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 Music Notations
Tommaso Zillio

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©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. iii www.musictheoryforguitar.com

 C ONTENTS

Contents iv

1 Rhythmic Notation 1
1.1 Time Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Beat Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Rests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Triplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Dotted notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6 Tied notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Standard Notation 8
2.1 Treble Clef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 Accidentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Bass Clef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Tablature 12

4 Nashville Number System 15

5 Classical Roman Numerals Notation 18

6 Printable Tab and Score Pages 20

A Tables of chords in a given key 26

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 CHAPTER
1
R HYTHMIC N OTATION

The basic unit of rhythm is the beat, which corresponds basically at the
speed at which you tap your foot when listening to music. One tap is one
beat. A bar (also called measure) is made by a fixed number of beats. The
number of beats per bar is usually specified at the beginning of the song by
means of the time signature ( 44 or 34 or similar).

1.1 Time Signature

There are many types of time signatures, here we will treat only the simplest
(and most common) ones.

4
• 4
,
read “four fourths” is by far the most common time signature in
modern music, so much that it is also called “common time” (it may
be notated by a “C” rather than by 44 ). In 44 every bas has 4 beats, so a
bar corresponds to counting: 1,2,3,4.
3
• 4
(three fourths) where a bar lasts 3 beats. Waltz are the most well-
known example of music written in 34 .
2
• 4
(two fourths) where a bar lasts 2 beats. This time signature is typical
of polkas and some marches.

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2 Rhythmic Notation

5
• 4
(five fourths) where a bar lasts 5 beats. It is less common than the
others, you can hear it in “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck.

So far so good, but what happens if the number at the bottom is not a 4?
Well, the most common case happens when this number is 8. Traditionally
then the lower number is 8, then the upper number is a multiple of 3 (such
as 6, 9, or 12). This combination means we want to specific that every beat
is then subdivided in three. Let’s see these cases one by one.
6
• 8
(six eights) is made by two beats divided in three. This corresponds
to count “one-and-a two-and-a”. In music this is different than a 34 ,
that would correspond to count either “One two three ” or “One and
two and three and” (the second counting happens when we divide
each beat in two, see below).
9
• 8
(nine eights) is made by three beats each divided in three: “one-
and-a two-and-a three-and-a”.
12
• 8
(twelve eights) is made by four beats each divided in three: “one-
and-a two-and-a three-and-a four-and-a”. This is the time signature
used for most Blues.

1.2 Beat Division

Let’s take a bar in 44 . As mentioned previously, this bar correspond to count
1,2,3,4. Different notes length take their names from how they divide a 44
bar. Let’s see how we can divide this bar with notes.

We can play a single note throughout the bar. This note is then four
beats long and it is called a whole note. It covers a whole 44 bar after all!
Click here to hear Example 1:

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 1.2. Beat Division 3

We can split the bar in half by playing two notes two beat long each.
Notes this long are called half notes (Click here to hear Example 2):

We can divide it with 4 notes one beat each. These are called quarter
notes (Click here to hear Example 3):

Can we go beyond? Sure, we can divide the bar in 8 notes, each one half
a beat long. We will call these eight notes. They can be notated this way
when alone ˇ “( , but when there are more together, they are usually joined
together to make it easier to understand where the beats are
(Click here to hear Example 4):

       

We can divide the bar in 16 notes. Now it takes 4 of these notes to make
a beat! These are called sixteenth notes. Again they can be notated ˇ “) when
alone, and tied together when there are more to make the beats clearer
(Click here to hear Example 5):

               

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4 Rhythmic Notation

We can divide the bar in 32 notes; 8 of these notes will be one beat long.
Logically, we call these notes thirty-second notes. These two can be notated
one-by-one as ˇ “* or tied together (Click here to hear Example 6):

                           

All these note durations can be mixed in any possible way to create any
rhythm. For instance (Click here to hear Example 7):

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

1.3 Rests

What happens if we do not want to play a beat, but have some silence there
instead? As we have symbols for sound (the notes) we have symbols for si-
lence: the rests. For every note duration there is a rest of the same duration
as shown here:

Duration Note Symbol Rest Symbol

Whole ¯ < (Below the Line)

