Reading Adapted Notation

Reading the Color Block Notation

The musical examples on this site use four beats per measure, or slide. Every block represents a one beat note, or sound.

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The color of the block tells the musician what note on the piano keyboard to play. The above example instructs the musician to play a yellow note (C) on each beat of the four beat pattern.

The pattern below instructs the musician to play a yellow note (C) on every beat except for the fourth. On that beat, the musician should play a pink note (F).

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If there is no block on the beat number, then that is a rest: the musician does not play anything on that beat.

The below example instructs the musician to play a blue note (E) on every beat except for the 3rd.

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If a block is wider, then it lasts for the amount of beats that it takes up.

The below example instructs the musician to play a blue note (E) starting on the first beat, lasting until the end of the 2nd beat. On the piano keyboard, the musician would hold the blue key down until the end of the second beat, or count.

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If a block is shorter, then it lasts for half the amount of the beat.

The below example instructs the musician to play two blue notes (E) on the first beat and two blue notes on the third beat. The notes will sound shorter because they share the beat.