Illustrated Guide: Easily Understand How to Read Piano Sheet Music with a Complete List of Musical Symbols!

When reading piano sheet music, it’s important to understand the meanings of various musical symbols.

Once you grasp these correctly, you can broaden your range of expression, elevating your performance level.

In this article, we have compiled a list of the musical symbols needed to read sheet music and explained their meanings and usage in an easy-to-understand way using diagrams and videos.

Basic Structure of Piano Sheet Music

Five-line Staff

The “five-line staff” with five horizontal lines forms the basic foundation of standard music notation.

It indicates pitch and rhythm, and for piano music, it is common to use two staves: upper and lower.

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Upper Staff / Lower Staff

• Upper Staff: Primarily for the higher register played with the right hand
• Lower Staff: Primarily for the lower register played with the left hand

Bar Line

• A segment of music divided by a bar line is called a measure. The vertical line that marks the boundary of the measure is called the bar line.

Clefs and Accidentals

Clefs (Treble Clef, Bass Clef)

Treble Clef (): Often used for the higher register, typically played with the right hand.

Bass Clef (): Often used for the lower register, typically played with the left hand.

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Accidentals

• Sharp (♯): Raises the note by a semitone.
• Flat (♭): Lowers the note by a semitone.
• Natural (♮): Returns the note to its original pitch.
• Double Sharp (): Raises the note by a whole tone.
• Double Flat (♭♭): Lowers the note by a whole tone.

Accidentals are valid only within the measure in which they appear. Once you cross the bar line, their effect no longer applies, so be mindful of that.

Notes, Time Signatures, Dotted Notes, and Tuplets

Notes

Whole Note: 4 beats
Half Note: 2 beats
Quarter Note: 1 beat
Eighth Note: 1/2 beat
Sixteenth Note: 1/4 beat

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Rests

Whole Rest: Rest for 4 beats
Half Rest: Rest for 2 beats
Quarter Rest: Rest for 1 beat
Eighth Rest: Rest for 1/2 beat
Sixteenth Rest: Rest for 1/4 beat

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Time Signatures

• 4/4 Time: 4 beats per measure (sometimes indicated by the “C” symbol)
• 3/4 Time: Commonly used in waltzes
• 2/4 Time: Commonly used in marches
• 6/8 Time: One measure contains six eighth notes

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Dotted Notes

A dotted note adds half of its original value.

Example: Quarter note (1 beat) + half of that (0.5 beats) = 1.5 beats

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Tuplets

Triplets, quintuplets, septuplets, etc. are used to fit more notes than usual in one measure or beat, with each note played evenly.

Octave Markings

8va (Ottava): Play one octave higher

8vb (Ottava Bassa): Play one octave lower

Basic Knowledge of Key Signatures and Transposition

Key Signatures

Sharps or flats written at the beginning of the staff.

• 1 Sharp: G Major (G major), E Minor (E minor)
• 1 Flat: F Major (F major), D Minor (D minor)

Reference Article

全調スケール一覧 【ピアノ / 音階】 | VR Piano, Inc.

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Transposition

Changing the key of a piece to a different pitch. This is done for choruses, accompaniments to match a vocalist’s range, or to alter the musical effect.

On the piano, the use of black and white keys changes accordingly to the new key signature.

Tempo Markings (Speed Indications)

They are mostly written in Italian, and are often accompanied by a BPM (beats per minute) guideline.

Tempo	Meaning	Approx. BPM
Largo	Very broad and slow	40–60
Adagio	Slow	66–76
Andante	Walking pace	76–108
Moderato	Moderate speed	108–120
Allegro	Lively and fast	120–168
Presto	Very fast	168–200 or so

*Interpretation may vary depending on the piece.

Ornamentation Symbols

Arpeggio (arpeggio)

Instead of playing a chord all at once, you play each note one by one.

Trill (trill)

Example: Alternate quickly between the main note and the note above it.

Tremolo (tremolo)

Rapidly alternate or repeat the same note or two different notes.

Glissando (glissando)

Slide from one note to another continuously. On piano, this is done by sliding a finger across the keys.

