Are you toying with the idea of learning how to play the piano as an adult? Do it! Learning piano as an adult is often so much better than it was when you were a kid. You have the time, you have the headspace, and you know what a valuable skill it can be to enjoy a fulfilling hobby at home. There are loads of benefits to learning how to play as an adult!

A growing trend shows that people regret not having devoted themselves to their piano lessons with greater vigor, and they are now subjecting themselves to practicing scales. A BBC report from a year ago (October 2014) investigated why, and discovered that beyond music being a passion in general (and we know that it is), the percussive element of hitting 88 keys (or some percentage thereof) can be therapeutic. Moreover, playing any musical instrument rewires the brain, as it were, with increased connectivity and therefore sophistication. It’s not incidental – or inaccurate – that people say playing an instrument makes you smarter!

[bctt tweet=” Playing any musical instrument rewires the brain with increased connectivity and sophistication.”]

In fact, being an adult gives you several advantages when it comes time to learn to play.

Your mom’s not nagging

First and foremost is the fact that you are doing so on your own volition, and not because your parents or grandparents have insisted that you learn an instrument. When you choose your own path, you are more likely to find your passion in it.

You KNOW that practice makes perfect.

The odds are good that you have had experience with the effects of practice in the past, and you know that if you want to develop a skill truly, you need to practice. Even if you don’t aspire to Carnegie Hall, you still know that whatever practice, practice, practice you undertake will serve you well (a tidbit that many children don’t realize as they are burdened with practice sessions).

Your ear has earned the advantage of time

Finally, the fact that you want to learn to play as an adult suggests that you have a love of music, and the very fact that you have been listening to music your entire life puts you in an enviable position when it comes to learning the technicalities. That is, once you already have a feel for the music itself, learning which keys to depress is a matter of fulfilling what you already know, as compared to the child who starts from nothing.

Music education isn’t what it used to be!

The other advantage you have is the advancement of educational technology, which has harnessed gaming features that provide feedback in real time, and applies them to learning to play piano, so that the student is guided through the process note by note.

Check out Simply Piano, the latest app from Simply (formerly JoyTunes) to learn the piano basics step-by-step.

Read more:

• How to learn piano in 5 easy steps 

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While “Best Picture” might be the most well-known award in the Oscars, there have been some incredible award-winning songs throughout the years as well. Here is a collection of some of the most unforgettable pieces of music that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

1930s – “Over The Rainbow”

In 1939, the movie The Wizard of Oz came out and took the world by storm. Contained in the fantastic film were numerous hit songs, with “Over The Rainbow” standing out as the most popular. “Over The Rainbow”, sung by Judy Garland, is listed as the best movie song of all time by the American Film Institute in their 100 song list.

1940s- “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”

“Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”, composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert, came out in 1946 in the Disney movie Song of the South. It’s a cheerful tune that has remained popular in all age groups. Multiple artists have covered this song, including legend Johnny Mercer.

1950s – “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)”

This hopeful song was introduced in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much. This song featured actress/singer Doris Day, and quickly became one of the songs she was most known for. “Que Sera, Sera” was written by songwriting duo Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.

1960s -“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head“

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1969. It was featured in the movie  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach. This song was hugely popular when it first came out, and reached #1 on charts in the USA, Canada, and Norway.

1970s- “Theme from Shaft“

This song was written and sung by artist Isaac Hayes for the 1971 film Shaft.  This academy-award was significant because it made Hayes the first African-American to receive the Oscar for original songs. “Theme from Shaft” went on to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

1980s-“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” 

Written for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” was/still is an extremely popular song. It went on to win multiple awards besides the Oscar, including A Golden Globe and a Grammy. This song was written by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz, and recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner.

1990s- “My Heart Will Go On“

Also known as “Love Theme from Titanic,” this award-winner was the theme song from James Cameron’s record-breaking movie. This song was performed by Celine Dion, and quickly became her signature piece. This smash-hit reached number 1 on charts all around the world, and became one of the best-selling in history.

