Posts Tagged ‘Sheets’
12 Steps For Reading Sheet Music
July 21st, 2009
Have you ever heard a really great song, rushed to purchase or download the sheet music for it, sat yourself down in front of your piano, looked at the sheets, and wondered where you should even start? I’ve probably done this over a hundred times. Here’s a list of steps in chronological order that you should consider when beginning a new piece to play. Not only will you be able to learn and understand the piece in faster time, but you will also be able to comprehend the intent and nuances of the piece faster and more clearly.
Step 1:
Take a look at the entire piece to determine its structure and length. Basically, a quick run-through over the entire composition will help you achieve an initial feel and impression from a first glance.
Step 2:
Take a second look at the piece. This time, go over it more slowly. You should be looking for anything that seems unfamiliar to you, such as awkward or unknown notes, chords, articulations, or tempo indications. Make a note of these things or mark them using a highlighter on your sheets. You can easily look these elements up in the Internet, or use a music dictionary to distinguish their meaning and use.
Step 3:
Look at the time signature of the piece and make sure you are familiar with it. If you are not, it would be a good idea to do some research on the specific time signature, since it is often a primary indication of the type of song.
Step 4:
Identify the key signature of the piece and determine whether you are familiar with it or not. If it’s new to you, consider learning the key’s scales with its corresponding sharps or flats for a better understanding of the piece.
Step 5:
Search for any key changes throughout the piece. Take a mental note of how many times the key signature changes throughout the piece. By knowing the key changes ahead of time, you’ll be more prepared and playing the piece may seem that much easier.
Step 6:
Do you notice any changes in tempo? Highlight them and get familiar with the tempo changes ahead of time. This will allow you to change or glide from one section to another section more easily.
Step 7:
Search for common passages. Is there a phrase or motif that repeats itself somewhere further along in the piece? Perhaps there is a variation of a general motif somewhere else. Look for trends like this. If you familiarize yourself with the basic motif, the variations will become easier to practice and play.
Step 8:
Break the piece up into section. Highlight any difficult sections that you think will require more practice time.
Step 9:
Write out the notes in specific sections that you find it difficult to read on the sheets. You should do whatever makes the piece easier to for you to read. Your own markings on the sheet music will help.
Step 10:
Try playing the piece through once the best you can. Try not to stop, even if you have trouble in some certain sections. Finishing the piece after your first try will give you a visual canvas of the piece.
Step 11:
Play through the piece a second time. Stop where you are having trouble and make any additional markings needed in these areas.
Step 12:
Finally, concentrate on the difficult areas. Look them over again so you have a really good understanding of their structures. This will set the structures in your mind so you can focus on hand-eye coordination when playing. When your eyes are familiar with it, your hands can then work to achieve the movement needed to play the section.
Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:
Starting a new piece can sometimes feel overwhelming when you realize how many different things you need to keep in mind and focus on practicing. Breaking the piece down into the several components addressed above will make it easier for you. Just concentrate on the individual components, and when you put them all together, the result will be beautiful and satisfying music.
Posted in Tips For Reading Music | 
Tags: Composition, Key Signature, Music, Piece, Reading, Sheets, Tempo, Time Signature | 
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How To Find Free Piano Sheet Music
July 20th, 2009
I have spent hours on the Internet searching for free sheet music that I can readily download, print, and start learning! Some websites want you to subscribe to their newsletters or create an account, and unfortunately, most new and popular copyrighted songs are only available for download by purchasing it. Believe me, I’ve looked! Here are some great tips for finding free sheet music on the Internet that will hopefully save you a lot of time.
Tip #1: Search terms
The first and most basic search strategy is to plug in certain words and phrases to your favourite search engine. “Free sheet music,” “free music scores,” and “free piano sheets,” are some great terms that usually turn up quite a number of results worth taking a look at. You can also include specify the file format you want, such as PDF files. The words “printable” and “downloads” may also help.
Tip #2: Search Piano Websites
There are actually several piano websites out there that offer free piano sheet music. Sites that offer piano education and piano lessons often also offer free piano sheets. If you want to find some of these websites, try searching “piano lessons,” or “learn to play piano.” You can also include words like, “easy,” “beginner,” or “advanced,” to find specific levels of difficulty in the sheets you are looking for.
Tip #3: Search 8notes.com
8notes.com is a specific website you can search to find hundreds upon hundreds of free piano sheets. On this site, you can find melodies and arrangements in several different file formats that are available free for printing. The GIF file format is available completely for free, but it is also a lower quality graphic format that is usually used to display clipart, logos, and other photos, however, on some certain sites it is also used to display sheet music. You can also listen to a sample of the music being played in Scorch format, which is a plug-in you can download for free at siblius.com. This makes it possible to listen to the midi file with the corresponding sheet music at the same time to follow the score.
Tip #4: Search Pianostreet.com
Pianostreet.com is another popular website that offers many free piano sheets through higher quality scores in PDF file format. There’s a bit of a catch, though. You have to become a subscriber in order to gain full access to their music. The site offers some samples as well as a free membership with limitations. If you want full access, you’ll have to pay a fee for all of their piano sheets and site features.
Tip #5: Search Sibeliusmusic.com
As previously explained, sibeliusmusic.com offers a lot of free piano sheet music in Scorch file format. The great feature about this website is the ability to search for sheets and also listen to the piece in mp3 format at the same time.
Tip #5: G Major Music Theory (gmajormusictheory.org)
This is a website that offers educational piano services and piano solos. The sheets are completely free to print in PDF format. You can also search for midi files that correspond with the sheet music.
There are a lot of great websites out there that offer free piano sheet music. I definitely think the ones explained above are among some of the best out there. I truly hope that I have helped you in your quest for your favourite song to play in whatever piano sheet music format you may find!
Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:
Even though I’ve just give you a lot of great resourcesto find free sheet music, it’s still probably a good idea to do some random searching on your own. You’ll find a ton of new websites or blogs with free sheet music and you’ll learm which websites offer the type of music you’re looking for (popular, classical, etc.) and what level best corresponds to you (beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc.). And here is one of my own secrets for finding free sheet music… Scribd.com. This is a social publishing website, where anyone can join and upload original content to share with others. Just type in the song title and/or composer of the piece you want, and start clicking on the results! Happy searching!
