Reading Sheet Music

Now my question is, how do I translate this to the guitar, because you have 5 lines, and notes, and alot of different places to play the notes.

I am very slow and inexperienced at reading standard notation, but I'm going to take a stab at this...

The lines are the staff. And remember that each string up to the 12th fret is an octave. So I guess you could play a melody one note at a time all on one string. But you'd be sliding and jumping back and forth. Btw, that's just about how a sitar player does it... the melody is played on one or two strings. It's his or her skill at work to play the melody along with the rest of the piece. But I digress.

|---F-----------------------------| 1st string 1st fret and so on up
E 1st string open
|--D------------------------------| 2nd string 3rd fret
C 2nd string 1st fret
|--B------------------------------| 2nd string open
A 3rd string 2nd fret
|--G------------------------------| 3rd string open
F 4th string 3rd fret
|--E------------------------------| 4th string 2nd fret
D 5th string 5th fret
and so on down (I can't really do the ledger lines... this was a challenge.)


So I guess you could say that the notes of the (G/treble) staff are all contained within the first 4 frets of the guitar's 6 strings. The 5th fret is the same note as the next string up (yeah, yeah, except for the 3rd to 2nd string :lol: ).

What the guitar has as "Middle C" (5th string 3rd fret) is not the piano's Middle C. I think it's an octave difference.

That's how I learned it is. Now, if I've toally flubbed this response, I have no problem being corrected or if it's that bad, removing it. :lol:

You do have a lot of different places to play the same pitches on a guitar.

First thing I do is look over a score quickly - what are the lowest and highest notes?

If the low notes are below A (2nd ledger line under the staff), there's only one place to play 'em - and I'll be in low positions (1 through 4). If there are notes on ledger lines above the staff, I look at what the highest ones are, and plan accordingly; if the highest is C (2nd ledger line) I'm in mid positions (5-8), and if it's above that I'm in high positions (8+).

It only takes a second to scan a section and make that rough determination, within a couple positions, of where I should be. Next thing I do is look at the key signature.

There are a lot of ways to play things, and some 15 or so different fingerings you can use. But some are a lot friendlier than others. If your scale root is on the 6th string under the 2nd finger, or on the 5th string under the 4th finger, all the natural notes (the ones in the key without any accidentals) in that position will be right under your fingertips - no stretches or shifts. Second choice is 6th string root under the 4th finger or 5th string root under the 2nd finger.

So that gives me a starting place. Then I play through it, and see what's awkward. If I find another position is better for part of it, then I have to plan where I'll shift positions - wherever possible I like to do that with an open string note. And if there are long passages with lots of accidentals I'll play around with different shifts - one will make usually make more sense to me than the others.

And just as an exercise, I'll sometimes play a piece in two or three different positions, using the more awkward fingerings. It helps you keep your reading chops up.

There are a lot of ways to play things, and some 15 or so different fingerings you can use. But some are a lot friendlier than others. If your scale root is on the 6th string under the 2nd finger, or on the 5th string under the 4th finger, all the natural notes (the ones in the key without any accidentals) in that position will be right under your fingertips - no stretches or shifts. Second choice is 6th string root under the 4th finger or 5th string root under the 2nd finger.

If my scale root is whaaaa??

What do you mean by Scale root ?

Ohh thats the root of the scale of the key signature, and I can know that with the sharps and flats, right ?
Ohh so if for example Im in Position II ( first finger in the 2nd fret) and whatever I am playing is in G major, then all the natural notes I will be playing in whatever order whatever piece etc, should be near me, and if I have to play any accidentals, Ill move accordingly.

Wow people actually put accidentals that arent in the key ? Or does that mean any accidentals that are in the Key will not be under my fingertips ? ( so if I play a song in B Ill be screwed ? lol )

Oh hey, can anyone recommend a good book to learn and/or practice Standard Notation reading , I really like want to take care of that huge thing ( reading ) so I can continue with other stuff, and atleast be able to read, and decipher stuff without having to be DAYS working on it.

Yeah, that's what I meant by root. So if you're in 2nd position, all the notes in the keys of G (6th string, 2nd finger) or D (5th string, 4th finger) are right under your fingertips. In the key of A (6th string, 4th finger) you need to reach for G#; in the key of C (5th string, 2nd finger) you need to reach for two F notes.

Just about any key is possible in any position, but the other fingerings vary from stretching a bit more (F, Bb) to stretching a lot more (Ab, Db). Only one isn't possible: Eb. You wouldn't play that in 2nd position - ever - because none of the 2nd fret notes are in that key :)

And yes, people put notes outside the key - accidental notes - in all sorts of music.

Good books for reading:

Mel Bay Modern Guitar - 7 volumes. Moves at an average pace. Book 1 covers the keys of C and G, all in 1st position. Book 2 covers F and D, and gets into 2nd position; you also learn all the notes on the 1st and 2nd strings. Book 3 has the keys of A, Bb, Eb, and Ab; it covers third position completely... but it also covers all the notes on the 3rd and 4th strings, and some pieces have you playing as high as 11th position at times. Book 4 covers the key of E, and then gets seriously into position work - positions 4 through 9. Book 5 is mostly chord theory, plus the key of Db. Book 6 hits the rest of the keys (B, F#, Gb), along with more chord theory and technique. Book 7 wraps up chord theory with the extended chords.

A Modern Method for Guitar, by William Leavitt (the Berklee books) - 3 volumes. These are about 3x the size of the Bay books, and move about twice as fast. Book 1 covers first position, then positions 2-4. By the end of the book you're reading keys of up to four sharps or five flats. Book 2 takes one key at a time and goes through five positions of each key; then it gets into arpeggios. Book 3 gets into different types of rhythms, and more about chords, scales, arpeggios, and how they all relate.

