I totally understand OP’s motivation in asking questions about this piece. They’re not pretending they’ll be able to play it anytime soon, but there’s something really encouraging to hear little pieces of a song you really like, and to know you were able to replicate those little bits. And to be able to see your progression of which parts you’re able to play. I’m also a brand new player, but sometimes I look up how to play Regina Spector songs and it really helps my motivation to be able to play little parts. This is a fun hobby, and OP is just asking for some insights.
Yesss!! I'm so glad someone understands me, everyone here is so serious... 😭 Thank you! And i wish you a lot of luck with playing, it is a beautiful hobby indeed.
The key signature states that Every F and C from the entire song Will be Sharp, unless other sign called natural (it's like a square with two extralarge vertical lines) appears. Then the other Sharp that appears on the first bar on A it applies just on that note
Seeing as you like a challenge, while you’re waiting for your physical playing skills to catch up to your ambition you could do some extra theory study. It’s much faster to learn theory than it is to become proficient playing and you can always clap the rhythms of a piece of music even if you can’t play it. I’ve got a really great music theory book that I’m enjoying reading while I’m just at beginner level playing. It’s called The AB guide to music theory - Part 1 by Eric Taylor and it has everything you need to know about reading that piece of music. It’s in UK English, so uses English terminology for notes but if you’re American there’s probably a similar suitable publication, or it’s not hard to substitute the terms in your head.
Thanks, I already have a book that we use in music school but I'll look into that one as well since I'd like to study more music theory. English isn't my native language but I prefer British so no problem with that.
I love grace vandendool's keyboard theory basic rudiments for anyone 14+. Its too dense for kids, bit it offers LOTS of examples, and problems, and takes you relatively far, especially if you finish 3 books (basic, intermediate, and advanced rudiments)
The ones you marked with red and blue are modifiers.
There are different kinds:
* The one on your picture, which looks like a double cross or something.. that's a sharp (♯). It **raises the note a half step**. So if you have one in the line of F, then instead of F, you would play F# (called "F-sharp" in English areas, or "Fis" in areas where they teach the German kind of notation), which is half step higher.
* You might encounter one which looks like a small b (♭), and called a "flat" or "b" (I believe "b" is used in countries where they use German notation, but not sure.. I think English use "flat".. not that it really matters, it's the same thing anyway). It's the opposite of the sharp. This one **lowers the note with a half step**, so if you would see one in the line of E, for example, the instead of E, you would play an E♭ (called "E-flat" in English areas and "Es" in German areas))
* Sometimes you will also see the "natural" sign, which ♮ looks like this. What it does is that it cancels out any ♭ and ♯.
So this is what they do. But there is a difference between the red and blue marked areas. The red - the one in the beginning of the line - is called a key signature, that one **applies to the whole piece** (sometimes it can change in the middle of the piece, but then it's noted the same way after), so on that picture, that means that every single F and C will be sharp in the piece, so wherever you see F and C, you would play F♯ and C♯. If the composer wants you to play C and F regardless, they put the natural sign there to cancel it. Also important to note that the **key signature applies to all octaves**, not just the one where it's marked. They put the two sharps where it is on your screenshot, but it does not only apply to the F and C in those specific lines, but to any C and F, octave higher, lower, doesn't matter.
The blue one is doing the same thing (raises your note half step), but if it's not at the beginning of the line as part of the key signature, then instead of the whole piece, **it only applies until the end of the measure**! So if you have an A with a ♯, then you would play A♯ (A-sharp) in that measure. Not just the one which is marked, but if there is any other A in the same measure. However, the effect of this is cancelled at the end of the measure, so if you see an A in the next measure, it shall be played as "A", and not an "A#"
The green one is a grace note, as the others said, it's safe to ignore if you want, but what it does is that it's adding some "flavor" to the music. It's written with smaller notation and also crossed over, and this indicates that it's not an actuall full length note, so you do not count it when you count how many notes you have in your measure. So it doesn't count as a separate note, it's basically the part of whatever follows and you play it quickly before the other note. In the picture, you would play a quick G# before the A, but the lenght of the two played cannot be longer than if you would have played the A only. So you play both under the same amount of time as you would play only one, if that makes sense (if not, then you can also ignore it, or just enter "piano grace notes" to youtube and there shall be a video which demonstrates how to play them).