Half ˘“ < (Above the Line)
Quarter ˇ“ >
Eight ˇ “( ?
Sixteenth ˇ “) @
Thirty-second ˇ “* A
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 1.4. Triplets 5

We can now use the rests in order to notate the sound only when we
want it (Click here to hear Example 8):



     ¶ 

1.4 Triplets
Triplets are a way to divide the beat in multiples of three (as opposed to
multiples of two as we have seen up to now). An example here is worth a
thousand words. Let’s write rhythm (Click here to hear Example 9):

K

now, on the second beat we are playing two eight notes. That is good
and proper with what we have seen before. But let’s say that this is not the
rhythm that we had in mind. On that second beat we want three notes —
but we can’t just write three notes there: they would last more than one
beat! Here is where the triplet come to our help: we notate the three notes
with a “3” on top and this indicates that these three notes are to be under-
stood as “compressed” in the space of two notes.
(Click here to hear Example 10):

b

Due to the triplet notation, we sometimes have two different ways to

notate the same thing. For instance the following rhythms in 44 and in 12
8
are
two ways of notating the same rhythm (Click here to hear Example 11):

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6 Rhythmic Notation

3 3 3 3

y y y y y y y y y y y y

12            
8

1.5 Dotted notes

Another way to modify the length of a note is to put a dot after it. This adds
50% to the duration of the note. In other words: ˘ “‰ = ˘ “ +ˇ “ ; and ˇ “‰ = ˇ “ +ˇ “( ;
etc. The same is true for rests: > ‰ = > +? ; and so on. When TWO dots are
added, then the total length of the original note is increased by 75%. It can
visualized this way: ˘ “‰ ‰ = ˘ “ +ˇ “ +ˇ “( ; or ˇ “‰ ‰ = ˇ “ +ˇ “( +ˇ “) ; and so on.

As usual, an example is worth a thousand words.

(Click here to hear Example 12):

X

1.6 Tied notes

Sometimes we want a note to hold over a bar line (i.e. we want the sound to
continue, but we do not want to re-articulate the note again). In this case,
we simply tie the two notes with a curve line as shown here
(Click here to hear Example 13):

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 1.6. Tied notes 7

Confront this last example with this next one to hear what the tie does
(Click here to hear Example 14):

y y y y y y y y

We ned not be on a bar line in order to be able to tie two notes. The
effect is the same: the second note is simply the continuation of the first
and is not re-articulated (Click here to hear Example 15):

     

Tied notes can be used to make rhythms clearer to read. In the following
example we have a rhythm we have already seen above, but written in two
different ways. The second way is clearer since it’s easier to see where the
beats are. This, for instance, is another way of writing Example 12.
(Click here to hear Example 12):

y
y
y y y y y y

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. www.musictheoryforguitar.com

 CHAPTER
2
S TANDARD N OTATION

Please make sure you have read and understood the previous section on
Rhythmic Notation. The Standard Notation builds up on the Rhythmic no-
tation by adding information on the pitch of the notes. Notes are repre-
sented on 5 lines (the “staff”), and their position on the staff indicated the
pitch, as shown below

2.1 Treble Clef

Most music for guitar is notated using the Treble Clef. The clef determines
what notes are on what line/space of the staff. With the Treble Clef the
notes are:

X

G
F
E
D
C
B
A
G
F
E
D

What happens if you need to write a note that is above or beyond the
notes in the staff? Then you can extend the staff by adding ledger lines this
way:

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 2.2. Accidentals 9

X
D
C
B
A

C
B
A
G

To help you connect the notation with actual sounds, these are the open
strings on your guitar:

2 46
E
B
G
D
A
E

When two or more notes are on the same vertical position, they are
meant to be played together. For instance, here are some common chords
(it’s a good exercise for you to try and play these chords):

KK  KK KK

 KKKK KK  KKK
K
KK
KKK KK KK KK
KK
KKK
KK KK KK KK K
K K

2.2 Accidentals
If you do not know what accidentals are (sharps and flats), please check out
my free eBook Beginning Music Theory at:
http://www.musictheoryforguitar.com/beginningmusictheoryguide.html

To notate an accidental, you simply precede the note with a ] or a [. In

the following example we have a B[ and a C]

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10 Standard Notation

    
   


When a flat or sharp is used, the “altered” status of the note persists for
the whole bar. In the next example, all the C’s in the first bar are actually C],
but the C’s in the second bar are not.

