Flutes HQ

You probably remember those dreaded aptitude tests in school. You know,
those tests that revealed your abilities to perform certain tasks?

Well, it’s time to stop dreaming, and put your desire to learn music to the test.

The desire for music is within you, but do you really have what it takes to learn to read music? Discover your own musical capabilities below.

Musical Talent or Not – Does it Matter?

You may not be able to read music right now. You most likely cannot pick up a flute, a guitar or a violin and play a beautiful melody. Even so, everyone around you is always saying how musically talented you are.

Perhaps you can memorize musical tunes on key upon hearing them, create an original song in your mind, or maybe even play an instrument or two without really knowing how to read the music. These are all indications of having natural musical talent.

But, do you have the potential to achieve music?

Even if you have none of the musical abilities above, you can still learn to read music.

Where “natural talent” doesn’t exist, learned musical skills can still be used to make beautiful music. Your love and desire for learning and achieving music is what will make the difference whether you have natural talent or not.

Think of your present career. If you pursued what you loved, you were able to
achieve the skill through learning, right? If you’re a typist, you learned to type.

If you’re a nurse, you went to nursing school.. If you’re a mechanic, you attended
a technical school to achieve this. To read music, you must learn it as well.

Question #1: Do I love music enough to learn how to read music and play a musical instrument?

Learning to Read Music for Adults

If you missed out on music lessons as a child or simply forgot what you
learned, it’s not too late to develop musical skills. Adults can learn to read
music. In truth, a person who has a real desire to learn might achieve more than a child who is being pushed to learn.

Why? As an adult, you already understand the great potential of having this skill. Having a passion for music will drive you to practice often and develop your skills quickly. Only those adults and children who have a desire to continue with music will actually achieve the skill for life!

Question #2: Are you willing to learn music and be dedicated to practice at this stage of your life?

A Goal for Your Music Skills

Another determining factor for learning to read music is your reason for
learning. There should be a goal in mind while developing this skill. Whether
it’s to play an instrument in church, at special gatherings or to have a career in
music, you should have a goal in mind.

With a goal, you’ll be pushed to learn even when you don’t feel like taking a lesson. This is similar to taking college courses.
You attend the classes because you must if you are going to have a successful
career in that field.

Question #3: Do you have a goal or reason for learning to read music?

If you answered “Yes” to all of the above, read the questions below.

Which instrument do I want to play?
If a skilled music teacher is not available, am I willing to teach myself through online training?
When my music lessons begin, can I dedicate at least 15 to 30 minutes per day to practice?

If you answered “Yes” to all these questions, you’re ready to pursue music
lessons.

Start developing your musical skills today to discover a life-long
treasure!

I know tenor clef to read piano music: add 2 flats, and shift the notes down 2 lines, I think.

Looking at this flute music, the range fits well playing the lines directly as bass clef, but what about the key ?
Trombonist ChuckW seems to have the best answer, add 3 flats. I have played tenor clef before, but want to read the music as written, no shift. I’m not very good at that.

Learning how to read music is like map reading. When you look at a map, the first thing you want to see is a sign saying “You Are Here.” This is the job of the clef in music.

The two most common clefs in music are the treble clef and the bass clef. The treble clef is used to notate high-pitched notes. Instruments with a high sound read from the treble clef e.g. the flute, clarinet, violin, the female voice and the right hand piano part.

When the treble clef is used, it gives an exact indication of the pitch (or height) of the notes that follow. It looks like an ornate letter G. In fact, another name for it is the G clef.

It is placed at the beginning of the staff (or stave) – a series of 5 parallel lines onto which musical notes are placed. The G clef is placed through the 2nd line of the staff. The name and pitch of the 2nd line is now fixed. This 2nd line is G.

Once you have an exact reference point, you can work out how all the other notes are named. The 1st line is E. The 1st space is F. The 2nd line (the fixed point) is G. The 2nd space is A and so on. As you rise up the notes on the staff, you rise up the alphabet, one letter at a time.

 A quick way to remember the 4 space notes in the treble clef is: “The 4 spaces spell FACE.” On a piano, if you play the letters FACE, you start on F and play every other white key.