this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2025
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Post well known tunes into the megathread. Post fresh vibes individually.
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Like MeowZedong said, it may be an eighth note rest. But it's hard to tell from your description alone. Fortunately they provided an image for reference.
Also, sorry to sound like a "dad" here and give you advice you didnāt ask for, but if you are just now starting to learn to read sheet music I wouldn't recommend a sink or swim approach of taking music and learning it.
If you already know how to read sheet music and you aren't new to it then ignore the rest of this
unprompted advice warning
I would get a solid grasp of fundamentals first and then try to have fun with music that is suited for your level. Get a metronome (always practice with a metronome) and a graded skill book for your instrument like
Or
(It doesn't have to be those particular ones, they're just examples for piano) and work through the exercises with the metronome. Do each exercise slowly at first, so slow that it's painfully comfortable. Repeat a few times, then increase the BPM on the metronome by 5 or so and play the same piece again multiple times. Only increase the BPM when you nail it at the current pace.
Perfect practice makes perfect
It will be boring at times, but a book like that (and the practice methodology) ensures you cover all the basics and it introduces everything you will need to know as you need to know it. Its about building up muscle memory and linking it to the visual ques from the sheet music at a good pace of learning.
Those books also have songs in them that are suited for the skill level so you can have some fun. At the end of your practice session you can then try to work on a peice you really want to play. Like the one you linked. But make sure the focus is on those fundentals and the book lessons.
You can also do ear training which is more free form and like sink or swim. Without reading music, try to repeat a peice from a recording by just listening to it. This will be a different form of practice than sheet music, its practicing different skills. So it can be supplemental if it interests you.
Excellent advice and I thank you. Sorry for the late reply, see my recent response to UrsineApathy. 'Perfect practice makes perfect' is what our choir teacher told us almost 50 years ago. He said Don't practice it wrong! I thank you for the book suggestions. Having some likely undiagnosed letters, I am loathe to spend money on something that doesn't eli5 the way I need it. I'm also on meager subsistence, so I gravitate towards free videos. When I look up sheet music for old songs, I am not looking to master those songs. Just trying to get an idea of the notes used so I can play around with it.
I bought a cheap electric 88 weighted electronic hammer action keyboard from Amazon. AODSK. It has a metronome and a bunch of other functions that were not clearly explained in the instructions. I know how to turn the metronome on, but not how to change the pace. I've had it 6 months and have practiced something every day, so I feel my finger strength is getting better. My next task is to figure out why the MIDI Cable is not carrying the sound of the video from the new Lenovo Yoga, to the headset through the mixer. It worked on the old laptop. Thank you for you kindness.
I'm glad you're able to get into music! And you are right, perfect practice makes perfect is the distilled version of what I was saying. You want to make sure any practice session you have has a goal. And it can be reading music you alteady have on hand, I just fear that if the fundamentals aren't practiced then it will lead to difficulties later down the road.
You can still have some fun with music notes and playing by ear. You can learn some scales, even a blues scale, and boom you can do some fun improv. There are YouTube videos with backing tracks in a certain key where you can improv over them.
I am also guilty of not practicing well, I often just "noodle" around and play songs or play around. That's fine, but ideally it would be only one part of practice. Ideally I'd spend the beginning working on perfecting, over time, those fundamentals. I try to split my practice up into those two sections when I am feeling more disciplined. I am not as good as wish I was, but playing music is one of my few joys. I don't have to play well to be happy doing it - but it makes me feel accomplished when I can notice I've made (slow) improvement.
Whether its a book, a video on YouTube, etc. as long as the practice sessions have a goal, structure, and intention then it'll build up with time. I suggested a book since that gives you the structure, and introduces concepts as they're needed, but a good YouTube series can provide that too. I dont play keyboards (wish I did) so I cant give much more specifics there. if you can't get the metronome to work on the keyboard you can always find an app or even website. But I hope you keep at it, have fun, and one day I'll find you jamming on YouTube or Spotify.