reflection of your musical maturity. I have never come across anything closer to your video until this day. Your effort will allow any amateur musician to easily understand the music symbols. This video will also partially help all those grappling to understand music theory as part of their exams. You were mind-blowing!!! You made me subscribe to your channel. Looking forward to many more creative productions that will help music learners (also me) around the globe. Thank you so much, Matthew!
I always struggled to tell the difference between Common Time and Cut Time. Now I understand. Thank you. One thing you did not mention was double-dotted notes.
Double dotted notes are basically a dotted note, but the note that is added to the first note (for example let's take a dotted quarter note, they get an eight as a dot, and for double dotting, dot the second note; the eight, so a sixteenth.) A double dotted quarter is 1.75 beats in 4/4
Very nice vid ! To me an easier way to remember - treble clef: the second line (where there is the spiral) it's a G, bass clef, between the two dots it's an f, alto / tenor clef, the middle of it is a C
This is actually incredibly correct as the clefs by true name are G clef F clef and C clef. And when they move around it changed the location of said note
@@m4gn5g62 I learned to read music as a vocalist, and was taught G clef and F clef shortly after the names treble and bass, and alto and C clef at about the same time. I was only told the C clef could move around, and that it's common in earlier music. I was surprised the tutor here didn't mention the F / G / C names, it makes them much clearer.
@@jimrodarmel8512 The G clef can move too. It's rare, though, but for recorder-players, it could make things so much easier. Unfortunately, it's not done...sob!
As a pianist, I did not know: double sharp, sforzando, double whole note, octave signs (on treble/bass clefs), difference between acciaccatura and appoggiatura, alto/tenor clef, down/up bows, rubato. So 41/50. Nice vid man!
He really poorly explained alto and tenor clef. The clef shape shows which line is middle c. On the alto clef, middle c is in the middle of the staff. This means you could move the clef anywhere so that any kind of clef is possible
Thank you so much for using both European and American English here. As a Musician who also follows a lot of European bands this is super helpful Thanks!!
I have self-teach myself for years purely by trying to read what the symbols mean and learning how does it affect a piece by listening to a sample or transcribing a piece myself for years. This video got recommended to me and I though I can do some refreshing course with it. Though I didn't expect to reflect on myself and say that I am very grateful to somehow be able to teach myself just through the internet and with the right source.
I am self-taught at reading notes and playing the keyboard, doing it by ear and by intuition from childhood on, never really knowing if I did things accurate or not, especially when trying to play classical pieces, but I'm not one to want to take actual lessons. I do things "my way" :D But now I am amazed at how much I turn out to have gotten right just by figuring it out for myself. Nice :)
Very good, high-density info! 🙂 Trills, mordants, turns, and acciaccaturas are played as fast as you possibly can but in perfect control. Think of them as hemi-demi-semi-quavers (1/64th notes.) Most of us do these grace notes not with adjacent fingers but with one finger removed for better control. e.g., 4-2 or 5-3. Try it! You should practice trilling (especially trilling!) with every possible combination of fingers of both hands. But 4-2 with the right hand will get you started. 5-3 is hard but handy to have in your toolbox. An acciaccatura ("crush") is played as that single very short note just before the main note, so the main note comes in on time and has its full value. (That means you have to steal a tiny bit from the note or rest before.) An appoggiatura comes in on the beat and robs its indicated value from the main note. If the appog. is an eighth note (as they usually are) and the main note is a quarter note, you play it as two eighth notes. If the appog. is a eighth note and the main note is a half note, you play it as if the half note was a dotted quarter note. But the appog. is still subordinate to the melody indicated by the main note. Note that in Chopin, there are often multiple small auxiliary notes before or after a main note. Usually you interpret two or three notes as an acciaccatura (before the beat, robbed from the previous note) even though they won't have a line through them. Only a single note gets a line. A line through three notes would look messy. If there are many small auxiliary notes, you have some liberty as how to play them. They usually aren't rendered as hemi-demi-semi-quavers but more like rippling water. This (and the explanations in the video) is the usual convention for grace notes in classical and romantic music. In baroque (Bach) the symbols are usually interpreted differently and it depends on what the various editors wrote in over the decades as baroque composers didn't write any marks in at all. The pianist was expected to follow contemporary performance practice...or he could send Bach a text message (written with a quill pen) and ask him how he wanted his piece to sound.
I think I knew them all, mostly (I've played both piano and cello), but some were good refreshers of the names (marcato, breve, the differences in grace notes, tenuto, volta, and the coda). Thank you!
The notes we hear don’t line up with the visuals showing turns and inverted turns at 9:22 don’t line up with what we’re actually hearing. What we hear is actually G-A-G-F-G, not F-G-F-E-F. The same goes for mordents at 12:19. I don’t have perfect pitch, but it threw me for a loop when I expected the semitone from F to E and heard a whole tone!
Yet another great video! Even though I have been playing for a couple of years now and recognized most of the signs, it was still a fun vid to watch. For real though, I’ve been playing for like 5 years and have never seen a double whole note in my entire life lmao 💀💀💀
You always knock out a belting video Matthew . You explain things clearly and very simply to make everyone understand too many piano youtubers just waffle on and you get lost in what they are trying to explain but not your videos .
I'm glad to say that I knew most of these. But there were some that I didn't know, especially the ones that are used for instruments other than the piano. Most of these I learned in High School Music Theory, but a few I learned or relearned on my own, as I would practice reading music and play pieces on the piano.
Note lengths and rest lengths are dependent on the time signature. A half note is not always 2 beats. If the time is 2/2, then a half note is one beat.
