Finding a note = finding a friend

The process of learning how to read note names in piano music is really similar to the process of learning how to find your way to a friend’s house.

The first time you visit a friend, you need specific instructions in order to get there, usually in the form of an address.

Once you visit a couple of times, you won’t rely on the address as much because you’ll start to build little mental shortcuts to help you find your way. For example, you might notice your friend lives two houses down from the stop sign or beside the apartment with the nice garden.

Eventually, with enough visits to your friend’s house you don’t need the address or the shortcuts at all because you just intuitively remember how to find your way there.

The exact same thing happens when you’re learning to read music.

The first time you’re introduced to a note, you’ll need very specific instructions on how to find it. For example, the note G is two lines up in the treble clef.

But with enough time and practice, you’ll start to develop your own little shortcuts that help you find these notes more easily. For example, you might notice that G is the same line that the treble clef curls around. You might also start to remember that F is just under G and A is just above G, so you start pulling together shortcuts for other notes and feel like you’re starting to get a feel for the neighbourhood! :)

Soon, you won’t even need these shortcuts anymore because you’ll just start to intuitively remember what the notes are because you’ve spent so much time there!

So if you’re just getting started learning music and you’re frustrated by how difficult reading music can feel at first, I hope this encourages you. If you’ve ever been able to remember how to get to a friend’s house, you can learn how to read music!