2000s – Lose Yourself

“Lose Yourself”, written by Eminem for the 2002 movie 8 Mile, was the first rap song to receive the Academy Award for Best Original Song. This was a massively popular song, and went on to win a Grammy and secure the #1 spot on Billboards Hot 100. The quintuple platinum song was also on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

2010s- Let It Go

Even though we’re only half-way through the Oscars of the 2010’s, “Let It Go” has surely sealed its reputation as one of the most well-known movie songs in the world. The 2013 Disney movie Frozen was the highest grossing animated film, which can be largely accredited to its soundtrack. Let It Go reached the top 5 in the Hot 100 Billboard chart, and was covered in multiple languages, making it one of the most globally recorded Disney songs.

Read more: 

• Piano accompaniment and how to master it
• 35 Beatles songs you probably didn’t know
• The 6 most famous female pianists

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Five of the greatest and most impressive guitar solos, from Jimmie Hendrix to Van Halen.

Guitar solos are the place where master guitarists get to show off their skills. For a few music bars, the audience’s focus shifts away from the lead singer, and the guitarist gets the full attention. The best solos bring something original to the table and create an emotion that listeners won’t easily forget. 

Get your lighters ready, and let’s look at a few of the best guitar solos of all time. 

1. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, Guitarist: Brian May

Bohemian Rhapsody is Queen’s best-known song. It was a number-one hit when it came out in 1975. It hit the number-one spot again in 1992 after Freddie Mercury’s death. This piece remains popular over 40 years after its first recording. And for a good reason.

Freddie Mercury wrote this song from start to finish using a complex musical structure that doesn’t follow the rules. In an interview, Brian May discusses how Freddie wanted a guitar solo in the song and gave Brian May a free hand to work on it. May wanted the guitar to sing its own verse and wrote the classic guitar solo.

Brian May’s guitar solo in this song is short and sweet. The guitar interlude is crucial in tying the musical piece together. The first half of the song starts as a lyrical ballad. Then the guitar interlude signals a new episode in this rhapsody. It takes the piece from ballad-like rock to an emotional opera worthy of the stage. The song heads into rock and roll and ends on a smooth reflective note. 

Brian’s vibrato techniques and lyrical lines touch an emotional chord tying Freddie Mercury’s complex piece together. 

2. “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd, Guitarist: David Gilmour

Many consider the guitar solo in Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb the best guitar solo of all time. This piece contains two solos by David Gilmour, but the second one steals the show.

In a 1993 interview with Guitar World, David discussed how he wrote the guitar voice for Comfortably Numb. He “banged out five or six solos” in the studio and then listened to the playback. Then he pieced together the best parts for a well-structured solo with the interest of creative improvisation.

Guitar solos have become favorites because of the guitarist’s intricate fingerwork and original techniques. However, in Comfortably Numb, the behind-the-scenes studio work is responsible for half of this solo’s charm. The delay and doubling of the guitar’s voice create a full edgy sound–almost as if two guitars are playing at once.

The smooth tone, rapid rhythms, and expressiveness of the guitar’s sound make this solo unforgettable.

3. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, Guitarist: Slash

Slash’s guitar solo in Sweet Child O’ Mine is one of the most memorable of 1980s rock. This song was Guns N’ Roses first hit song to hit Billboard’s Top 40s. 

But Slash was responsible for much more than just the guitar solo. His sweet riffs on the guitar were the inspiration for the creation of the piece. While Slash entertained the rest of the band during a rehearsal, he struck gold. Axl Rose listened in, liked what he was hearing, and began jotting down lyrics to match Slash’s notes.

The Sweet Child O’ Mine guitar solo begins with a relaxed, laidback tone before it steadily increases in energy. The bends and vibrato on the strings require a talented left hand. 