MANY, MAANNNYYY THANKS @2:07 for using the word QUIET to equate with the "pp", "p" & "mp" dynamics markings!! It's a "pet peave" of mine, but it IS more accurate to say (in music). It also corrects the concepts that people have when they say things like: "Turn the music 'UP', I can't hear it because the volume is too 'LOW'!" - - When people say things like that, I know they'll also have a hard time with PITCH being "high/low". 🎉Thank You all the same for your video!!🎉
Whoops! Did I speak too soon? @6:04, you referred to double flats as being "two bs ("B")" - - "Flats" are just that -Flats-! When we call them "b"s, that causes confusion when you call a different note by its letter name. I had a student messed up/confused for days when we were talking about notes in the key of "A-Flat" - - they kept saying, "This is in the key of 'a-B-flat' " instead of just calling it "the key of A-Flat" 🤭. Is it a Brit-thing to call flats "B"s? I fly WAAAAAY off of the handle when my students call sharps - - - HASHTAGS!!!! 😡😡😡 - - It would be like a math teacher allowing students to call pulse signs (+) a "cross" (†) NOPE not the same thing... Or is it not? After all, Christ did go to the cross † so that all who accept His gift of salvation could be "ADDED" to the Kingdom of God, right🤭? Praise God for that! Have a blessed day!
A composition was wrote in a minor or major with flats or sharps if he wrote a 2 sharp in a ( a flat minor) [Example] that would not be composed correctly and couldn't fully be correct.
There are a couple of reasons, but one of the easiest to understand is that a typical scale needs to contain one of each letter (A B C D E F G) and so if you have a section of the music that is using a G# harmonic minor scale (for example) the notes would be G# A# B C# D# E Fx. The 7th note in this scale is a double sharp because if it were a G we would have two forms of G (G and G#) and no forms of F. Another reason is that particular chords that are being outlined need to retain particular intervals (note distances)…and when used in certain keys and scales, you end up with double sharps and double flats. For example a D major chord contains the notes D F# and A. A D# major chord would need to retain the same note relationships, so it would be D# Fx A#. That’s not my best explanation, but hopefully that gives you an idea! Maybe there is a video to be made on it 😊
Im pretty sure it depends on the key signature, because you’re not really going to use flats in a signature that has sharps, unless your transitioning from a sharp to flat key signature, same for the opposite. At least I’m pretty sure.
Alto and Tenor are both C clefs, the indentation in the symbol sitting on the C line in each case; like the Treble clef curls around the G line, and the serif of the vertical bar or the dots (which were originally horizontal bars) of the bass clef sitting on or surrounding the F line.
11:37 For the Tenuto you should also remember to for percussion and only percussion the tenuto means to accent the note like a marcato but instead of more than an accent, its a little bit less than an accent.
Nice video. But I have to advocate for two symbols for organ players. In organ pedalboard notation on the bass clef a V or inverted V indicates to use the toe of the foot and the oval or indicates to use the heel. But there were several other symbols I didn't know.
Improvisa diatonicamenre. Te recomiendo un controlador midi. Y improvisa en formato midi. Allí te darás cuenta de cual es tu "tempo y rítmica". Se te hará más fácil saber emular y escribir el tempo.
Trumpet player here. Most of those marks are familiar, but this video did remind me of some of them, and some were completely new. In order: Marcato: I saw that before, but forgot in the interim Sforzando: Apparently I forgot or was mis-taught what that meant. I though that that was the same as an accent mark. Turn: completely unknown Acciacatura: never heard that name; I heard of a "grace note" Appoggiatura: never heard of it Forte-piano: I thought that that meant accent Mordent: completely unknown Volta Brackets: I was taught about "first and second endings "; I never heard the name "Volta bracket" before Arco: completely unknown, since I'm not a string player. (I knew about up-bow and down-bow from when I was in the orchestra, but since I'm not a string player, I didn't remember which symbol is which)
The notes in a turn respect the key signature. In a turn or a lower mordant that is based on the tonic in a minor key, does the leading note below the tonic, which is normally sharped as an accidental, get sharped when you play the grace note? It's not part of the key signature but in the body of a minor piece the leading note will often (but not always) be sharped.
the timing on the beat notes I never saw explained that way before, or else you were just taught differently. the 1-beat note is a quarter, because it's 1/4 of a whole note. The 2-beat note is a half note because it is half of a whole note. the one with 1 flag or bar across is an 8th note, 2 flags/2 bars a 16th note. I knew most of what you showed, but appreciated the review of the speed markings and the articulations.
I was curious about the version of sforzando being written as sf instead of sfz when I was working on arranging certain orchestral pieces for concert band (like Dvorak symphony 7), I didn’t know they were basically the same and it was okay to alternate between them. Musescore doesn’t like to play sf as loud as it should be.
e should clarify that the key signature could eithee be the major key or relative minor or the nearest keys like blues scales where you use the C minor keu signature for the C blues scale and remember to include the accidentals
Thank you for the good initiative. But...have you ever considered making 2 videos with 25 signs? I would not be surprised if anyone more than me woukd be happy.
I knew all except phrasing marks, marcato, breve, down bows and up bows, and arco. (The later two because I'm not a string player). And learned some about some of the other things too.