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

If we need to use a natural C in the same bar after a C] had been notated,
then we need to use a “natural” sign (\). In the next example, only the first
C is a C], all the others are natural C’s.

       

In most keys we have notes that are permanently altered. For instance
in G major we always have F] rather than F. In this case the accidentals are
written at the beginning of the score, and applied to all the notes in the
piece. This is called the “key signature” and is the way to indicate the key of
a music piece. For instance, for a piece in D major we will put a ] on F (the
highest line of the staff) and C (the third space of the staff from below). In
all this music piece any F or C indicated are played as F] and C] respectively,
with no need of specifying the ] again.

¼     
  

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 2.3. Bass Clef 11

2.3 Bass Clef

The Bass Clef is not used ofter for guitar music, but it’s still very common to
notate lower range instruments. When the Bass Clef is used, the notes on
the staff are:

C
D
E
F
G
A
B

@
B
A
G
F

The Bass Clef and the Treble Clef are often used together (for instance
in piano music). The C on the first ledger line above the Bass staff is the
same note as the C on the first ledger line below the Treble staff. This also
means that all notes in the Bass staff are lower than any note in the Treble
staff:

 
G
F

E
E
D
C
B
A
G
F
E
D



C


C
B
A
G
F
E
D
C
B
A
G
F

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 CHAPTER
3
TABLATURE

A Tablature (Tab) staff is superficially similar to the staff of Standard Nota-

tion, but works in a completely different way. A Tab has 6 lines, representing
the 6th strings of your guitar. The highest line represent the first string (the
thinnest one, also called “high E”), and the lowest represent the 6th string
(the thickest one, also called “low E”).
On these lines we write numbers representing the fret we need to put
our finger on in order to produce the note that we need. The number zero
is used to indicate that you need to play the open string.
Tab has usually no rhythmic indications built in. You are usually sup-
posed to know the song you are studying (and thus know when the various
note are played) and it is a good idea to have a recording of the song handy.
Another possible solution is to supply both Tab and Standard Notation: the
Standard Notation can be used to read the rhythm, while the Tab show the
fingering of the notes.
As an example, here is a G major scale in both Standard Notation and
Tab:

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 Tablature 13

§  § § § § §

 § § § § § 
§ §  §
8 § § § §
  
5 7 8
5 7 8
4 5 7
4 5 7
3 5 7
3 5 7

And here are some common chords:

bb
E G A C D F Em Am

 bbbb  bbb bb  bb bb bb bbb

bb b bbb bb bb bb b
bb bb b bb bb b

0 3 0 0 2 1 0 0
0 3 2 1 3 1 0 1
1 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
2 0 2 2 0 3 2 2
2 2 0 3 3 2 0
0 3 1 0

As in Standard Notation, when the numbers appear one after the other,
they will be played one after the other. When the numbers are stacked to-
gether vertically, they are played together.
Since a number of different techniques exist to play notes on the guitar
(bend, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs . . . ) there are specific Tab symbols
that indicate these techniques. Here are some of the more common:

8va
§ § § §
4 § § § §
2
T

10 13 13 10 10 13 10 13

Hammer-On Pull-Off Slide Tapping

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14 Tablature

5 8va

 

 


1/2 full 1 1/2 2

 12 12 12 12

Bend (half step) Bend (whole step) Bend (1+1/2 steps) Bend (two whole steps)

 
8va
9
 


§ §
   
full
  P.M.
---
 13 N 13 15 17 15

7 7 7 7
Bend and Release Trill Palm Muting

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 CHAPTER
4
N ASHVILLE N UMBER S YSTEM

The Nashville Number System is a chord notation system — unlike in Stan-

dard Notation or Tablature, it is not possible to write a melody in the Nashville
system. On the other hand, while limited to chords and chord progressions,
the Nashville Number System is a great tool for a number of reasons:

• It is key-independent: this makes transposition easier.

