Begin by learning the notes. Notes are rings or ovals, ovals with a stem (turned up or turned down which is of no importance for the present) black spots or dots with stem, with stem and one hook or more and when several notes with hooks follow each other, 8th notes or shorter ones, the stems are connected by thick bars as shown in the illustration.

Read this without any hurry and bear in mind that what you have to consider for the present is the line or space upon which a note is printed.

To be able to "tell" a note, to know its name, they are written on paper covered with groups of five lines. The lowest one is of course the first. Notes are also placed between the lines: the "spaces."

These lines and spaces receive names by placing a sign at the beginning which is called a Clef. This word signifies "key" in English.

You see by the illustration how you must begin to make it and how it looks completed.

This clef gives the name of G to the second line. Every note placed or printed on the second line is G.

For all the notes that can be played and printed, 7 names only are used, the first seven letters of the Alphabet: A B C D E F G.

You must read them as if written upward or downward. Learn to say them backwards easily. This is also illustrated on the sheet.

When you arrive at G, the next higher note is A again. THe 7 notes repeat themselves several times like the days of the week.

The group of five lines is called a musical "staff."

Place the clef first at the beginning of the staff. Without a clef the lines and spaces have no names, nor the notes written upon them. Then you may simply write dots on the lines and spaces like the two Fs which are given as an example. Then write their names below.

The lowest note that can be played on the Violin is the G which is an octave (eighth) lower than the G on the second line.

The note below the first line is D. To write C which is lower, an extra line must be drawn. This line is only made long enough to write a note upon it. These extra lines are called: ledger or leger lines. Leger is French and signifies light, thin (lines).

To write the next lower note B, a ledger-line must be drawn and the note written below. For the next lower A, two ledger lines are needed and a note written below these two ledger lines is G, (the lowest note that be played on the violin).

You must not expect to be able to read notes in a few minutes. Read these instructions sentence by sentence and think each one over.

You may also write notes of different shapes and remember: the shape of a note shows its time value which will be explained later one. When the writing of notes has been done then learn the parts of the violin as given by the illustrations.

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© 2003 R. Fingerson
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