1:19 how about using the term half-steps… Then your listeners will not get confused when looking at harmony theory! So from C to Csharp there is a half-step up. On a guitar that would be one fret down the fretboard on the same string. B to C is also a half-step… F to G however is a whole-step! The same goes for F-sharp to G-sharp. Also a whole-step…
Most of them I'm familiar with, but not all, and some I'd have to reference a cheat sheet: - the duplets and other tullete, I've never seen, but I expect I'd understand them out of the context, because the bar wouldn't add up otherwise. - the string specific notation is unfamiliar, because I never played the strings. - I'd probably have to look up the tempo words, I prefer the metronome mark with an exact number. I believe there's more to say about clefs, or rather not use the lower space to explain them , but their actual target line: - the treble clef, also known as G-clef, targets G4 on the second line; there's also the French Viola-clef, targeting the first line as G4 - the bass clef, also known as F-clef, targets F3 on the fourth line, it can be moved up and down, to be baritone- or subbass-clef. - the auto and tenor clefs are C-clefs, targeting C4 on the third and fourth line, but it can be moved to any line. I think the C-clef can be a nice way to avoid ledger lines, when the music is between C and F clef. I've also seen double staff F-G notation, where there's only room for one ledger line for C4, instead of using more ledger lines, the notes just continue on the other staf with the other clef. Unlike normal Piano-nitatiin, where usually each hand has its own staff, with room for multiple ledger lines between. Also, I sometimes feel confused about lines and spaces playing 8va G-clef. I think using 15va C-clef could solve that, or 15-vb C-clef below F-clef
Also, on the subject of septuplets for example, there is no strict definition as to what the notes are played "in the time of". That is, sometimes, it's 7 notes played in the time of 4 notes, and sometimes, it's 7 notes in the time of 8 notes. To avoid this, sometimes tuplets are written as a ratio, where the first number is the number of notes being played, and the second number is the number of notes being substituted in length. For example, 5:4 would be 5 notes in the time of 4 notes. While, septuplets may be played as either 7:4 _or_ 7:8, I believe it's usually assumed that in general, that n-tuplets are to be played in the time of the largest power of two notes _below_ the number of the n-tuplet. That is, 5:4, 6:4, 7:4, 9:8, 10:8, 11:8, 12:8, 13:8, 14:8, 15:8, etc. For example, some people may find it makes more sense that 15-tuplet notes are played in the time of 16 notes, instead of 8 notes.
I am relearning piano after failing as a kid. We were taught in musical school that the treble clef starts with a sol (G), not fa (F). We drew it one line higher. Is it a common difference in the way they teach music theory in Europe and the US?
Nope 😊 I was just using the same note for each clef so a comparison can be made. But treble clef is G clef and that’s why the simple spirals around the G. Bass clef is an F clef which is why the F is between the two dots. Alto and Tenor are both C clefs because the center of the symbol is where you can find a C.
Terrific video! Just the facts - no embroidery! OK - you asked! I learned piano from age 14 till 16. After that, I played around a little bit, but pretty-well dropped out of music altogether. I still play the harmonica (very badly), and about 10 years ago, I was given the sheet mucic for Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D min, so I bought a cheap electronic keyboard, and learned it. It took an entire year (my sight-reading is really BAD), but I could finally play it fairly well, I thought. I'm nearly 80 now, but I remembered all the symbols that apply to the piano (you don't have to bow a piano), except two that you surprised me with. (1) A 'turn', I had remembered as being up and down a semitone, rather than a tone, and (2) the Tenuto mark, I had remembered as being half a staccato - the note played for half its length, instead of staccato, where the note is sounded and not allowed to sustain at all While learning initially, I came across triplets of course, but I never encountered quintuplets or septuplets, thank goodness! I learned Liszt Consolation No. 3, which I was proud of because it has mixed timing, but that was about as far as I got.
0:20 I would like to state that defining the clefs by the lowest space is incorrect. They are actually defined as a G clef (treble), F clef (bass), and C clef (alto and tenor). The f, g, or c are where the focal point of the clef. The G is where the treble clef swirls around, the f is where the two bass clefs dots are in between, and the C is in the center of the tenor or alto clef. This means that if you move the clef up or down on the staff it changes where the focal note is. This is most commonly seen in alto and tenor clef which are the same clef just a whole step apart
I wasn’t defining the clefs by the lowest space. You are correct that treble is a G clef, bass is an F clef and alto/tenor are C clefs. I was showing the lowest space on the stave as an example of a note in each clef for comparison so that it’s easier to see that the notes change depending on the clef you are using. If I referenced the G, the F and the C instead…those that don’t understand note reading at all wouldn’t be able to see as clearly that the notes are different on the stave if I referenced a different place on the stave for each clef. Those that do understand sheet music, like yourself, already know this…so it isn’t a problem. 😊
The G clef looks like the G if the upper loop and the lower hook of the symbol are taken out. As you say, the symbol swirls around the G line. The F clef looks like the F if the pair of dots are extended to a pair of lines. As you say, the pair of dots sandwiches the F line.
@@matticawood reading my comment with foresight makes me realize how snobby my comment was haha. However, I learned my clefs with the g, f, c rule and it personally made sense to me because I could see the focal note based off of where the focal point of the clef is (almost like a picture illustration). Even as a bassoonist who often reads tenor clef I often look at the point on the clef to know where middle C is but that is because alto clef is also common… Your video is actually incredible and well done, I was just being an elitist trying to show that I too have knowledge. I still do like teaching from G, F, and C but it isn’t necessary by any means
I would like to know why they have those particular shapes, like the history behind the first creation of those symbols before they became standard in music sheets.
#5... if there has been an F# *in the measure* and it's followed by an F with the natural symbol, then it's a normal F again. Don't need a natural once you get to a new measure, as it is implied by the key signature (although some will add it in parentheses as a courtesy reminder).