Sight to Sound, by Leon White. This is the quick & dirty basics. It's one book, less than 100 pages. The first third or so is the basics of reading; after that you read the key of C in three different positions, then gets into some other keys (G, F, Bb, D, A. That's followed by exercises in reading ties, dotted notes, and triplets (and many of these are HARD to count!) and finishes up by looking at reading ledger lines, reading in the bass clef, reading chords, and basic music theory. I'd rather Leon had written twice as many examples, but with this book, plenty of fake books and other stuff to practice reading, and a lot of determination, you could probably become a good reader.

One other book worth mentioning: For Guitar Players Only, by Tommy Tedesco. It's also short - just over 100 pages - and only about half of it is devoted to reading. But what's there will definitely work your chops! And one that's out of print, but also had some pretty fiendish drills, is How to Become the Complete Professional Guitarist and Versatile Studio Musician, by Tom Bruner.

I worked my way through all of the above (and a lot more) as I learned to read - those are the best of the lot for guitar. And if you play classical, you can do a lot worse than Solo Guitar Playing by Frederick Noad (2 volumes - the 2nd one is hard to find, and deals mostly with ornamentation)

Yeah, that's what I meant by root. So if you're in 2nd position, all the notes in the keys of G (6th string, 2nd finger) or D (5th string, 4th finger) are right under your fingertips. In the key of A (6th string, 4th finger) you need to reach for G#; in the key of C (5th string, 2nd finger) you need to reach for two F notes.

Just about any key is possible in any position, but the other fingerings vary from stretching a bit more (F, Bb) to stretching a lot more (Ab, Db). Only one isn't possible: Eb. You wouldn't play that in 2nd position - ever - because none of the 2nd fret notes are in that key :)

And yes, people put notes outside the key - accidental notes - in all sorts of music.

Good books for reading:

Mel Bay Modern Guitar - 7 volumes. Moves at an average pace. Book 1 covers the keys of C and G, all in 1st position. Book 2 covers F and D, and gets into 2nd position; you also learn all the notes on the 1st and 2nd strings. Book 3 has the keys of A, Bb, Eb, and Ab; it covers third position completely... but it also covers all the notes on the 3rd and 4th strings, and some pieces have you playing as high as 11th position at times. Book 4 covers the key of E, and then gets seriously into position work - positions 4 through 9. Book 5 is mostly chord theory, plus the key of Db. Book 6 hits the rest of the keys (B, F#, Gb), along with more chord theory and technique. Book 7 wraps up chord theory with the extended chords.

I think these are good, but 7 Volumes?? I dont think I could buy even 3 of those, u know more books more money, and I dont work lol, and these ones, from what i can see, teach more basics ( like the notes on the strings ) well it teaches what I need, but it also has alot of basic stuff that I mostly know right ?...

A Modern Method for Guitar, by William Leavitt (the Berklee books) - 3 volumes. These are about 3x the size of the Bay books, and move about twice as fast. Book 1 covers first position, then positions 2-4. By the end of the book you're reading keys of up to four sharps or five flats. Book 2 takes one key at a time and goes through five positions of each key; then it gets into arpeggios. Book 3 gets into different types of rhythms, and more about chords, scales, arpeggios, and how they all relate.

...that is why I think Id prefer these books ( other than the fact it says Berklee Books :D ) lol Ill prolly have to read this like 4 times to understand it, but I have to do that with everything. Do the Mel Bay books come with CD ? These really got my attention, cause Berklee for me is like somebody else;s MIT or something.

Sight to Sound, by Leon White. This is the quick & dirty basics. It's one book, less than 100 pages. The first third or so is the basics of reading; after that you read the key of C in three different positions, then gets into some other keys (G, F, Bb, D, A. That's followed by exercises in reading ties, dotted notes, and triplets (and many of these are HARD to count!) and finishes up by looking at reading ledger lines, reading in the bass clef, reading chords, and basic music theory. I'd rather Leon had written twice as many examples, but with this book, plenty of fake books and other stuff to practice reading, and a lot of determination, you could probably become a good reader.

Hmm Im thinking of buying this one and the first Volume of the Berklee books, go through this one ( or atleast half of it, and leave the the things that are hard to count for later) then go to the First Volume of the Berklee books once I understand the basics to go more in-depth. ( and I really like this guys name ^^)

One other book worth mentioning: For Guitar Players Only, by Tommy Tedesco. It's also short - just over 100 pages - and only about half of it is devoted to reading. But what's there will definitely work your chops! And one that's out of print, but also had some pretty fiendish drills, is How to Become the Complete Professional Guitarist and Versatile Studio Musician, by Tom Bruner.

I worked my way through all of the above (and a lot more) as I learned to read - those are the best of the lot for guitar. And if you play classical, you can do a lot worse than Solo Guitar Playing by Frederick Noad (2 volumes - the 2nd one is hard to find, and deals mostly with ornamentation)

I can do a lot worse than Solo Guitar Playing?? what do you mean, sorry I didnt understand

So many choices , whod ever thought Id be so interested in buying books O_O lol. ( sorry my keyboard is crappy and the apostrophe key is broken so Its kinda weird )

Whoa, I just saw Volumes 1 2 and 3 of the Berklee books for 23 dollars, all together this is like a total bargain for somebody that doesnt have alot of money for books, and Sight To Sound for 11 dollars, I could get 34 dollars in a week or something.

I read that having all the Volumes together could be a pain in the arse because it has a glue binding, but dangit I cant let the good price go O_O.