Slash makes use of the pentatonic scale in this piece. He builds energy with upstrokes and downstrokes as he plays. Although he tends to be more understated than other guitarists in his performance style, his raw improvs connect the audience to the piece on a rich emotional level. 

4. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix, Guitarist: Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix admired Bob Dylan’s work and enjoyed covering many of his songs. In All Along the Watchtower, Hendrix reinterprets Dylan’s classic song, turning it into a creative masterpiece. Even Dylan admitted that Hendrix improved upon this piece.

Hendrix’s version came out in 1968 and included not one but four different guitar solos in All Along the Watchtower. In one of the solos, he uses a cigarette lighter to slide up the guitar neck. 

Hendrix was full of musical ideas and enjoyed bringing psychedelic sounds and original techniques to the guitar. His distinct musical voice makes this song a classic rock hit. 

5. “Eruption,” Van Halen, Guitarist: Eddie Van Halen

When Eruption first appeared on Van Halen’s debut album, it caused a stir. However, it was only by chance that this piece made it onto the album. As Eddie was practicing for an upcoming gig, his producer overheard him playing and encouraged him to record it.

Eddie Van Halen was using a tapping technique. But, instead of using it on one or two notes like most guitarists, he was playing a solo almost entirely with hammer-ons, pull-offs, and tapping. This technique requires both hands to tap out the notes going up the guitar neck while muting the bass notes.

The rhythm Van Halen uses is also tricky. Sometimes he taps on the first and fourth sextuplet notes, and sometimes he emphasizes the third and sixth notes. This makes it one of the most challenging solos for other guitarists to recreate. Van Halen’s imaginative style makes him one of the top 10 guitar soloists in rock history. 

Learn from the greatest guitarists, and put theory into practice.

Rock stars such as Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, and others brought guitar solos to life with their innovative techniques and creative interpretations. 

You, too, can master skills on the guitar by listening to the classics, watching expert guitarists’ fingerwork, and learning guitar theory. To boost your skills,  Simply Guitar can help you lay the framework for music theory and walk you through chords and strum patterns step-by-step. 

Who knows? One day your guitar solo may hit the charts.

FAQs.

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In this beginner’s guide, we will teach you everything there is to know about natural and artificial guitar harmonics.

When you first pick up the guitar, your want to learn where the notes are on the frets and how to strum. However, as you advance in your skills, you discover new techniques to make your songs come to life. 

Guitar harmonics are fun to play and not too difficult once you learn how to find them on the guitar. This technique can add a bell-like quality to your strings. Are you ready to learn a new skill? Let’s dive into how to play natural and artificial harmonics on the guitar.

Are you ready to learn a new skill? Let’s dive into how to play natural and artificial harmonics on the guitar.

What are guitar harmonics?

You can hear subtle guitar harmonics every time you play the guitar. A note on guitar strings creates vibrations between the fret and string base.

The name note is audible because you play it intentionally. Then you have additional pitches that are less audible. These overtones are harmonic.

These overtones are harmonic.

When you play guitar harmonics, the string can vibrate from a fret to where the string meets the headstock. This technique brings the overtones to the forefront while the fundamental note takes a back seat. With this technique, you get a bell-like sound.

Guitar harmonics can add an impressive new tone to your guitar playing.  

Natural vs. artificial harmonics and how to play them.

There are two different types of harmonics you can play on the guitar: Natural and artificial harmonics. Let’s look at each type. 

How to play natural harmonics on guitar.

Playing a natural harmonic is not hard at all once you know where to find them on the fretboard. Follow the step-by-step. Then try playing natural harmonics on your guitar.

Step 1: Find the fret marker

To play a natural harmonic on the guitar, you can lightly rest your finger over any string on the fifth, seventh, or twelfth fret bars. These frets should be easy to find since there are dots that mark these frets. 

Step 2: Lightly touch the string 

After you find the fret, place your finger above the fret bar and lightly touch a string. You don’t want to press down too hard to fret the note. The string should touch only the tip of your finger and nothing else.