43. DOWN/UP BOWS When playing on a pipe organ especially pedalling, down bow symbols indicate that the note is played by a heel, and up bow symbols indicate that the note is played by a toe
In Norway we call treble clef G clef and the bass F clef. Because they are curled/dotted around their respective G and F. That's how we learn to read them.
i learned the treble clef is called the G clef, denoting the second line form the bottom as the note G. Also, the bass clef as the F clef, denoting the second line form the top as the note F. You didn't include the Alto or Tenor clefs?
here are the timestamps for lazy people like me:
0:15 - treble clef
0:39 - bass clef
0:56 - sharps
1:18 - flats
1:33 - natural
1:46 - dynamics
2:10 - crescendo and diminuendo
2:34 - metronome mark
2:57 - note lengths
3:07 - rest lengths
3:22 - key signatures
3:53 - time signatures
4:24 - staccato
4:33 - phrasing marks, ties, and slurs
5:11 - accent
5:20 - marcato
5:32 - double sharp
5:48 - double flat
6:05 - sforzando
6:23 - dotted notes
6:43 - more note divisions
7:06 - double whole note/breve
7:15 - speed markings
7:37 - spread/arpeggiated chords
7:57 - fermata/pause
8:14 - ledger lines
8:27 - octave symbols
8:56 - trill
9:10 - turn
9:40 - triplets
10:03 - acciaccatura
10:19 - appoggiatura
10:39 - duplets
10:57 - other tuplets
11:23 - fortepiano
11:37 - tenuto
11:53 - glissando
12:07 - mordent
12:28 - repeats
12:51 - alto/tenor clef
13:12 - cut/common time
13:39 - pedal markings
13:57 - down/up bows
14:21 - volta brackets/first and second time bars
14:44 - coda
15:17 - accelerando/accel
15:23 - rallentando and ritardando
15:32 - rubato
15:43 - pizzicato
15:55 - arco
Well Ur defo not lazy for doing that
Hey that is a really good video! Now obviously it’s only scratching the bare surface of music theory but it might be really good for beginners.
Now i already noticed that you talked about what note is notated in between the bottom lines of the clefs rather then saying what note they’re marking (G, F, C). Also you talked about crescendo and decrescendo where you didn’t mention the word diminuendo but wrote it down in the timestamps. Now for 11 (key signatures) you COULD have said that you obviously stop playing the F# if the there’s a signature change, but that really isn’t a big deal. A pretty common mistake also is translating staccato with short even though it only means clearly separated but of course it is not wrong to say short since that is what composers tend to mean with staccato, especially in contemporary music. The sweeping line for phrasing marks, ties and slurs can also go below the notes. Accents is what we call the group of symbols telling us what to do with specific notes but what was shown here is actually most commonly a sforzando-accent. Depending on what you play the trill might also go to an interval below and might vary between semitones, whole tones even thirds and doesn’t have to be played super fast… Usually this is instructed in you music and also applies to turns, etc. Important to say would probably also be to say that triplets and duplets only appear in binary/ternary time signatures. Pedal marks can also be noted with a rectangular bow.
Again; I really like this video. It’s fabulous. But i just think if you want to have the most important information in it you should have all of the most important information in it. Still is a great option to learn basic terms and symbols!
Hope you’re doing well!
Thank you 😂
God bless 🙏
Thx for that 😊
Oh this is much much harder than I imagined.
Not really. You don't use every one of those things in every song. Just do it slowly. It will work out okay.
I played the trumpet for over 8 years, and it was VERY overwhelming in the beginning, but as James below says, you don't use many of the symbols in daily music, but slowly integrating them in different pieces you do over time will make things MUCH easier. Especially pacing yourself. It all connects eventually.
@@jamesmcdunn Definitely! Like every skill, everything is hard at first. You just need to get past the hard part~
actually you could learn notes, measurement and your band director would help with accents
@@jamesmcdunnsame
please don’t delete this video 😭😭😭😭😭😭 it helps me a lot
I've always wondered why I could never learn to read music. Now I know why.
The system is kinda dated if you ask me. we should try to make some changes, but people generally don't like that assertion
@@NabPunk I've seen alternative systems and they're all bad / made by people who don't understand the existing system and what it's used for.
@@skyworm8006 yeah that really sucks because yeah people like stevie wonder aka a blind legend was able to play so well without sheet music and ray Charles who was a composer and was also blind but still was able to learn without sheet and other musicians like Eric Clapton who was not a pianist but a guitarist who like the rest of them sadly 😢 “didn’t understand the existing system and what it’s used for” 😂don’t make me laugh. Music is a form of creativity and and expression there is no system that u have to follow to be a musician because sadly stevie wonder was born blind yet the fact that he could not read sheet music never stopped him from being the great musician that he was so come back to earth for two seconds and realize that people can find anyway to learn anything if they really want it and that’s something that no amount of sheet music can teach them
You do not learn all about music at one time, it’s gradual learning about how to “read and speak” music. JUST LIKE LEARNING how to do math or actual reading or writing….it takes time to GROW
@@Terry-te7kt Ok, first of all, oh my God, please use more punctuation, I felt out of breath reading this.
Second, the above comment meant a system to write down music, not to do music in general.
And lastly, nobody here said you can't learn music without sheet music. But just because you can learn music without sheet music doesn't mean sheet music isn't useful.
Perfect video every music enthousiast needs to watch. I will turn back on everytime I need it. Short, sharp, basic explanations, not a single second wasted.
Thank you very much! I am self-practicing piano for three months now and I saw most of the symbols presented in this video but it was helpful you explained them.
No problem! It’s good to have these things solidified in your head 😊
@@matticawood fully understand your perspective,,and apologies,,.. now comment is not required anymore.. saving the content for future use..
Your thoughts and efforts to bring this video is a reflection of your musical maturity. I have never come across anything closer to your video until this day. Your effort will allow any amateur musician to easily understand the music symbols. This video will also partially help all those grappling to understand music theory as part of their exams. You were mind-blowing!!! You made me subscribe to your channel. Looking forward to many more creative productions that will help music learners (also me) around the globe. Thank you so much, Matthew!