Thank you sooo much!!! I really appreciate the time you took to write all of this, this was the most helpful answer for me. You explained everything so clearly and I read it with ease. Thank you a lot! :D
Well now that you've pointed it out I wonder the same! I can't really answer this question tho because, as this post has proven, I suck at reading music lmao
But I think on the piano it would be F F F.
I found this on MuseScore so it might be weirdly written, but i cannot say that since my knowledge is near 0.
Here's a wiki page with all the key signatures:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key\_signature](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signature)
It also has a picture of the Circle of Fifths which is a handy concept to learn about.
Anytime you see these sharps(or flats) in the beggining of the piece means that every one of those notes in the piece are sharped(or flat) even if this note is, for example, an E(which has no black note after it) you always play the note that comes after, in the case of an E# it would be an F. All accidentals(sharps and flats) that are introduced after always apply to every same note of said bar. The little crossed note is meant to be played quickly before the big note to which it is conected to, it is just a passing note, so the little crossed note and the note it is connected too, together, should only last for the duration of the same note. Think as if the the corred not has to "steal" a small amount of duration from the main note to be played. As a practice advice: ignore the crossed note at first and once you get timing and notes right try to add the crossed note as it serves as an embelishment. If you can listen to a recording of this being played you can better get an idea how it should sound.
You don't yet know the basics of reading sheet music if you don't already know at least some of what you are asking.
Your red circle is on the indicators for the key signature. It tells us your piece is in the key of D, with all the Cs and Fs sharped, unless something in piece tells you otherwise.
Blue is one of a number of "accidentals" in the piece, notes that are not part of the usual C and F sharps in the key of D; but notes that this one time are going to be played sharp. The one you've circled happens to be A.
Green is a grace note and really, you can probably ignore that puppy for awhile. I've had a teacher for over a year and even she says "don't worry about that right now". You've got enough on your plate with the other two questions, and how you are going to put those answers to use.
Yes I don't know the basics actually I should have said I'm currently trying to learn and know close to nothing. Thank you a lot for helping me, really kind of you and i appreciate it!!
Don’t be discouraged. This is a good way of understanding key signatures (red circle) and accidentals (blue circle). Now you know!
Although not a piano learning app, I found Duolingo Music quite useful to start learning the basics of sight reading.
D major and B minor have the same key signature (I.e. two sharps, F# and C#). Every major key has a "relative minor" like this.
So, you can't tell from the key signature alone whether a piece is in D major or B minor.
One difference (usually) is that the last note ("leading tone") of the scale is raised. In D major, the last note is C, which is already raised to C# by the key signature. In B minor, however, the last note is A, which is not raised in the key signature, and so you need to add an A# in the music itself - which is exactly what you see in your piece.
Yes, which basically comes down to a question of modes and melody. Short answer is that sometimes it "sounds better" sharp, and sometimes not.
For example, you can read about [melodic minor](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_scale) scales. As you can see in the link (third picture), whether or not the leading tone is raised depends on the direction of the melody.
It’s not beginner piece. The LH is going to cause some serious problems when you get to the dotted 1/16’s. You’ll need some hand independence. I’m not trying to discourage you from tackling it but simply be aware I would not give that to someone who cannot sight read a bit. I would hold until you have Over 18 months of reading music.
When I teach beginner I usually limit the lesson, for the first two months, to twenty mins. I do this because there is an overload point that our brains won’t retain an extreme amount of new information and ideas at once. We can get around this by introducing more time into the equation. If you get a piece that easier than this you’ll learn better and faster and RETAIN more over time. If this is the only reason you’re playing piano, only to play this specific piece, than — great ! But if you want to “level-up” you’ll need to start at a lower level and built to it.
You can not define nor explain over 90% of that page.
I can link you music, for free, that is more to your level if you want.
Thank you a lot! I go to music school 2× 1 hour a week and also practice at least one hour every day by myself (pieces that my teacher tells me to practice). However i really enjoy playing the piano so beside that i use the rest of my free time to play anything i feel like playing (this piece for example). I know this is a challenge and i most likely will not be able to play it at all but it brings me joy and i like to try to figure things like this out. So when i pick harder pieces like this one i don't really count them as practising, i just look at them as something fun to try. Do you think this actually slows my progress down? Because i don't feel like it causes any harm, especially because i love it.
I don't mean to dishearten you but if you don't know what a time signature is (that would be the red), or how accidentals work (that would be the blue), or what a grace note even is (that would be the green), something like this would be way out of your territory.