Step 3: Pluck and release

Once you pluck the string, release your finger to get a crisp, bell-like harmonic note. If you are using a capo, remember to count up the fifth, seventh, or twelfth from the capo instead of the headstock.

Different harmonic techniques.

Natural harmonics are straightforward to play. However, you have different techniques you can try when you play artificial harmonics on the guitar. These include tap harmonics, touch harmonics, and pinch harmonics. 

Artificial harmonic techniques can be tricky at first, but with practice, they can become second nature. To warm up your fingers so you can play these techniques nimbly, try these finger exercises: 5 Guitar Finger Exercises for Every Guitarist.

How do you read guitar harmonics in tablature?

Standard music notation indicates guitar harmonics with diamond-shaped notes and a dot next to the tablature numbers.

You may also see the words Harmonics or Harm above the staff.  These words indicate a natural harmonic. If there are several notes in a row you should play, you may see a dotted line after the word Harm. Here are a few other harmonic terms and their abbreviations that you commonly see in tablature: 

A final word on guitar harmonics.

Harmonics can be satisfying to play and give you a new dynamic to your guitar. For beginning guitarists, it is simpler to start with open-string harmonics. Then you can try out different techniques with artificial harmonics. 

To excel at guitar playing, you can download the Simply Guitar app. This app lets you stay on track while practicing guitar at home. It can also give you real-time feedback to strike all the right notes. Try it free for two weeks to see if it is for you!

FAQs.

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This article teaches what guitar frets are, their purpose, and how many frets there are on an acoustic and electric guitars.

Frets are important components of guitar playing. Without frets, finding notes and chords becomes guesswork. Guitars with fewer frets can sound smooth and mellow, while a guitar with more frets may have a brighter sound. 

However, when strings start to buzz, it may mean that your frets need work. So how do you clean and level frets on your guitar to get the best sound?

Read on and find out everything you need to know about guitar frets. 

What are guitar frets?

Guitar frets are strips of material spaced at specific intervals on the fretboard. Most often, the fret material is a nickel alloy. Other materials such as bone, wood, ivory, and stone don’t bend easily and are difficult to fit into a fretboard. 

Strings can easily bend over the domed top surface of the fret. At the bottom of the fret is a shaft that fits into the guitar neck. Some frets are glued into the fretboard, while others are set firmly into the wood. 

What is the purpose of guitar frets?

Frets divide the guitar into sections based on the Western music scale. They give the musician a guide making it easy to find standard notes. Each fret creates a point of tension for the guitar sound. If a guitar has no frets, the string vibrates from the guitar bridge. 

The number of guitar frets.

Most guitars have between 19 and 24 frets. The number of frets can vary based on the type of guitar and the genre of music you play. Acoustic guitars usually max out at around 20 frets, while electric guitars have at least 21 frets. 

How many frets are on an acoustic guitar?

Acoustic guitars can have 18 to 20 frets. However, the upper frets on an acoustic guitar are more for aesthetics than for use. The high frets on an acoustic guitar are hard to reach. Many guitarists don’t use the upper frets at all and stick to the 12 to 15 frets that are easily accessible. 

How many frets are on an electric guitar?

Electric guitars usually have at least 21 frets up to 24 frets. When a guitar has fewer frets, the tone of the guitar has a warm, mellow tone. Many jazz players prefer a guitar with fewer frets because of its smooth, jazzy sound. 

However, a guitar with 24 frets gives you four full octaves and can be easier to play. If you enjoy playing songs in the metal genre, you may need 24 frets for some songs.

What is fret leveling, and how do you level guitar frets?

When you play the guitar regularly, the strings can wear down or scratch the frets erasing the fret crown. A flat fret can be uncomfortable to play and may cause your guitar strings to buzz. The strings need to be able to contact the tip of the crown to give a clear sound. Leveling the frets puts them back at a standard height. So how does it work?