You gave the best explanations in 15 minutes that took me years to learn! Thank you! ❤
45/50!! That symbols for string instruments got me, didn't know that they even exist.
Since I play piano they also got me but somehow I've never heard of turns before
@@crazyrun2025 I encountered the mordant and turn once, and can't remember where-- not a pianist, but I dabble.
string player here, knew some by appearance but not name and entirely didn't know only three
same. brass boi over here.
I always struggled to tell the difference between Common Time and Cut Time. Now I understand. Thank you. One thing you did not mention was double-dotted notes.
Double dotted notes are basically a dotted note, but the note that is added to the first note (for example let's take a dotted quarter note, they get an eight as a dot, and for double dotting, dot the second note; the eight, so a sixteenth.) A double dotted quarter is 1.75 beats in 4/4
Very nice vid ! To me an easier way to remember - treble clef: the second line (where there is the spiral) it's a G, bass clef, between the two dots it's an f, alto / tenor clef, the middle of it is a C
This is actually incredibly correct as the clefs by true name are G clef F clef and C clef. And when they move around it changed the location of said note
@@m4gn5g62 I learned to read music as a vocalist, and was taught G clef and F clef shortly after the names treble and bass, and alto and C clef at about the same time. I was only told the C clef could move around, and that it's common in earlier music. I was surprised the tutor here didn't mention the F / G / C names, it makes them much clearer.
@@jimrodarmel8512 The G clef can move too. It's rare, though, but for recorder-players, it could make things so much easier. Unfortunately, it's not done...sob!
As a pianist, I did not know: double sharp, sforzando, double whole note, octave signs (on treble/bass clefs), difference between acciaccatura and appoggiatura, alto/tenor clef, down/up bows, rubato. So 41/50. Nice vid man!
He really poorly explained alto and tenor clef. The clef shape shows which line is middle c. On the alto clef, middle c is in the middle of the staff. This means you could move the clef anywhere so that any kind of clef is possible
Matthew is best piano teacher. I had many teachers, but I didn't know teachers like he.
Thank you so much for using both European and American English here. As a Musician who also follows a lot of European bands this is super helpful Thanks!!
I've been hoping to find something like this, a quick and short notation refresher. Thanks!
thank you kind gentleman! making information that is difficult to obtain and digest simple
야!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,에기도 말해? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
똥구멍
I have self-teach myself for years purely by trying to read what the symbols mean and learning how does it affect a piece by listening to a sample or transcribing a piece myself for years. This video got recommended to me and I though I can do some refreshing course with it. Though I didn't expect to reflect on myself and say that I am very grateful to somehow be able to teach myself just through the internet and with the right source.
This guy's content shouldn't be free! We are so blessed to have free access to this stuff in our modern world.
If you can afford to pay, please go ahead. Knowledge should be shared
Wonderful! Thank you ever so much for this! Keep up the good work, and God bless you!
This video will help a lot of aspiring pianists like me, great video like always matthew :)
Thank you, I’m glad you think it is useful 😊
I am self-taught at reading notes and playing the keyboard, doing it by ear and by intuition from childhood on, never really knowing if I did things accurate or not, especially when trying to play classical pieces, but I'm not one to want to take actual lessons. I do things "my way" :D
But now I am amazed at how much I turn out to have gotten right just by figuring it out for myself. Nice :)
For the few seconds at 2:16 i recognized that Rachmaninoff song. It's so fun to play! It made me so happy.
Very good, high-density info! 🙂
Trills, mordants, turns, and acciaccaturas are played as fast as you possibly can but in perfect control. Think of them as hemi-demi-semi-quavers (1/64th notes.) Most of us do these grace notes not with adjacent fingers but with one finger removed for better control. e.g., 4-2 or 5-3. Try it! You should practice trilling (especially trilling!) with every possible combination of fingers of both hands. But 4-2 with the right hand will get you started. 5-3 is hard but handy to have in your toolbox.
An acciaccatura ("crush") is played as that single very short note just before the main note, so the main note comes in on time and has its full value. (That means you have to steal a tiny bit from the note or rest before.) An appoggiatura comes in on the beat and robs its indicated value from the main note. If the appog. is an eighth note (as they usually are) and the main note is a quarter note, you play it as two eighth notes. If the appog. is a eighth note and the main note is a half note, you play it as if the half note was a dotted quarter note. But the appog. is still subordinate to the melody indicated by the main note.
Note that in Chopin, there are often multiple small auxiliary notes before or after a main note. Usually you interpret two or three notes as an acciaccatura (before the beat, robbed from the previous note) even though they won't have a line through them. Only a single note gets a line. A line through three notes would look messy. If there are many small auxiliary notes, you have some liberty as how to play them. They usually aren't rendered as hemi-demi-semi-quavers but more like rippling water.
This (and the explanations in the video) is the usual convention for grace notes in classical and romantic music. In baroque (Bach) the symbols are usually interpreted differently and it depends on what the various editors wrote in over the decades as baroque composers didn't write any marks in at all. The pianist was expected to follow contemporary performance practice...or he could send Bach a text message (written with a quill pen) and ask him how he wanted his piece to sound.
Tldr? Idk
@@DanielWheeler-kh4ei You either want to know this stuff in order to play classical music properly....or you don't.
you just made me travel back to 1st grade
What a wild ride that must have been 😉
I think I knew them all, mostly (I've played both piano and cello), but some were good refreshers of the names (marcato, breve, the differences in grace notes, tenuto, volta, and the coda). Thank you!