• it focus on the actual structure of the chord progression, making pro-

gressions easier to remember or communicate.

So how does it work? In the Nashville Number System, every chord is

designated with a number that indicates the interval from the root of the
key. Of course you need to know the key of the piece before playing it. If
you are not familiar with the intervals, here is a table describing all of them
(don’t worry, you will memorize this table fast if you use it):

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16 Nashville Number System

Symbol Interval Name # of frets (semitones)

1 Unison 0
[2 Minor Second 1
2 Major Second 2
[3 Minor Third 3
3 Major Third 4
4 Perfect Fourth 5
#4 or [5 Augmented Fourth or Diminished Fifth 6
5 Perfect Fifth 7
[6 Minor Sixth 8
6 Major Sixth 9
[7 Minor Seventh 10
7 Major Seventh 11
8 Octave 12

Following this table, we can identify notes using numbers. If we assume

we are in the key of C, for instance, 1 is C, 2 is D, 3 is E and so on. In the key
of G, 1 is G, 2 is A, 3 is B and so on. In the key of D, 1 is D, 2, E, 3 is F#, and
so on. Once we know the intervals, here is the Nashville notation:

1. A Major chord is indicated by the corresponding number alone. For

instance 1 4 5 1 in the key of C indicates C F G C, in the key of D
indicates D G A D, and so on.

2. A Minor chord is indicated by either a ‘-’ or a ‘m’ after the number. So,
in the key of C and I can notate an Am with either 6- or 6m. If I just
write 6, then I’m indicating the A major chord!

3. A Diminished chord is indicated by a ◦ after the number.

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 Nashville Number System 17

4. A slash symbol such as 5/7 is to be read as chord/bass note. so 5/7 in

the key of C is the G chord, but the bass player plays a B note.

5. Chords out of key are indicated in the same way as chords in key. For
instance, if I am in the key of D and I need to indicate the F chord I
can’t use 3, because 3 is F#. So I use [3 instead (refer to the table of
intervals to understand this).

Two things are useful to know now:

• The chords of a major key will always be: 1 2m 3m 4 5 6m 7◦ .

• The chords in a minor key will always be: 1m 2◦ [3 4m 5m [6 [7

If you do not know the chords in the keys, have a look at page 26 of this
eBook, where you will find some handy tables of all chords in all keys.
Finally, here’s an example of a chord progression notate with the Nashville
Number System together with some realizations:

• Nashville System: 1 6m 5 4 1 5/7 6m 5 1.

• Realization in C: C Am G F C G/B Am G C.

• Realization in D: D Bm A G D A/C] Bm A D.

• Realization in E: E C]m B A E B/D] C]m B E.

As everything, the more you use this system the more familiar and eas-
ier it becomes. After a while you use it, you will notice that the many differ-
ent songs have in fact the same number progression (even if they realize it
in different keys). It will then become easier for you to remember and play
these songs “from the numbers” as opposed to the actual chords.

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 CHAPTER
5
C LASSICAL R OMAN N UMERALS N OTATION

Please make sure you have read and understood the previous section on
the Nashville Number System. The Roman Numeral Notation works on the
same principles with just a few differences that I am listing below. Please
keep in mind that the Roman Numeral System is not consistent from au-
thor to author: depending on the book you are reading, the system will be
slightly different. I have tried to remark on the differences point by point.

1. Rather than using Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3. . . ) you need to use Roman
numerals (I, II, III. . . ).

2. Usually the major chords are indicated with upper case numerals (I,
II, III. . . ), and minor chords with lower case numerals (i,ii,iii), thought
this is not a universal rule and many theory texts just use the upper
case and expect you to know if that chord is major or minor in the
specific key they are working in.

3. Whenever a 7th chord is wanted, the notation will just put a small “7”
on the right of the numeral. Note that it is up to the reader to know
what kind chord fits that position in the key. In C major, I7 indicates
a C∆, while in C minor i7 indicates a Cm7.

