This first thing to do when learning to read standard notation is to get familiar with the different notes and rests. See the fancy G-looking thing in front of each line. This represents the Treble Clef or the G clef. It’s the clef guitar music is written in. Notice the 4's one on top of each other. It’s the Time Signature. These numbers are not always 4's. The top number tells you how many beats there are per measure. A measure is the space between bar lines (the vertical lines in the music). The bottom number tells you which note receives 1 beat. When it is 4 the quarter note gets 1 beat. When the number is 8, the eighth note gets 1 beat. When the number is 2, the half note gets 1 beat, and so on. Most of the time in guitar music you will use the stacked 4's which is called Common Time. Sometimes it is signified by a "C" put in place of the numbers. Other times you will see a "C" with a vertical line through it. This is called Cut Time. It is the equivalent of stacked 2's. Sometimes you'll see a ...

First, there are fifteen major key signatures. Certain key signatures employ sharp signs (#), and some employ flat signs (b). Now, I have no intention at this juncture to itemize every key signature for you in this article. However, I will give you a few tips on tonality and recognition of key signatures. The rest will be an assignment for you to complete. // The first example we'll study is the key of C major, also referred to as the key of no sharps, no flats. The key of C major does not contain any sharp signs or flat signs. All of the notes are natural. Taking this one step further, each and every major scale represents its own respective major key signature. For example, by reciting the notes contained in the C major scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C), we discover all of the notes contained in the key of C major. Any other note, is considered chromatic (does not belong) to the key of C major. For those who are interested, any major scale (Ionian) contains half steps between the 3rd and 4th degrees and also between the 7th and 8th degrees of the major scale. This is the specific criteria for a ...

Fig.1 Notes: 1 or Whole Note or Semibreve: Represents a whole beat. A whole note is the base to which other fractional notes are related. Look at fig. 1,  there is a 4/4 on the staff. This indicates that in 4/4 time. or 4 beats per whole note. 1/2 Half Notes or Minim: Represents half the duration of a whole note. which is two beats. 1/4 Quarter Notes or Crochets: Represents 1/4 of the duration of a whole note. In 4/4 time quarter means 1 beat. 1/8 Eighth Note or Quaver: are one Eighth of a whole beat, they are worth half a beat. 1/16 Sixteenth Note or Semiquaver: Represents 1/16 of a whole note. As you guessed they are worth a quarter of a beat. Rests: are pauses or silence when you don’t play anything. Rest 1 beat half Rest 1/2  beat Quarter Rest 1/4 beat Eighth Rest 1/8 beat When skimming over partitions for the first time look for tempo markings such as: “lento,” “largo” and “grave” which indicate a very slow tempo between 40 and 60 beats per minute. “adagio,” “adagietto” and “andante” are for moderately slow tempo that falls between 60 to 100 beats per minute. “moderato,” “allegretto,” “allegro moderato” and “allegro” are used to indicate lively tempo ranging from 110 to 168 beats per minute. “vivace,” “presto” and “prestissimo” are ...

First off, there are no "right" or "wrong" strings. It is all matter of personal taste and gear. Different styles with work better with different strings.  Strings do affect your sound but it's mostly comfort. Flat polished strings are easier on the fingers, flat wound strings are favored for smoother tone like jazz. Don't forget nylon strings are for classical guitars only, they have a soft, mellow tone and are easy on the fingers. The gage wont fit in a folk guitar. Many people use strings with a gauge .009 for the 1st string, and .042 for the 6th string. These strings are sometimes referred to as super slinky or super-light. These strings are easier to fret and bend.While others who are more of an agressive picker will opt for heavier strings like .012 to .054 it’s only a matter of preference. Strings are cheap so you should pick up a couple of packs and experiment. Popular Strings Ernie Ball and D’Addario are wide spread and very commonly used for rock and other types of guitar styles. (On my accoutic guitar I only use Daddario lite, they are my favorite) Jazz player favor Thomastik-Infeld, D’Addario, Elixir flatwound and roundwound strings with a gauge of ...