Step 1: Check your fret level with a fret rocker

Leveling, crowning, and polishing frets is a time-intensive process that can take up to five hours. So, before you start, make sure that fret leveling is necessary. Use a fret rocker to check your frets. The fret rocker has three sides, so you can measure the frets closer together and farther apart. Straddle three frets and see if the tool is stable. If it rocks, this means that the frets are unlevel. 

Step 2: Remove the strings and guitar neck from the body

To repair uneven frets, remove the guitar strings and neck. Bolt-on necks are the easiest to remove. Simply remove the bolts with a screwdriver. Once you separate the guitar neck from the body, you are ready to go to work.

Step 3: Mark each fret with a permanent marker

Use a permanent maker to mark the top of each fret. This trick helps you know if all the frets are level or not. Once all the marks disappear, it is time to stop sanding.

Step 4: Protect the fretboard with masking tape

The wooden fretboard shouldn’t come in contact with the sandpaper. However, for extra protection, you can protect the fretboard with masking tape.

Step 5: Sand the frets

A leveling beam is a straight block of wood covered in sandpaper. You can make one or buy your own. If the beam is large enough, you can lay the neck face down on the board and rub it back and forth using even pressure. Once all the marks from the permanent marker are gone, you know it is time to stop sanding.

Step 6: Recrown the frets

The frets are now level. However, your job is not over yet. You need to recrown each fret individually using a triangle file. This process can be painstaking and time-consuming. You may need the help of a luthier to finish the job correctly. With the crowns in place, you should have a comfortable guitar with a great sound.

How to clean and polish guitar frets.

After you level your frets, you want to finish the job by cleaning and polishing your frets. Over time your guitar frets can become dirty and dull from the moisture in the air, sweat, or the oil from your fingertips. You may notice a difference in how it feels to play the guitar and its sound. Time to clean your frets. But how?

Here are some steps to clean and polish your guitar frets:

Step 1: Take the strings off your guitar

To clean and polish your frets without making a mess, you need to remove the strings from the guitar. This gives you access to dirty frets and makes your job easier in the long run. 

Step 2: Protect the fretboard by using a fret guard 

You don’t want to get the polish on your fretboard when you polish the frets. Protect the wooden fretboard by using a fret guard. The guard has a slot that fits over the fret and lays flush against the fretboard. For the upper frets, you may need to cover the wood with masking tape since the fret guard may be too big to be useful. 

Step 3: Rub a polishing compound over the fret

Place a dot of polishing compound (such as Frine) on a microfiber cloth. Then, rub the polish firmly over the fret. You want to cover both the top and sides. Continue to clean until the fret looks clean and shiny. Polishing shouldn’t take more than a few seconds per fret.

Step 4: Use a cotton cloth to remove excess polish

After you apply polish to the fret and cover the top and sides, remove the excess polish. Use a cotton cloth and follow the same back-and-forth strokes you used to apply the polish. Also, if you notice polish on the wooden fretboard, wipe it off immediately.   

Step 5. Restring your guitar

After you finish polishing all your frets, it’s time to restring your guitar. Now is a great time to add new strings to your guitar. 

With a level, clean frets, and a new set of strings, it’s time to enjoy playing your guitar.

Learning is easy with guitar frets (and guitar apps).

Frets make playing the guitar easier. When your frets are clean and level, playing the guitar is more comfortable for your fingers and has the best sound. Frets can help you find the right notes—the right learning tools can make it easier to pick up skills on the guitar. 

You can try the Simply Guitar app if you want to play the guitar but don’t know where to start. This app is a no-stress way to learn the basics of guitar playing and can start you off on your musical journey.

FAQs.

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When playing the piano, posture is a vital aspect that a pianist must perfect. Learn how to avoid common mistakes and how to improve your piano posture. 

Posture is an interesting topic. It’s not something we give much attention to other than the occasional “yeah, I have terrible posture” conversation, yet it’s crucial to maintain. 

