# can someone recommend me a book that teaches how to read music??



## Tarneem

in another thread someone has recommended a great online website called :
Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom
Robert Hutchinson


Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom



the whole thing is quite informative but actually this sort of knowledge is not what I am looking for... 

the site has great information about music theory, but is has no information about how to read music scores. 

I need a book that explains the difference between adagio and presto, that explain what is staccato, simply I need a book that explains the musical symbols


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## mbhaub

A good music dictionary might be a place to start. The Harvard Dictionary of Music has all that: every tempo mark, every symbol...instrument names, etc. Not cheap, but sometimes you can find used ones. If you're really into the details, try to find a used copy of Grove's Encyclopedia of Music where you can learn practically everything you ever wanted to know...and then some. My personal preference is for Groves V. Despite its age, I still find it a remarkably useful set and refer to it frequently. I picked up the whole set for $30 at a used book store.


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## Tarneem

The Harvard brief dictionary of music : Apel, Willi, 1893-1988 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive


vi, 341 p. : 19 cm



archive.org





God bless the internet


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## NoCoPilot

Humorous, informative, and helpful


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## Nate Miller

any beginning method book for piano, or any instrument really, will have the info you need. So will the internet. You just need something that tells you what the lines and spaces mean, what all those "#" symbols mean, and how to read the rhythms - half note, quarter note, etc. So intellectually, there really isn't that much to it

you won't be able to read a book and then be able to read music. Its not like instructions for assembling a washing machine, you have to do the hard work yourself and read the notes and decide how to operate the instrument to get those notes out of it

Reading music is one of those things that takes time and practice. Just like when you started reading English, or any language.

The trick is to read something every day. It doesn't have to be difficult, just read something new every day, be patient, and it will come to you. Like anything else, the first time is the hardest and then it gets easier every day.

go slow and remember it is better to do a few minutes every day than read for a long time once a week


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## sharleenganerytl57

Nate Miller said:


> any beginning method book for piano, or any instrument really, will have the info you need. So will the internet. You just need something that tells you what the lines and spaces mean, what all those "#" symbols mean, and how to read the rhythms - half note, quarter note, etc. So intellectually, there really isn't that much to it
> 
> you won't be able to read a book and then be able to read music. Its not like instructions for assembling a washing machine, you have to do the hard work yourself and read the notes and decide how to operate the instrument to get those notes out of it
> 
> Reading music is one of those things that takes time and practice. Just like when you started reading English, or any language.
> 
> The trick is to read something every day. It doesn't have to be difficult, just read something new every day, be patient, and it will come to you. Like anything else, the first time is the hardest and then it gets easier every day.
> 
> go slow and remember it is better to do a few minutes every day than read for a long time once a week


I was just looking for this, great


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