The notes we hear don’t line up with the visuals showing turns and inverted turns at 9:22 don’t line up with what we’re actually hearing. What we hear is actually G-A-G-F-G, not F-G-F-E-F. The same goes for mordents at 12:19.
I don’t have perfect pitch, but it threw me for a loop when I expected the semitone from F to E and heard a whole tone!
You are correct! That’s funny 😂 I was clearly not listening properly while editing!
same man
Nope, he definitely plays an F
@@combro7096 he didn't. the F is literally a G. i just checked on my piano and he played a G. not an F.
Perfect video i was looking for explains everything very simple with examples of how it can look.
If you are a musician it’s your responsibility to understand the music you read, thanks for showing all these symbols
Extremely helpful! Thanks for sharing.
Yet another great video! Even though I have been playing for a couple of years now and recognized most of the signs, it was still a fun vid to watch. For real though, I’ve been playing for like 5 years and have never seen a double whole note in my entire life lmao 💀💀💀
Thanks Brother! 🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻
Knew everything, but it's very very helpful, I wish I had a video like this when I was starting out. Great job!
Just what I am looking for ... thanks, Matthew.
So comprehensive. Thank you very much.
You always knock out a belting video Matthew . You explain things clearly and very simply to make everyone understand too many piano youtubers just waffle on and you get lost in what they are trying to explain but not your videos .
I'm glad to say that I knew most of these. But there were some that I didn't know, especially the ones that are used for instruments other than the piano. Most of these I learned in High School Music Theory, but a few I learned or relearned on my own, as I would practice reading music and play pieces on the piano.
Note lengths and rest lengths are dependent on the time signature. A half note is not always 2 beats. If the time is 2/2, then a half note is one beat.
Great for beginners! Great review for experienced musicians! Very well presented! 😊
Why doesthe teacher talk that very FAST????
@robertduis95 Hmmmm...not sure 😕
MANY, MAANNNYYY THANKS @2:07 for using the word QUIET to equate with the "pp", "p" & "mp" dynamics markings!! It's a "pet peave" of mine, but it IS more accurate to say (in music).
It also corrects the concepts that people have when they say things like: "Turn the music 'UP', I can't hear it because the volume is too 'LOW'!" - - When people say things like that, I know they'll also have a hard time with PITCH being "high/low". 🎉Thank You all the same for your video!!🎉
Whoops! Did I speak too soon? @6:04, you referred to double flats as being "two bs ("B")" - - "Flats" are just that -Flats-! When we call them "b"s, that causes confusion when you call a different note by its letter name. I had a student messed up/confused for days when we were talking about notes in the key of "A-Flat" - - they kept saying, "This is in the key of 'a-B-flat' " instead of just calling it "the key of A-Flat" 🤭. Is it a Brit-thing to call flats "B"s? I fly WAAAAAY off of the handle when my students call sharps - - - HASHTAGS!!!! 😡😡😡 - - It would be like a math teacher allowing students to call pulse signs (+) a "cross" (†) NOPE not the same thing... Or is it not? After all, Christ did go to the cross † so that all who accept His gift of salvation could be "ADDED" to the Kingdom of God, right🤭? Praise God for that! Have a blessed day!
This is Great!!!!! Thank you.
Why not write the actual note instead of double sharp or double flat
Reasons of the minor or major.
A composition was wrote in a minor or major with flats or sharps if he wrote a 2 sharp in a ( a flat minor)
[Example] that would not be composed correctly and couldn't fully be correct.
This sounds like a video idea.
There are a couple of reasons, but one of the easiest to understand is that a typical scale needs to contain one of each letter (A B C D E F G) and so if you have a section of the music that is using a G# harmonic minor scale (for example) the notes would be G# A# B C# D# E Fx. The 7th note in this scale is a double sharp because if it were a G we would have two forms of G (G and G#) and no forms of F.
Another reason is that particular chords that are being outlined need to retain particular intervals (note distances)…and when used in certain keys and scales, you end up with double sharps and double flats. For example a D major chord contains the notes D F# and A. A D# major chord would need to retain the same note relationships, so it would be D# Fx A#.
That’s not my best explanation, but hopefully that gives you an idea! Maybe there is a video to be made on it 😊
Im pretty sure it depends on the key signature, because you’re not really going to use flats in a signature that has sharps, unless your transitioning from a sharp to flat key signature, same for the opposite. At least I’m pretty sure.
Wonderful teaching!
할머니? 아니야!!!!!!!!
Splendid explanation 🌹if possible, kind request to explain the symbols with demonstration.
Very good! I had 50/50. Appreciate the detailed nuances.
Alto and Tenor are both C clefs, the indentation in the symbol sitting on the C line in each case; like the Treble clef curls around the G line, and the serif of the vertical bar or the dots (which were originally horizontal bars) of the bass clef sitting on or surrounding the F line.
I'm so glad this was in my fyp.
THIS IS SO INFORMATIVE! TYSM! ❤
Thanks for the refreshments!
Amazing explanation!
I learned six things from this video. Thank you
11:37 For the Tenuto you should also remember to for percussion and only percussion the tenuto means to accent the note like a marcato but instead of more than an accent, its a little bit less than an accent.
D.C. - Da Capo 14:51
D.S. - Dal Segno 14:57
Nice video. But I have to advocate for two symbols for organ players. In organ pedalboard notation on the bass clef a V or inverted V indicates to use the toe of the foot and the oval or indicates to use the heel. But there were several other symbols I didn't know.
Great. High-density information.
Thanks🙏
music is harder than math ... 😶😧😵💫🤓
Improvisa diatonicamenre. Te recomiendo un controlador midi. Y improvisa en formato midi. Allí te darás cuenta de cual es tu "tempo y rítmica". Se te hará más fácil saber emular y escribir el tempo.
But music at school I got full mark and im 1st of music at school
Music is math, math is music
And somehow I’m better at music than math
🤓 ☝️ Well actually math is just language and music is also a language, which means every language you know is just math.
AAA I NEED THIS. I'm writing a ballade and I NEED to know this
This brings back memories!
Thankyou for showing us that, saved me a lot of time, I'm not one for giving up but if I thought for a second I could do that, I'd be lying...
Trumpet player here. Most of those marks are familiar, but this video did remind me of some of them, and some were completely new. In order:
Marcato: I saw that before, but forgot in the interim
Sforzando: Apparently I forgot or was mis-taught what that meant. I though that that was the same as an accent mark.
Turn: completely unknown
Acciacatura: never heard that name; I heard of a "grace note"
Appoggiatura: never heard of it
Forte-piano: I thought that that meant accent
Mordent: completely unknown
Volta Brackets: I was taught about "first and second endings "; I never heard the name "Volta bracket" before
Arco: completely unknown, since I'm not a string player. (I knew about up-bow and down-bow from when I was in the orchestra, but since I'm not a string player, I didn't remember which symbol is which)
The notes in a turn respect the key signature. In a turn or a lower mordant that is based on the tonic in a minor key, does the leading note below the tonic, which is normally sharped as an accidental, get sharped when you play the grace note? It's not part of the key signature but in the body of a minor piece the leading note will often (but not always) be sharped.
1:38
And the natural lasts the entire bar unless a sharp/flat is after it for the same note later in the bar.
Thanks for giving me all of this, I am still learning piano
Thank you Matthew….I love this video🙏🩷
First video of yours and I absolutely love it. Just out of curiosity, where are you from? Thanks in advance.
question, what's the point of double flat A and double sharp A when you can instead put G or B without any flats or sharps?
the timing on the beat notes I never saw explained that way before, or else you were just taught differently. the 1-beat note is a quarter, because it's 1/4 of a whole note. The 2-beat note is a half note because it is half of a whole note. the one with 1 flag or bar across is an 8th note, 2 flags/2 bars a 16th note. I knew most of what you showed, but appreciated the review of the speed markings and the articulations.
I was curious about the version of sforzando being written as sf instead of sfz when I was working on arranging certain orchestral pieces for concert band (like Dvorak symphony 7), I didn’t know they were basically the same and it was okay to alternate between them. Musescore doesn’t like to play sf as loud as it should be.
e should clarify that the key signature could eithee be the major key or relative minor or the nearest keys like blues scales where you use the C minor keu signature for the C blues scale and remember to include the accidentals
Thank you for the good initiative. But...have you ever considered making 2 videos with 25 signs? I would not be surprised if anyone more than me woukd be happy.
I knew all except phrasing marks, marcato, breve, down bows and up bows, and arco. (The later two because I'm not a string player). And learned some about some of the other things too.
Yes basics first we have to learn so easily understand your presentation
1:19 how about using the term half-steps…
Then your listeners will not get confused when looking at harmony theory!
So from C to Csharp there is a half-step up. On a guitar that would be one fret down the fretboard on the same string.
B to C is also a half-step…
F to G however is a whole-step!
The same goes for F-sharp to G-sharp. Also a whole-step…
Most of them I'm familiar with, but not all, and some I'd have to reference a cheat sheet:
- the duplets and other tullete, I've never seen, but I expect I'd understand them out of the context, because the bar wouldn't add up otherwise.
- the string specific notation is unfamiliar, because I never played the strings.
- I'd probably have to look up the tempo words, I prefer the metronome mark with an exact number.
I believe there's more to say about clefs, or rather not use the lower space to explain them , but their actual target line:
- the treble clef, also known as G-clef, targets G4 on the second line; there's also the French Viola-clef, targeting the first line as G4
- the bass clef, also known as F-clef, targets F3 on the fourth line, it can be moved up and down, to be baritone- or subbass-clef.
- the auto and tenor clefs are C-clefs, targeting C4 on the third and fourth line, but it can be moved to any line.
I think the C-clef can be a nice way to avoid ledger lines, when the music is between C and F clef.
I've also seen double staff F-G notation, where there's only room for one ledger line for C4, instead of using more ledger lines, the notes just continue on the other staf with the other clef. Unlike normal Piano-nitatiin, where usually each hand has its own staff, with room for multiple ledger lines between.
Also, I sometimes feel confused about lines and spaces playing 8va G-clef.
I think using 15va C-clef could solve that, or 15-vb C-clef below F-clef
Also, on the subject of septuplets for example, there is no strict definition as to what the notes are played "in the time of".
That is, sometimes, it's 7 notes played in the time of 4 notes, and sometimes, it's 7 notes in the time of 8 notes.
To avoid this, sometimes tuplets are written as a ratio, where the first number is the number of notes being played, and the second number is the number of notes being substituted in length.
For example, 5:4 would be 5 notes in the time of 4 notes.
While, septuplets may be played as either 7:4 _or_ 7:8, I believe it's usually assumed that in general, that n-tuplets are to be played in the time of the largest power of two notes _below_ the number of the n-tuplet.
That is, 5:4, 6:4, 7:4, 9:8, 10:8, 11:8, 12:8, 13:8, 14:8, 15:8, etc. For example, some people may find it makes more sense that 15-tuplet notes are played in the time of 16 notes, instead of 8 notes.
I am relearning piano after failing as a kid. We were taught in musical school that the treble clef starts with a sol (G), not fa (F). We drew it one line higher. Is it a common difference in the way they teach music theory in Europe and the US?
