Okay, I assume that you are a music enthusiast or an aspiring newbie musician who wants to learn music notes. Well, in this article, I will explain a bit regarding how to learn music notes fast, using the reference of a musical instrument such as a guitar or a piano keyboard.
Please note: I will not be dealing with the topic of how to learn music notation. That, by far, is a very complex subject, and one which is certainly out of the scope of this article. Reading and writing music is something that you should learn on a personal level, i.e., on a face-to-face basis from a proper music teacher; not by yourself, and certainly NOT over the Internet.
How to Learn Music Notes Fast
Now although the above heading says 'how to learn music notes fast', let me tell you, in reality, if you really want to learn music notes properly and understand them thoroughly, then the first thing you need to do, is get rid of that word 'fast' from your head, this very moment. The reason is, basic primary learning of musical notes may well be accomplished within a few minutes time; but if you want to perfect your knowledge and your art, then it requires nothing but consistent practice and long hours of sincere hard work.
How to Learn Music Notes for a Guitar
The acoustic guitar has six strings, namely, E, B, G, D, A and E (low). Here is a table which shows the different music notes corresponding to each fret on each guitar string.
| String | Open | Fret 1 | Fret 2 | Fret 3 | Fret 4 | Fret 5 | Fret 6 | Fret 7 | Fret 8 | Fret 9 | Fret 10 | Fret 11 | Fret 12 |
| E (high) | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E (next octave) |
| B | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B (next octave) |
| G | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G (next octave) |
| D | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D (next octave) |
| A | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A (next octave) |
| E (low) | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E (next octave) |
Here are some guitar lessons if you want to learn how to play an acoustic guitar.
How to Learn Music Notes for a Piano
The traditional piano as well as all its modern forms such as the piano keyboard, synthesizer, etc. have a bunch of black and white keys. If you observe the key layout, you will notice that the black keys are grouped in two's and three's with white keys in between them. Starting from the left black key in the group of two, and moving ahead one key at a time till we reach the left black key in the very next group of two, here are the corresponding music notes for each piano key.
| Key | Music Note |
| First Black | C# |
| First White | D |
| Second Black | D# |
| Second White | E |
| Third White | F |
| Third Black | F# |
| Fourth White | G |
| Fourth Black | G# |
| Fifth White | A |
| Fifth Black | A# |
| Sixth White | B |
| Seventh White | C |
| First Black (next octave) | C# |
Read more on how to play a keyboard.
Well, this was some basic information regarding learning music notes using a guitar and a keyboard. Remember, although this article was titled 'how to learn music notes fast', if you're serious about becoming a good musician, you better prepare yourself to put in all those long hours of practice and perfection. Because my friend, in life, there may be shortcuts; but in music, there aren't any.