Though we may not put the two together right away, sitting with proper form substantially impacts how we play the piano. Sitting comfortably helps you play for longer, with greater control, and improves your general health.  

So what is the ideal posture for playing the piano? It’s time to shape up and perfect your posture!

Why is posture important when playing the piano?

Proper posture is essential in everything you do; maintaining it while playing the piano is no exception. 

Consider that a piano bench never comes with a backrest. Can you imagine a pianist like Chopin or Beethoven indolently slouching back into an overly plush lazy boy while performing one of their famous masterpieces? 

It’s not conducive to playing your instrument and can lead to some form of chronic pain in the future. 

Proper posture also helps you sit for extended periods without feeling sore and strengthens your shoulders, back, and abdomen, enabling you to play your instrument more effectively. 

What is the proper posture when playing the piano?

People have been studying and playing piano for centuries. Over the ages, they’ve refined how to sit in front of a keyboard and improve their ability to play. 

So how do you sit properly? Let’s start with the lower body.

To learn more about the instrument’s history, check out our blog, A Complete Piano History.

Lower body.

The lower body serves as the base for your posture. It’s where your body meets the bench. 

Upper Body.

Arranging your upper body the right way gives your shoulders, elbows, and hands greater mobility and enables you to play your keyboard more effectively. 

Most common mistakes.

While assuming proper posture may sound like an easy thing to do, maintaining it can be a challenging experience when you first start.

You may be overzealous with keeping your posture, accentuating specific muscles more than necessary.

Keep in mind that there are natural curves in the body. Therefore, correct posture doesn’t mean sitting perfectly straight. Doing that puts unnecessary tension on the body, possibly resulting in injury. 

A proper posture is a balancing act between relaxation and tension.

Final tips.

Posture can be a little confusing when you’re just starting. It can feel unnatural—especially if you’ve been slouching all your life. Be patient with yourself. 

Here are a few tips to help you correct your posture safely:

1. While maintaining good posture is vital for playing the piano, staying relaxed is also essential. Take a small break if your body is sore or tired.

2. Try to maintain proper posture in your day-to-day life. Posture is a habit you can build.

3. At first, proper posture may feel unnatural depending on how you’ve been carrying yourself throughout your life. Be patient with your body. In time, sitting with proper posture will become second nature. 

4. To explain posture, we broke the body down into different parts. However, the body is one organism, one process. So if one piece of your system slacks, it inevitably affects the others. 

Ultimately, knowing how to carry yourself changes how you feel and optimizes your motor functions. And learning how to assume proper posture can enrich your experience with the piano.

There are countless avenues to pursue when learning and playing an instrument. Finding the best resource to teach you all those things can be challenging.

Simply Piano offers users many tips and tricks on various subjects surrounding the piano (posture being one of them). The app makes learning the piano fun. It’s a fantastic supplement to piano lessons. You can use it as a primary resource for your piano journey. 

FAQs.

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Want to write music for a string quartet? You’re in good company! We’ve put a few tips together so you can follow in the footsteps of Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn to write musical pieces that will stand the test of time.

Writing for a group of string instruments is a bit like juggling. You feel pretty confident about what you are doing when you have two balls in the air, but three or more can get a little dicey. 

While duets may be simpler to write, writing for a quartet can be rewarding as you see it come together. 

Here are a few tips to make writing music for your string quartet yield a beautiful result.

Which instruments make up a string quartet?

A string quartet means that four instruments with strings will play together. Traditionally, this group consists of two violins, a viola, and a cello. These instruments work nicely together because each instrument brings a unique personality to the group. 

The famous composer, Rimsky-Korsakov, described the violin’s sound as brilliant, the viola as biting and nasal, and the cello as having a chest voice in his book Principles of Orchestration. 

While we could probably couch those descriptions in more flattering terms, Rimsky Korsakov shows some of each player’s personality and voice.

You can, of course, choose four different stringed instruments and still call it a string quartet. But composers such as Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart used this combination of instruments in their string combinations, so most follow their example. 