Articulation Marks

These are performance indications that describe how notes should be connected, separated, or emphasized.

Staccato

Notated as “・” : Play the note short and detached.

Staccatissimo

: Even shorter and more emphasized than staccato.

Tenuto

“−”: Sustain the note fully.

Tenuto Staccato

: Similar to staccato but with a sense of sustaining rather than cutting off the note abruptly.

Accent

“＞”: Place emphasis on that note.

Marcato

: Play each note distinctly and with emphasis.

Accent Staccato

: Play short but with emphasis.

Marcato Staccato

: Play short and clearly emphasize each note.

Fermata (fermata)

Hold the note or rest longer than its usual duration.

Slur

Play multiple notes smoothly and connected.

Tie

A curved line that connects notes of the same pitch, adding their durations together.

Repeat Signs & Performance Instructions

These symbols indicate the structure of the piece.

Repeat Sign

Indicated by “:||” on the bar line. Repeat the portion between the matching repeat signs.

First and Second Ending

Use the brackets (1st ending, 2nd ending) to determine which measures to repeat and which to skip on the second pass.

D.C. (Da Capo)

Return to the beginning of the piece. “D.C. al Fine” means go back to the start and play until “Fine.”

D.S. (Dal Segno)

Return to the “Segno” mark () in the score.

Coda

: The final section of the piece. Often used together with D.C. or D.S. to jump to the ending.

Swing

Swing means to play with a “swung” rhythm. To revert to the original straight rhythm, you may see “Straight.”

When playing eighth notes in Swing, the first note is lengthened (about 2/3), and the second note is shortened (about 1/3).

Commonly used in jazz, but sometimes appears in pop or other genres.

Grace Notes

Grace notes are short notes added to the main melody to embellish or decorate, and are not part of the main melodic or rhythmic structure.

They play a supplementary role, adding nuance and flair to the music.

Long Appoggiatura: A longer grace note that “borrows” a bit from the main note’s value.
Short Appoggiatura: Played quickly just before the main note.
Multiple Grace Notes: Two or more short notes quickly played before the main note.

Right Hand and Left Hand (R.H. / L.H.)

R.H. (Right Hand) and L.H. (Left Hand) specify which hand to use.

They are often used when you need to cross your arms.

“R.H.” in the lower staff: Covering part of the lower range typically played by the left hand.
“L.H.” in the higher staff: Covering part of the higher range typically played by the right hand.

Dynamic Markings

These symbols indicate the volume and intensity of performance.

• pp (pianissimo): Very soft
• p (piano): Soft
• mp (mezzo piano): Moderately soft
• mf (mezzo forte): Moderately loud
• f (forte): Loud
• ff (fortissimo): Very loud

You may also see additional or intermediate markings like sfz (sforzando) or fp (forte piano) to indicate emphasis on a particular note followed by a sudden drop in volume, etc.

Expression Markings

These markings can greatly influence the character and atmosphere of the piece. They are mostly written in Italian, though English, German, or French may appear as well.

• dolce: Gently, sweetly
• cantabile: In a singing style
• agitato: Agitated, intense
• tranquillo: Calmly, tranquilly
• legato: Smooth, connected
• con spirito: With spirit, energetically

Pedal Markings

Ped. indicates where to press the damper pedal (right pedal). A release mark “✱” or a line is often written to show when to release it.

Other Common Abbreviations and Symbols

• rit. (ritardando): Gradually slow down
• rall. (rallentando): Also gradually slow down
• accel. (accelerando): Gradually speed up
• cres. (crescendo): Gradually get louder (sometimes written as “<”)
• dim. (diminuendo) / decresc. (decrescendo): Gradually get softer (sometimes written as “>”)
• poco a poco: Little by little
• molto: Very
• sub. (subito): Suddenly

Conclusion

By understanding this Piano Musical Symbols List, you can more accurately capture the composer’s intentions and express the music with greater depth.

The piano has a wide range and allows for diverse expression using both hands, which is why there are so many symbols.

If you ever wonder, “What does that symbol mean again?” please revisit this article. Whether you are a beginner or revisiting the basics as an experienced player, we hope you find this helpful.