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Guides and practice tools for beginners, free for everyone. Private notes for our students are kept separately in the student portal.
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Basic music reading
The staff, in two minutes.
Music is written on a staff of five lines. Each line and each space stands for a note. The treble clef 𝄞 at the start tells you which note is which; piano right hands, guitar and most melodies use it.
- Lines, bottom to top: E G B D F. Remember it as “Every Good Boy Does Fine”.
- Spaces, bottom to top: F A C E. They spell “face”.
- Bass clef 𝄢 (piano left hand): lines G B D F A, “Good Boys Do Fine Always”; spaces A C E G, “All Cows Eat Grass”.
Cyan notes sit on lines, white notes sit in spaces.
Rhythm exercises
Count it, then play it.
| Note | Beats in 4/4 | Count it as |
|---|---|---|
| Whole note 𝅝 | 4 | 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 |
| Half note 𝅗𝅥 | 2 | 1 – 2, 3 – 4 |
| Quarter note ♩ | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Eighth notes ♫ | ½ each | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & |
| Sixteenth notes | ¼ each | 1 e & a 2 e & a … |
Five exercises with the metronome
- At 60 BPM, clap on every click: quarter notes.
- Clap twice per click, saying “1 & 2 &”: eighth notes.
- Clap only on beats 1 and 3: half notes.
- Clap on 1, 2 and the “&” of 3: a common strumming feel.
- Repeat each at 80, then 100 BPM.
Metronome
Piano note identification
Find any note on the keyboard.
The black keys come in groups of two and three. C is the white key just left of every group of two; F is just left of every group of three. From C, the white keys run C D E F G A B, then repeat.
Note trainer
Score: 0 of 0
Which note is highlighted?
Guitar fretboard notes
Every note, frets 0 to 12.
Each fret raises a string by one semitone. At the 12th fret the notes repeat, one octave higher. Pick a note to see everywhere it lives.
Thinnest string (high E) at the top, as you see it looking down at the guitar. Scroll sideways on a phone.
Musical scales
Scale finder.
A scale is a set of notes in order. The major scale follows the step pattern whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Pick a key and scale to see its notes, spelled correctly.
C major
Beginner learning guide
How to practise, in 20 minutes a day.
Short, regular practice beats a long session once a week.
Warm up · 3 min
Scales or finger exercises, slowly and evenly.
Technique · 5 min
One thing your teacher asked you to fix: a chord change, a fingering, a strum.
Repertoire · 10 min
Your current song. Practise the hardest bar first, with the metronome.
Play for fun · 2 min
End with something you already enjoy playing.
Learn it properly, with a teacher.
Free resources help you practise. A teacher shows you what to practise next. Book a trial class.