Why mess with greatness?

Keep the range and key signature in mind.

If you plan to play the instruments via keyboard or digital piano, you don’t have to worry about the range and keys signatures. 

However, if you plan to wow your audience with a live show and string musicians, these factors will be necessary.

After all, if you’re bringing four different instruments together, you want the instruments to complement each other and not clash. 

Select a voice lead, or let each instrument have equal weight?

When you start writing, you need to decide if you will have a voice lead or if each instrument will have equal weight. Let’s look at these two approaches.

The pros and cons of each approach

Each approach has its pros and cons. Before deciding which way you want to write your piece, remember that the human ear habitually focuses on one melody. This means that the traditional approach sounds more orderly and is easier to write and play. 

A democratic approach with several overlapping melody lines can sound exciting to the ear. In this approach, the musicians need to be very in-tune with each other to pull it off. Otherwise, the music can quickly head into chaos.

Four-part writing.

Writing music for four different instruments in four-part harmony can be a bit tricky. However, we have a few tips to offer so you can break down this big project into simple tasks. 

Expand on basic chorale structure

You can look at a basic chorale structure to get an idea for your string quartet piece. You can break chorales into four voice parts: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. This four-part harmony uses simple writing, so it’s easy for large groups to sing. Chorales often use the German bar form, an AAB melody pattern.

Chorales cater to voices, so they may differ in range and structure from strings. However, seeing how these simple four-part harmonies work together can be a good building block for writing music for string quartets.

Think linearly

While composing your piece in block chords can be easy, it is much better to approach each musical line linearly. When you dissect each musical line separately, it adds more depth and creativity to your piece. 

As you write for each instrument, think: 

• What are its strengths and weaknesses?
• What is its ideal voice range?
• Does this instrument carry the melody line or play a supporting role? 

Things to avoid

Avoid having the violins play in unison when you write for each instrument. Instead of showcasing talent, unison parts can display any tuning differences (however minor), making even good musicians sound out of tune. 

It is much better to have one violin take the main melody line and let the other violin play counter-melody to hide flaws better and give your piece a fuller sound. 

The structure of famous string quartets

String quartets have been the most popular form of chamber music since the 1750s. They use four instruments, and the pieces are usually divided into four movements. 

The structure of a string quartet generally follows this pattern:

• The first movement is in sonata form and played allegro in a tonic key. 
• The second movement is much slower than the first and generally played in a related key. 
• The third movement usually comprises a minuet and trio and is written in the tonic key 
• The fourth movement is also in the tonic key in rondo form.

These movements allow your piece to take on form and tell a story with a beginning, middle and end through music. 

Listen to the following pieces to see how famous composers created unforgettable stories through their string quartets:

• String Quartet Op 76 No 3, ‘Emperor’ by Haydn
• String Quartet No 19, K465, ‘Dissonance’ by Mozart
• String Quartet No 12, Op 96, ‘American’ by Dvořák 
• String Quartet No 14, Op 131 by Beethoven

You’ll notice that each composer took the same assignment but created a different musical story. Feel free to allow your personality to shine as you make your piece.

Writing music for string quartets is not the most straightforward assignment, but it can be rewarding–especially when you hear your piece come together. Before you invite musicians to play your work, you can layer your music on a keyboard or computer to check for any awkward spots. 

Not sure if you’re doing it right? We have a blog post for that. Check out these six things you shouldn’t do when writing music.

FAQs.

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Learning the piano isn’t so bad when you know the basics of reading notes. In this short article, we walk you through the basics of piano notes for beginners.

When you see sheet music for the first time, it could look like some kind of cave-man script from another eon. For the beginner, this can be very unsettling. 

We got you. Let’s begin by walking through the fundamentals of all you need to know to start reading music notes and playing them on piano. 

Reading music notes for beginners

Music is a language of sound. 

When an instrument produces a sound, that sound vibrates at a particular frequency or pitch.