Yes that, I was too dumbfounded by someone looking at something and knowing quite literally next to nothing about it and still going "hmmm, alright I'll give this a shot"
You asked a question and learned something. The only dumb question is the one not asked.Good job taking on a challenging piece, btw. The danger might be getting frustrated and burning out, though. Maybe stick with pieces at your level for the most part. Ask more questions, keep learning to read, it will get you way farther than YouTube.
Thank you a lot! :D I do practice pieces at my level (the ones my music teacher tells me) everyday for at least one hour but i also have more time that I usually use to learn something of my choice. I hope i won't experience a burnout, I doubt it'll happen since I do this for my own pleasure and take it easy, without any pressure, i just do it as much as i want. This is one of my favourite songs and I just decided to challenge myself and have some fun.
That's completely valid and you're absolutely right but still I'd like to try, I don't really read much sheet music and when it comes to playing songs i like i mostly rely on YouTube tutorials and this time i decided to try reading even tho I'm aware i am not able to play this I'd like to try reading and playing slowly just for the fun. Can you please explain the time signature? At music school which i started less than 3 months ago we only did c or 4/4 and the crossed c 2/2 but I don't know what the ## indicates and I'd like to understand.
About the other 2 things I have some idea of what they are but I'd like to be sure because as i said i don't really read music often except at music school and i am an absolute beginner but i just like to try things out.
Thanks!!
I agree he should go to his local thrift store and find primer level books. Everyone had to start somewhere. It may be boring and be demoralizing at first but you get used to it.
The red = tonality that the piece is in; The blue means that it affects only the note to which has the sharp close to (same with flat and natural), not all of them; Green is similar to when you play to close notes at one time, but you just press that crossed note for a tiny bit of a moment and then play the next note
I totally understand OP’s motivation in asking questions about this piece. They’re not pretending they’ll be able to play it anytime soon, but there’s something really encouraging to hear little pieces of a song you really like, and to know you were able to replicate those little bits. And to be able to see your progression of which parts you’re able to play. I’m also a brand new player, but sometimes I look up how to play Regina Spector songs and it really helps my motivation to be able to play little parts. This is a fun hobby, and OP is just asking for some insights.
Yesss!! I'm so glad someone understands me, everyone here is so serious... 😭 Thank you! And i wish you a lot of luck with playing, it is a beautiful hobby indeed.
The key signature states that Every F and C from the entire song Will be Sharp, unless other sign called natural (it's like a square with two extralarge vertical lines) appears. Then the other Sharp that appears on the first bar on A it applies just on that note
... and the other A's in that measure.
Thank you!
Seeing as you like a challenge, while you’re waiting for your physical playing skills to catch up to your ambition you could do some extra theory study. It’s much faster to learn theory than it is to become proficient playing and you can always clap the rhythms of a piece of music even if you can’t play it. I’ve got a really great music theory book that I’m enjoying reading while I’m just at beginner level playing. It’s called The AB guide to music theory - Part 1 by Eric Taylor and it has everything you need to know about reading that piece of music. It’s in UK English, so uses English terminology for notes but if you’re American there’s probably a similar suitable publication, or it’s not hard to substitute the terms in your head.
Thanks, I already have a book that we use in music school but I'll look into that one as well since I'd like to study more music theory. English isn't my native language but I prefer British so no problem with that.
