There are two basic ways to write a note with an accidental, such as C#, Ab, Dx, or Ebb. The simplest way is to place the appropriate accidental symbol in front of the desired note on the staff, like this:
Here is an example of a key signature symbol at the beginning of a staff (shown in the shaded box):
The other way is by using a symbol called a key signature. We’ll learn much more about these in a later section, but the basic idea is that we place a symbol at the very beginning of the staff that indicates that certain lines or spaces always have an accidental (unless specifically indicated otherwise). In other words, any notes that are placed on those lines/spaces automatically get an accidental.
There are other kinds of staves besides the typical 5-line staff, such as 1-line, 2-line or 3-line staves. These are used for untuned percussion instruments such as drums, that don’t play different musical pitches.
Accidentals and the Staff
The great thing about the musical staff is that with practice, we can (eventually) get to the point where we instantly recognize which notes we’re looking at. Great sight readers, like top-notch studio musicians, can see some sheet music for the very first time, and play it as if they’ve been playing it their whole lives (just like reading one’s native language).
Get ready for an in-depth look at the musical staff! This section of the site is designed to jump-start your quest to learn to read music, and the staff is where it all happens.
Music is a type of art that takes place over time. In that respect, it’s different than a visual painting, which we can sort of see all at once. It’s an experience that happens over time. It’s really very much like a story, with a beginning, middle, and ending, just it’s a musical story. This is why the musical staff was set up to represent time going from left to right.
A normal staff has 5 horizontal parallel lines, spaced evenly, that run across the page. In between these 5 lines are 4 spaces. These spaces aren’t just useless, empty areas
The entire string section will take part in this step. The double basses support the tubas with their spiccato articulation on the D. Making it more bigger.
The violins 1 and 2 play a rhythmic part. I fiddled around with this for some time ending up with this. For me it helps to hum it in my head before writing it down. So in this case I listened to the sketch without the violins and hummed rhythms on top of it. Until I found one that I liked. And that’s this one.
The violoncello and the violas support the trombones. Again, they play the exact same notes. So I’m just doubling here. With an articulation called tremolo. I chose this one to give it more tension, a bigger supporting sound.
So a lot of dots on the virtual paper here, but mainly they all play the same thing.
Low brass for that typical powerful orchestral sound
I started with the low brass. The trombones and the bass trombone play the same notes. I started with a D, then an A, C, F, G, B, G, A, G, G, A. The tuba stays on the D, the tonic, all the time.
This week I watched Spiderman Homecoming with the family. A very enjoyable movie with that typical action music in it. A lot of brass and full orchestra tutti passages. I guess everybody knows what I’m talking about. This sketch is inspired by that. I’m after a big, let’s say a huge orchestral sound.
So again a lot of doublings. The flutes, the oboes and the clarinets double the violins. The bassoons support the trombones. And the contrabassoon doubles the tuba and double bass.
There are multiple ways to start a sketch. Or a new composition if you will. If you have followed me along with the orchestral sketches here or on the channel, you have seen sketches that I started with chord progressions. Ones I started with melodies. Or sketches I started with a cantus firmus.
So far, we’ve learned that the higher you go on the musical staff, the higher the note, and the lower you go, the lower the note. What about moving horizontally, from side to side?
Each line or space on the staff corresponds with a particular musical note. For instance, a particular line or space could represent the note C4, or A5, or E2, etc. (See Organizing Note Names for a refresher on how to name notes by their octave.)
A normal staff has 5 horizontal parallel lines, spaced evenly, that run across the page. In between these 5 lines are 4 spaces. These spaces aren’t just useless, empty areas
Here is an example of a key signature symbol at the beginning of a staff (shown in the shaded box):
Accidentals and the Staff
Music is a type of art that takes place over time. In that respect, it’s different than a visual painting, which we can sort of see all at once. It’s an experience that happens over time. It’s really very much like a story, with a beginning, middle, and ending, just it’s a musical story. This is why the musical staff was set up to represent time going from left to right.
Sometimes, untuned percussion instruments will use a regular 5-line staff (instead of a special percussion staff). In this case, the lines and spaces don’t represent pitches, since untuned percussion instruments don’t have different pitches.
Get ready for an in-depth look at the musical staff! This section of the site is designed to jump-start your quest to learn to read music, and the staff is where it all happens.
There are two basic ways to write a note with an accidental, such as C#, Ab, Dx, or Ebb. The simplest way is to place the appropriate accidental symbol in front of the desired note on the staff, like this:
The best thing about using text files for your music is that they're future-proof. They're harder to corrupt, and you'll always be able to open them, even if the parent software eventually dies.
There's even a practice tool that lets you set learning goals and track your progress. Check out our list of online music learning resources if you'd like more information.
Are you someone who loves music? Use one of these great sites to learn more about what makes music what it is.
If MuseScore rivals expensive paid apps in terms of features, BlankSheetMusic is at the other end of the scale.
3. LilyPond
EasyABC is an open source sheet music creation tool. The app is designed to work with ABC files that will play through your system's soundcard.
Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You can also find him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.
The Ultimate package, which is aimed at music professionals, costs $20/month and allows for more bar line types, an unlimited number of staves, beams, customizable brackets and braces, and much more.
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The First package is free to download and use. You can compose simple scores with up to four staves, do some basic notation, add comments, and listen to MIDI playback.
The Premium version lets you create unlimited scores, has support for 85 instruments, and offers real-time transcribing from MIDI instruments. It costs $49/year.
Sibelius is one of the best sheet music writing apps for beginners. The software is available in three tiers---Sibelius First, Sibelius, and Sibelius Ultimate.
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LilyPond is the brainchild of two musicians who wanted to create "beautiful" sheet music. As such, the app focuses on style as much as substance.
Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You can also find him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.
Lastly, it has some tools that can help you create clean ABC code. They include fixing uppercase/lowercase notes, easily adding note durations, and an experimental "do-re-mi" mode.
Because the app is iOS-only, it's been designed entirely with Apple's mobile operating system in mind. That means it scales perfectly between devices, supports split view, and supports slide-over multitasking.