In Western music, we use twelve specific frequencies, called notes. These twelve frequencies repeat themselves across high and low registers of pitch. 

In other words, we call the frequency of a sound pitch and organize them in a system of symbols we call notes. 

We use letters from A to G to name seven of the twelve notes and use sharps and flats for the remaining five. The symbol sharp (#) means slightly higher than the note it’s in front of, and flat (b) means slightly lower. 

Flat and sharp notes have two names, depending on the context. In the end, it looks something like this:

Notes appear in various ways, but all have a circle and sometimes a line. The vertical line attached to the note is called a stem. The circle is the head, and it could be full or empty. These determine the rhythmic value of the note. 

You can write and read all of these notes on a visual structure called a staff.

Learn more about How to Read Sheet Music on our blog.  

The staff and the ledger lines

A staff is a stack of five horizontal lines.  

There are five lines and four spaces between them. Each line and space represent a note, with the low notes on the bottom lines and the high notes on the top. 

Of course, the range of instruments usually exceeds the lines of the staff. To write notes below or above the staff, we use ledger lines. These are short horizontal lines written through or below the circle of the note.

We write piano notes on a grand staff with ten lines altogether, split into two groups of five.

Grand staffs are for instruments with a wide range of pitch or music that requires two separate but simultaneous parts (like a right hand and left hand). 

The middle C note, which is more or less at the center of the keyboard, sits between the two staffs on a ledger line.

The clefs

A clef symbol appears on the far left side of the staff. It indicates which note falls on which line. The range of your instrument determines the clef you use so that the notes are in the right places. 

You use the treble clef for piano to write music for your right hand. The center of the circle of the treble clef sits on the second line from the bottom of the staff and indicates the note G. This is why it’s also known as G clef. 

We use the bass clef to write music for instruments with a lower register, such as the piano’s left hand or a bass guitar. The line between the two dots of the bass clef is an F below the middle C. This is why it’s also known as the F clef. 

Key signature and time signature

There are two more crucial pieces of information at the beginning and to the right of the clef. 

The first is the key signature. It tells you how many sharps or flats are in the music. If a sharp or flat appears in the key signature, it will not appear in notes. If the composer adds an extra sharp or flat beyond the key signature, they write it next to the notes.

The time signature is to the right of the key signature, just before the actual notes appear. This indicates the division of rhythm in the song, alongside the bar lines, which create vertical divisions along the horizontal staff lines to group the notes according to rhythm value. 

The top number of the time signature is the number of beats per bar. The bottom number of the time signature is the type of beat (half note, quarter note, eighth note). You can read more about time signatures in our blog post How to Play Music in 4/4. 

Learn to read music notes with Simply Piano

If you practice on your own, your progress with piano learning can become stuck and frustrating. Download the Simply Piano app to learn all the piano basics at your own pace and space. 

Simply Piano is highly popular and has even won awards like Apple’s Editor’s Choice Award, Parents’ Choice Award, and Best App from Google Play.

The app works with any piano or keyboard and has the following features:

•  Tons of fun songs like Imagine, Chandelier, All Of Me, and also J.S. Bach.
•  Courses for different musical tastes and playing levels.
• Step-by-step learning for everything from reading sheet music to playing chords.
•  Slow down library songs to choose your own pace for easy learning.

Simply Piano currently has 27 different courses divided into two streams: Soloist and Chords. You don’t have to choose between them; you can do them simultaneously, one after the other, or just focus on one. You immediately receive access to two free courses when you download the app. Once you purchase the premium subscription, you receive access to all lessons and songs, updated and expanded monthly. 

Make a note of this 🙂

When you dive into a new world of concepts, language and practice, it’s very common to feel scared and insecure. Have faith in the process, and don’t rush the learning. Learn the limitations of your capacity for new information, and try to touch something new daily. With time, persistence, and patience, you can acquire this new language, and before you know it, you are speaking music! 

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