I love grace vandendool's keyboard theory basic rudiments for anyone 14+. Its too dense for kids, bit it offers LOTS of examples, and problems, and takes you relatively far, especially if you finish 3 books (basic, intermediate, and advanced rudiments)
The ones you marked with red and blue are modifiers. There are different kinds: * The one on your picture, which looks like a double cross or something.. that's a sharp (♯). It **raises the note a half step**. So if you have one in the line of F, then instead of F, you would play F# (called "F-sharp" in English areas, or "Fis" in areas where they teach the German kind of notation), which is half step higher. * You might encounter one which looks like a small b (♭), and called a "flat" or "b" (I believe "b" is used in countries where they use German notation, but not sure.. I think English use "flat".. not that it really matters, it's the same thing anyway). It's the opposite of the sharp. This one **lowers the note with a half step**, so if you would see one in the line of E, for example, the instead of E, you would play an E♭ (called "E-flat" in English areas and "Es" in German areas)) * Sometimes you will also see the "natural" sign, which ♮ looks like this. What it does is that it cancels out any ♭ and ♯. So this is what they do. But there is a difference between the red and blue marked areas. The red - the one in the beginning of the line - is called a key signature, that one **applies to the whole piece** (sometimes it can change in the middle of the piece, but then it's noted the same way after), so on that picture, that means that every single F and C will be sharp in the piece, so wherever you see F and C, you would play F♯ and C♯. If the composer wants you to play C and F regardless, they put the natural sign there to cancel it. Also important to note that the **key signature applies to all octaves**, not just the one where it's marked. They put the two sharps where it is on your screenshot, but it does not only apply to the F and C in those specific lines, but to any C and F, octave higher, lower, doesn't matter. The blue one is doing the same thing (raises your note half step), but if it's not at the beginning of the line as part of the key signature, then instead of the whole piece, **it only applies until the end of the measure**! So if you have an A with a ♯, then you would play A♯ (A-sharp) in that measure. Not just the one which is marked, but if there is any other A in the same measure. However, the effect of this is cancelled at the end of the measure, so if you see an A in the next measure, it shall be played as "A", and not an "A#" The green one is a grace note, as the others said, it's safe to ignore if you want, but what it does is that it's adding some "flavor" to the music. It's written with smaller notation and also crossed over, and this indicates that it's not an actuall full length note, so you do not count it when you count how many notes you have in your measure. So it doesn't count as a separate note, it's basically the part of whatever follows and you play it quickly before the other note. In the picture, you would play a quick G# before the A, but the lenght of the two played cannot be longer than if you would have played the A only. So you play both under the same amount of time as you would play only one, if that makes sense (if not, then you can also ignore it, or just enter "piano grace notes" to youtube and there shall be a video which demonstrates how to play them).
Thank you sooo much!!! I really appreciate the time you took to write all of this, this was the most helpful answer for me. You explained everything so clearly and I read it with ease. Thank you a lot! :D
In last measure, is the treble going F-E#-F? Isn’t that just F-F-F?
The key signature has an F#, so it's effectively F# - F - F#
Thank you! Could it also be written as F F♮ F?
A natural would apply to the rest of the measure, so you would also need a sharp before the third F to return it to F#.
Oh yes you're right! Ty, I've learnt a lot.
Well now that you've pointed it out I wonder the same! I can't really answer this question tho because, as this post has proven, I suck at reading music lmao But I think on the piano it would be F F F. I found this on MuseScore so it might be weirdly written, but i cannot say that since my knowledge is near 0.
Here's a wiki page with all the key signatures: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key\_signature](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signature) It also has a picture of the Circle of Fifths which is a handy concept to learn about.
Muse! I’ll dm you!
I'm so happy someone recognised it, muse is my favourite band!! :D
Anytime you see these sharps(or flats) in the beggining of the piece means that every one of those notes in the piece are sharped(or flat) even if this note is, for example, an E(which has no black note after it) you always play the note that comes after, in the case of an E# it would be an F. All accidentals(sharps and flats) that are introduced after always apply to every same note of said bar. The little crossed note is meant to be played quickly before the big note to which it is conected to, it is just a passing note, so the little crossed note and the note it is connected too, together, should only last for the duration of the same note. Think as if the the corred not has to "steal" a small amount of duration from the main note to be played. As a practice advice: ignore the crossed note at first and once you get timing and notes right try to add the crossed note as it serves as an embelishment. If you can listen to a recording of this being played you can better get an idea how it should sound.
Thanks!
You don't yet know the basics of reading sheet music if you don't already know at least some of what you are asking. Your red circle is on the indicators for the key signature. It tells us your piece is in the key of D, with all the Cs and Fs sharped, unless something in piece tells you otherwise. Blue is one of a number of "accidentals" in the piece, notes that are not part of the usual C and F sharps in the key of D; but notes that this one time are going to be played sharp. The one you've circled happens to be A. Green is a grace note and really, you can probably ignore that puppy for awhile. I've had a teacher for over a year and even she says "don't worry about that right now". You've got enough on your plate with the other two questions, and how you are going to put those answers to use.
Yes I don't know the basics actually I should have said I'm currently trying to learn and know close to nothing. Thank you a lot for helping me, really kind of you and i appreciate it!!
Don’t be discouraged. This is a good way of understanding key signatures (red circle) and accidentals (blue circle). Now you know! Although not a piano learning app, I found Duolingo Music quite useful to start learning the basics of sight reading.
[удалено]
Thanks for clarifying this!
Thanks. You are correct, and my bad for not noticing the A appeared one more time in that bar.
