How to Read Music ─ Easy-to-use, Easy-to-learn; Simple Musical Examples

This is the ideal guide for those who wish to get to grips with music to a greater depth, to learn to play faster, more complicated scores, to compose and arrange music – the possibilities are endless. This guide provides everything you need to know, explaining pitch, the treble clef, the bass clef, rhythm, accidentals, key signatures, scales and chords, along with a compendium of additional information. Then practise what you have learnt with the ‘Play Along’ sections containing simple, well-known examples of music, from ‘Scarborough Fair’ to ‘Jerusalem’. With helpful diagrams, clear accessible text and a practical ringbound format.

Alan Charlton is a composer, teacher and writer on music. He received a PhD in composition from the University of Bristol, studying with Raymond Warren, Adrian Beaumont and Robert Saxton. His music has been widely performed in the UK and abroad, receiving many prizes and awards for his composition. He is a contributor to The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments.