Welcome to Dansm's Musical Notation for Guitar! My name is Dan Smith,
I'm a first-year grad student at Harvard, and I've been playing guitar for about 5 years.
Before I picked up guitar, I played trumpet for 8 years, so I knew something
about musical notation. It is not imperative for a guitarist to be able
to read a piece of music just from the notes, but it is sometimes helpful to
pick out some notes quickly. This page is designed so guitarists can have
a reference for reading standard musical notation without a big headache.
This page will discuss note names, key signatures and time signatures,
note lengths, and repeats & codas. It should tell you exactly what those
strange symbols you see in tab books mean, in a simple and clear manner.
I hope you find these pages useful! If you have
any questions, e-mail me!
Introduction to Tablature Notation
an explanation of tab and the symbols found in tab
Introduction to Standard Chord Notation
how to read standard chord notation (like x32010)
Introduction to Standard Musical Notation
here is a little background on standard musical notation:
key signatures, note names, etc.
Notes on the Fretboard
this will help you associate standard musical notes with
notes on your guitar--this is very helpful
Measures and Meter
an explanation of measures and time signatures for guitar:
4/4, 6/8, etc.
Key Signatures
flats, sharps, and keys in standard notation
Repeats and Codas
you've seen these in tab books, but what do they mean?
Symbols Used in Music
a rundown of symbols appearing in musical notation,
with pictures so you can identify them
Terms Used in Music
unless you speak Italian, check this page out
for an explanation of terms like ritard and moderato
Dansm's Guitar Scale Lessons
scales are very important for mastering guitar,
and these lessons will help you understand and learn them
Dansm's Guitar Chord Theory
this page contains music theory
lessons regarding guitar chords
Dansm's Home Page
Dansm's Acoustic Guitar Page
Dansm's Eagles Page
Dansm's Guitar Page
Dansm's Lesson Page
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since 6-22-97
© 1997 Daniel E. Smith. Last updated 7-20-97.