NotePlayMusicMusic theory,
made practical.
Learn to read music, understand rhythm and find your way around keys and chords. Clear lessons and interactive practice for Grade 1–2 beginners.
Free to explore. No account needed.
Have printed music? Scan a photo into a playable scoreTry your first note.
Now name this highlighted key without the letter labels.
Understand the idea
Start with clear explanations, keyboards and worked examples.
Put it into practice
Check your understanding with feedback on every answer.
Learn without barriers
Read and practise freely. Sign in when you want to keep your place.
New to reading music? Start here.
Follow these introductory lessons in order, or pick the idea you need.
- 1
Your First Notes: Find C and Explore the Keyboard
Play the labelled keys, learn their seven names, then find C without the labels. No instrument or musical knowledge needed.
Read the lesson - 2
Meet the Staff: Lines, Spaces and Moving Notes
Turn high and low sounds into a picture. Move a note, find its line or space, and follow a short pattern before learning clef names.
Read the lesson - 3
Treble Clef Notes: Landmarks, Lines and Spaces
Start at treble-clef G, read the lines and spaces, then connect written notes to piano keys and sound. Try guided checks without ledger lines or accidentals.
Read the lesson - 4
Bass Clef Notes: Landmarks, Lines and Spaces
Find fourth-line F and read bass-clef lines and spaces. Compare written notes with piano keys and sound, then try checks limited to the notes taught here.
Read the lesson
Grade 1 music theory
Build your foundations, one topic at a time.
Showing 13 Grade 1 practice topics.
- Musical Terms
Musical Terms & Dynamics
Know what staccato and decrescendo mean.
- Rhythm
Note & Rest Values
Know how many crotchet beats a semibreve lasts.
- Key Signatures
Key Signatures: True or False
Know how many sharps or flats are in C, G, D, and F major.
- Musical Terms
Tempo & Dynamics Vocabulary
Know that forte means loud and piano means soft.
- Fundamentals
Fundamentals: Staff, Clefs & Accidentals
Know how many lines and spaces make up a standard music staff.
- Rhythm
Reading Time Signatures
Count the beats in a bar to identify its time signature.
- Pitch
Note Names: Treble Clef
Read and name notes on the treble clef staff.
- Pitch
Note Names: Bass Clef
Read and name notes on the bass clef staff.
- Key Signatures
Key Signatures & Scale Degrees
Identify scale degrees in a written key signature or scale.
- Intervals
Identifying Intervals
Count the interval number between two notes in C major.
- Triads
Tonic Triads
Recognize whether a written triad is the tonic triad of a given key.
- Music in Context
Music in Context
Read a short melody and answer questions about its notes and shape.
- Rhythm
Notated Answer Choices
Compare rhythmic groupings written in different bars.
See the notes.
Hear the difference.
Listen to C, E and G going up the treble staff. Then try naming notes for yourself.
Try note-reading practiceC, E, G · treble clef
Grade 2 music theory
Take the next step with more note reading, rhythm and harmony.
Showing 7 Grade 2 practice topics.
- Rhythm
Rhythm
Read time signatures and bar lengths, including semiquavers.
- Pitch
Note Reading
Read notes in treble and bass clef, including ledger lines.
- Key Signatures
Keys and Scales
Identify A major and B flat major key signatures.
- Intervals
Intervals
Name the interval above the tonic.
- Triads
Tonic Triads
Identify tonic triads, including minor tonic triads.
- Musical Terms
Terms and Signs
Know Grade 2 Italian terms and signs.
- Music in Context
Music in Context
Read a short melody and answer questions about it.
A little practice.
A clear next step.
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