Nope 😊 I was just using the same note for each clef so a comparison can be made.
But treble clef is G clef and that’s why the simple spirals around the G. Bass clef is an F clef which is why the F is between the two dots. Alto and Tenor are both C clefs because the center of the symbol is where you can find a C.
Terrific video! Just the facts - no embroidery!
OK - you asked! I learned piano from age 14 till 16. After that, I played around a little bit, but pretty-well dropped out of music altogether. I still play the harmonica (very badly), and about 10 years ago, I was given the sheet mucic for Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D min, so I bought a cheap electronic keyboard, and learned it. It took an entire year (my sight-reading is really BAD), but I could finally play it fairly well, I thought. I'm nearly 80 now, but I remembered all the symbols that apply to the piano (you don't have to bow a piano), except two that you surprised me with. (1) A 'turn', I had remembered as being up and down a semitone, rather than a tone, and (2) the Tenuto mark, I had remembered as being half a staccato - the note played for half its length, instead of staccato, where the note is sounded and not allowed to sustain at all
While learning initially, I came across triplets of course, but I never encountered quintuplets or septuplets, thank goodness! I learned Liszt Consolation No. 3, which I was proud of because it has mixed timing, but that was about as far as I got.
Great explanation. I think I have retained about a tenth of it.
Yay! I knew most of them, except for the uniquely string stuff (clarinet player here). Some I didn't know the real name for, ie the grace notes.
only didn't know about marcato, everything else checks out. good video
0:20 I would like to state that defining the clefs by the lowest space is incorrect. They are actually defined as a G clef (treble), F clef (bass), and C clef (alto and tenor). The f, g, or c are where the focal point of the clef.
The G is where the treble clef swirls around, the f is where the two bass clefs dots are in between, and the C is in the center of the tenor or alto clef.
This means that if you move the clef up or down on the staff it changes where the focal note is. This is most commonly seen in alto and tenor clef which are the same clef just a whole step apart
And I stand by that
I wasn’t defining the clefs by the lowest space. You are correct that treble is a G clef, bass is an F clef and alto/tenor are C clefs.
I was showing the lowest space on the stave as an example of a note in each clef for comparison so that it’s easier to see that the notes change depending on the clef you are using. If I referenced the G, the F and the C instead…those that don’t understand note reading at all wouldn’t be able to see as clearly that the notes are different on the stave if I referenced a different place on the stave for each clef. Those that do understand sheet music, like yourself, already know this…so it isn’t a problem. 😊
The G clef looks like the G if the upper loop and the lower hook of the symbol are taken out. As you say, the symbol swirls around the G line.
The F clef looks like the F if the pair of dots are extended to a pair of lines. As you say, the pair of dots sandwiches the F line.
@@matticawood reading my comment with foresight makes me realize how snobby my comment was haha. However, I learned my clefs with the g, f, c rule and it personally made sense to me because I could see the focal note based off of where the focal point of the clef is (almost like a picture illustration). Even as a bassoonist who often reads tenor clef I often look at the point on the clef to know where middle C is but that is because alto clef is also common…
Your video is actually incredible and well done, I was just being an elitist trying to show that I too have knowledge. I still do like teaching from G, F, and C but it isn’t necessary by any means
WOW! I never understood reading sheet music. I still don't!! Thank you,anyway. I understood MORE than I thought I could!!
It’s also useful to call the treble clef the G clef. And bass clef is called F clef. The reason is fairly obvious.
I would like to know why they have those particular shapes, like the history behind the first creation of those symbols before they became standard in music sheets.
I knew 43 symbols. Thank you for the information.
Thank You Very Very Much!
Nice explanation!
🙏🙂💛
Thank you so much for the inputs. 🌟🌟🌟🙏
As a musician,this is approved of me.Listen to this guy.
😱 This is hard, so many symbols to remember..but never encountered most of it... Thanks for sharing tho 😊
Right. So intuitive ....
Jesus! This is more complicated than I thought :(. Very explicative video, thanks!
Thank you this is so useful!
#5... if there has been an F# *in the measure* and it's followed by an F with the natural symbol, then it's a normal F again. Don't need a natural once you get to a new measure, as it is implied by the key signature (although some will add it in parentheses as a courtesy reminder).
43. DOWN/UP BOWS
When playing on a pipe organ especially pedalling, down bow symbols indicate that the note is played by a heel, and up bow symbols indicate that the note is played by a toe
Tell me more, what’s the difference? Does it have something to do with how much force you’re pressing on the key?
I’ve seen those symbols used to indicate upstrokes and downstrokes for drumming as well
In Norway we call treble clef G clef and the bass F clef. Because they are curled/dotted around their respective G and F. That's how we learn to read them.
In Israel we call them Sol kclef and Fa clef, we study the solfag European way...Do Re MI Fa Sol LA Si Do
...😊
@@kobigerassi5501Us Vietnamese learn the same names!
In the Netherlands we call it g- clef (sleutel(key)) and f clef as well!!
I was taught in the USA but not by classical pianists but old time jam pianists and the would also say G clef and F clef or Treble and bass
In Spanish we call the treble clef the “Sol” clef, and the bass clef the “Fa” clef…we study music with the do, re, mi fa..etc instead of letters.
I enjoyed this!
Doublet dottet means that the 1e dot half the time is than the note itself the 2e. dot the helft from the 1e dot. So the note sounds 1 3/4 time.
My brain just blew up 😂
This is great resource ❤
🎉 Thank you! I knew most for the piano.
i learned the treble clef is called the G clef, denoting the second line form the bottom as the note G. Also, the bass clef as the F clef, denoting the second line form the top as the note F. You didn't include the Alto or Tenor clefs?