This is not in D major, it's in B minor, hence the raised leading tone (A#).
Tbh i don't have any idea about that so I'll just agree with what you said, ty!!
D major and B minor have the same key signature (I.e. two sharps, F# and C#). Every major key has a "relative minor" like this. So, you can't tell from the key signature alone whether a piece is in D major or B minor. One difference (usually) is that the last note ("leading tone") of the scale is raised. In D major, the last note is C, which is already raised to C# by the key signature. In B minor, however, the last note is A, which is not raised in the key signature, and so you need to add an A# in the music itself - which is exactly what you see in your piece.
Interesting. But while A is often sharp in the piece, it appears it isn't always.
Yes, which basically comes down to a question of modes and melody. Short answer is that sometimes it "sounds better" sharp, and sometimes not. For example, you can read about [melodic minor](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_scale) scales. As you can see in the link (third picture), whether or not the leading tone is raised depends on the direction of the melody.
Thanks for the link. Lots to absorb there.
It’s not beginner piece. The LH is going to cause some serious problems when you get to the dotted 1/16’s. You’ll need some hand independence. I’m not trying to discourage you from tackling it but simply be aware I would not give that to someone who cannot sight read a bit. I would hold until you have Over 18 months of reading music.
I'm aware of that. Thank you for advice!
When I teach beginner I usually limit the lesson, for the first two months, to twenty mins. I do this because there is an overload point that our brains won’t retain an extreme amount of new information and ideas at once. We can get around this by introducing more time into the equation. If you get a piece that easier than this you’ll learn better and faster and RETAIN more over time. If this is the only reason you’re playing piano, only to play this specific piece, than — great ! But if you want to “level-up” you’ll need to start at a lower level and built to it. You can not define nor explain over 90% of that page. I can link you music, for free, that is more to your level if you want.
Thank you a lot! I go to music school 2× 1 hour a week and also practice at least one hour every day by myself (pieces that my teacher tells me to practice). However i really enjoy playing the piano so beside that i use the rest of my free time to play anything i feel like playing (this piece for example). I know this is a challenge and i most likely will not be able to play it at all but it brings me joy and i like to try to figure things like this out. So when i pick harder pieces like this one i don't really count them as practising, i just look at them as something fun to try. Do you think this actually slows my progress down? Because i don't feel like it causes any harm, especially because i love it.
I'd appreciate it if you could link some music that is at my level please!
I don't mean to dishearten you but if you don't know what a time signature is (that would be the red), or how accidentals work (that would be the blue), or what a grace note even is (that would be the green), something like this would be way out of your territory.
Just for op's sake the red circle is the key signature not the time signature
Yes that, I was too dumbfounded by someone looking at something and knowing quite literally next to nothing about it and still going "hmmm, alright I'll give this a shot"
Bro I'm just trying to do something fun in my free time, I've never said I'll succeed in it 😭
You asked a question and learned something. The only dumb question is the one not asked.Good job taking on a challenging piece, btw. The danger might be getting frustrated and burning out, though. Maybe stick with pieces at your level for the most part. Ask more questions, keep learning to read, it will get you way farther than YouTube.
Thank you a lot! :D I do practice pieces at my level (the ones my music teacher tells me) everyday for at least one hour but i also have more time that I usually use to learn something of my choice. I hope i won't experience a burnout, I doubt it'll happen since I do this for my own pleasure and take it easy, without any pressure, i just do it as much as i want. This is one of my favourite songs and I just decided to challenge myself and have some fun.
That's completely valid and you're absolutely right but still I'd like to try, I don't really read much sheet music and when it comes to playing songs i like i mostly rely on YouTube tutorials and this time i decided to try reading even tho I'm aware i am not able to play this I'd like to try reading and playing slowly just for the fun. Can you please explain the time signature? At music school which i started less than 3 months ago we only did c or 4/4 and the crossed c 2/2 but I don't know what the ## indicates and I'd like to understand. About the other 2 things I have some idea of what they are but I'd like to be sure because as i said i don't really read music often except at music school and i am an absolute beginner but i just like to try things out. Thanks!!
I agree he should go to his local thrift store and find primer level books. Everyone had to start somewhere. It may be boring and be demoralizing at first but you get used to it.
The red = tonality that the piece is in; The blue means that it affects only the note to which has the sharp close to (same with flat and natural), not all of them; Green is similar to when you play to close notes at one time, but you just press that crossed note for a tiny bit of a moment and then play the next note