Violin Music Notation

If you're a violinist who aspires to play wedding and event gigs or play with an orchestra (either professionally or just for fun), you need to know how to read violin sheet music. Most of the time you won't see the music until the first rehearsal, so it's vital for you to be able to read it on the spot. Learning to read sheet music is like learning a new language: it's challenging and maybe even a bit overwhelming at first, but you WILL get better with time and practice. In this article, I'll cover all the basics of violin music notation, but if you want an even more in-depth guide, check out my course The Basics of Note Reading, which teaches you how to read all violin sheet music in first position. Each lesson consists of two parts: pitch and rhythm. The new concepts are introduced via a video lesson, you are given exercises to practice on your own, and then a video answer key to check your work. It's a great resource for expediting your learning process. Without further ado, here are the basics of violin music notation and how to read violin sheet music.

The first thing that you'll see is a treble clef (below). This tells you how to read the notes on the music staff (the series of lines and spaces). Violinists always and only read in treble clef, so you'll always see this symbol at the beginning of your sheet music.

Cellists read in bass clef.

And violists read in alto clef.

After the treble clef comes the key signature. This could either be blank, or consist of a series of sharps or flats. This tells you what notes to play throughout the piece. For example, if you were to see this key signature:

you would play every note natural except F, which you would play sharp (a half step higher than natural). If you were to see this key signature:

you would play every note natural except B, which you would play flat (a half step lower than natural). The circle of fifths is a great reference for figuring out key signatures.

After the key signature, you'll see the time signature, which looks like two numbers on top of one another.

The top number tells you how many beats there are per measure (which are separated by bar lines), and the bottom number tells you what kind of note gets the beat.

For example, if the time signature was 4/4, there would be four quarter notes per measure. This does not mean that each measure can only have four quarter notes; it can consist of whatever and however many notes equal four quarter notes.

There are two aspects to reading music notes: pitch and rhythm. Pitch refers to the note's name, and rhythm refers to how long to hold the note.

When first learning to read violin sheet music, it's a good idea to start by identifying the open strings. This will greatly help you figure out what string to play a certain note on. For example, if you see a note that's above open D but below open A, you'll play that note on the D string.

Whenever possible, I suggest reading the distance between the notes rather than each individual note. For example, if you see open A, and the next note is on the next line up, you know that is one note higher than A, or the note B (1st finger on the A string). If you see open A, and the next note is on the next highest space, you know that is two notes higher than A, or the note C, and so on. Also, you will most likely find that learning the finger and string placement comes before and more quickly than knowing each note name.

The way notes look tell you how long to hold them. Whole notes get four beats.

Half notes get two beats.

Quarter notes get one beat.

Eighth notes get half a beat each.

And sixteenth notes get a quarter of a beat each.

I understand that beats can be an abstract concept, but you can think of a beat as a clap. If I were playing quarter notes, I would play with every clap. If I were playing half notes, I would make each note last for two clicks, and so on.

You may also come across dots next to notes. These indicate that you add half of that note's value to it, creating a new note value. For example, if you came across a dotted half note, you would figure out how many beats a regular half note gets (2), divide that by 2 (1) and add it to the original value (2+1=3). How many beats would a dotted quarter note get?

Violin-specific music notation

This is a down bow symbol. It means to play the note down bow (right hand goes down towards the ground).

This is an up bow symbol. It means to play the note up bow (right hand goes up towards the ceiling).

These are slurs. Slurs indicate that you play all of the notes beneath them in the same bow direction.

Dots above or below the note indicate to play it staccato. Staccato means separated, so there should be a bit of space after the note.

You'll also come across dynamic markings, which indicate the volume at which to play.

You may also come across various types of accents, which indicate to play those notes louder than the notes around them.

Many pieces will also tell you what tempo (speed) to play them.

The double bar line indicates that the piece is over.

And the two dots mean to repeat a section.

I hope you enjoyed this crash course on how to read violin music notation! If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and check out The Basics of Note Reading for a more in-depth explanation of violin music notation. This course is included with your Learn Violin Online membership.