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 Classical Roman Numerals Notation 19

4. Chord inversions are notated using a number system — see table be-
low. The numbers indicate the intervals of the chord notes from the
lowest note played1 . This system of notate inversions comes from
the “continuous bass” system in use in the Baroque era. If you need
to use this system, you are probably better off memorizing the table
below rather than trying to understand the reason for every number.
After you have acquired a certain familiarity with it, the number will
make more sense.

Symbol Chord Indicated Realization in C major

I Root Position C
I6 First Inversion C/E
I64 Second Inversion C/G
I7 Seventh Chord, Root Position C∆
I65 Seventh Chord, First Inversion C∆/E
I43 Seventh Chord, Second Inversion C∆/G
I42 or I2 Seventh Chord, Third Inversion C∆/B

1
A root position chord has one note a 3rd above the bass, and the other a 5th above the bass.
A first inversion chord has one note a 3rd above the bass (like the root position), but the other is a
6th above the bass, so we indicate it. A second inversion chord has one note a 4th above the bass,
and the other a 6th above the bass, so we indicate both. If you do not understand this footnote, no
problem — as explained above it’s not really important in order to learn the notation.

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 CHAPTER
6
P RINTABLE TAB AND S CORE PAGES

In the next pages I prepared some blank staff and Tab paper for your use.
You can print them and use them for your musical ideas.
This is what you will find in the next pages:

1. Printable Tab Paper

2. Printable Fretboard Paper

3. Printable Tab+Fretboard paper

4. Printable Staves (for standard notation)

5. Printable Staves+Tab

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www.musictheoryforguitar.com 24 ©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc.
©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. 25 www.musictheoryforguitar.com
 APPENDIX
A
TABLES OF CHORDS IN A GIVEN KEY

Major Keys:

Key Chords
I ii iii IV V vi vii◦
C C Dm Em F G Am Bdim
Db Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab Bbm Cdim
D D Em F#m G A Bm C#dim
Eb Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Cm Ddim
E E F#m G#m A B C#m D#dim
F F Gm Am Bb C Dm Edim
Gb Gb Abm Bbm Cb Db Ebm Fdim
G G Am Bm C D Em F#dim
Ab Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb Fm Gdim
A A Bm C#m D E F#m G#dim
Bb Bb Cm Dm Eb F Gm Adim
B B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#dim

Minor Keys:

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 Tables of chords in a given key 27

Key Chords
i ii◦ bIII iv v bVI bVII
Cm Cm Ddim Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb
C#m C#m D#dim E F#m G#m A B
Dm Dm Edim F Gm Am Bb C
Ebm Ebm Fbdim Gb Abm Bbm Cb Db
Em Em F#dim G Am Bm C D
Fm Fm Gdim Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb
F#m F#m G#dim A Bm C#m D E
Gm Gm Adim Bb Cm Dm Eb F
G#m G#m A#dim B C#m D#m E F#
Am Am Bdim C Dm Em F G
Bbm Bbm Cdim Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab
Bm Bm C#dim D Em F#m G A

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About the Author

Tommaso is a prog rock/metal

guitarist, composer, and teacher based
in Edmonton, AB, Canada. He has
been playing guitar since 1992, on and
off stage, both solo and with a variety
of bands. In 2009 he released, together
with other 13 artists, the compilation
CD “Under the Same Sky”, distributed
worldwide in 10.000 copies.

Tommaso is a proud endorser of AMT

Electronics, the best distortion pedals
on the planet. His choice pedals are
the SS-20 and the DT-2.

Tommaso’s influences are very varied,

expressing the love of music that tran-
scends genera and instruments. Some of his favorite musicians are: Dream
Theater, Pink Floyd, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, Mike Oldfield, Jean-
Michel Jarre, Deine Lakaien, Litfiba, Nightwish, Astor Piazzolla, Hans Zim-
mer.

Tommaso is a graduate of Tom Hess’ Music Careers Mentoring Program and

Elite Guitar Teachers Inner Circle.

www.musictheoryforguitar.com 28 ©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc.

 Tables of chords in a given key 29

For more information about Tommaso visit his website at:

http://www.tommasozillio.com.

Tommaso can be contacted at:

Tommaso@musictheoryforguitar.com

This eBook is under international copyright protection. It cannot be

copied, sold, rented, loaned, or distributed in any way whatsoever, without
written consent of Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc.

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