Need help reading music

[oceanobsession]

Hi folks , ive been playing piano for 12 months , im trying to learn chopin nocturne op9 no1 ,  im on the
poly rhythm  11  and 22  , i thought if a black key was used there was a sharp sign before the note , or at the start , which is inline with the line or in between , but  the third note of the 11 is a c sharp black key , but
the sheet is saying its a d
This is how i write out a music sheet so i can play it  see attached ,  there just seems so many variables
with the music sheets  any help much appreciated . phil.

[lelle]

There are sharp signs (#) which in most cases tell you to play a black key. There are also flat signs (b) which function nearly the same way. The actual meaning of the signs is:

# - play the key closest to the right (most often a black key). C# means the black key closest to the right of C.
b - play the key closest to the left (most often a black key): Db means the black key closest to the left of D.

C# and Db ends up being the same key for this reason.

(And yes I say most often a black key, because if you got an E#, the closest key to the right ends up being a normal F. It might seem weird when you start out but there are very good reasons for why this system is used. Most often in beginner music you'll only have to deal with sharps and flats that result in a black key)

In your case you got 5 flats in the key signature (at the start). They should give you a clue what happens to the D in your sheet music.

[lostinidlewonder]

Sorry if I'm blunt, but you probably shouldn't be studying this level of music if you have not the concept of what a flat (b) is. I'm curious though how you decoded Db to be C# which is correct but it seems you might have just watched a video to tell you it was that note rather than interpreting the notation since it would have taken an extra step of understanding to write the alternative C# rather than the Db written in the score.

Writing the entire music out in letters on a seperate sheet is painfully inefficient, write it with the notes on the sheet if you must.

[oceanobsession]

Thanks for your help ,   yes i watched a video , not all music with letters is online , so im trying to read the
music sheet   i figured the poly rhythm  should follow the original music sheet , cheers again for your help and advice . phil.   

[lostinidlewonder]

Ok makes sense. How about draw lines connecting notes coming together on the sheet music and arrows showing how they play between (arrow up is left hand alone, arrow down is right hand alone and attach these to the actual notes). It will benefit you a lot if you keep your guides all on the page of the sheet music. With polyrythms the notes that come together should be the focal point. Often if you can play at these together points accurately the timing of the other notes can be somewhat felt and estimated and if you can play it while the notes are being evenly timed you'll get the polyrhtynms without observing every single note one by one which can feel dreadfully complicated.

[oceanobsession]

 Thanks again for your help , i tried to work out how many right hand notes fell in between the left hand notes , it plays well just need to get faster ,
What im still confused with is the fact that there is a b sharp  c sharp   and e sharp  in the left hand , and
b sharp  c sharp a sharp f sharp  e sharp  in the right hand , but the score  does not seem to tell you ,
i knew where the sharps were from watching a video , there is an online music sheet were you can say
letters , and it puts the sharps in a square box , where they should be in the score . thanks again phil.
 

[lelle]

Thanks again for your help , i tried to work out how many right hand notes fell in between the left hand notes , it plays well just need to get faster ,
What im still confused with is the fact that there is a b sharp  c sharp   and e sharp  in the left hand , and
b sharp  c sharp a sharp f sharp  e sharp  in the right hand , but the score  does not seem to tell you ,
i knew where the sharps were from watching a video , there is an online music sheet were you can say
letters , and it puts the sharps in a square box , where they should be in the score . thanks again phil.
 

Did you read my comment about sharps and flats? You have mostly flats in your score, only one sharp as far as I can see.

Also do yourself a favor and google what a "key signature" is!

[lostinidlewonder]

Thanks again for your help , i tried to work out how many right hand notes fell in between the left hand notes , it plays well just need to get faster ,
What im still confused with is the fact that there is a b sharp  c sharp   and e sharp  in the left hand , and
b sharp  c sharp a sharp f sharp  e sharp  in the right hand , but the score  does not seem to tell you ,
i knew where the sharps were from watching a video , there is an online music sheet were you can say
letters , and it puts the sharps in a square box , where they should be in the score . thanks again phil.
 

Where is this online sheet music where you can see the letters and it says sharps in the box? The piece has flats (b) not sharps (#). Are you not curious what the (b) symbol means?

[aaronsf]

In the sample you show us (the beginning of this nocturne), there are no sharped notes in the left hand.  There are a couple of natural signs, but no sharps.  Then you provided an image of...something.  What is it?  A handwritten page with bunches of sharped notes.  I don't understand.  The key is Bb minor.  No sharps in the key signature.  So every note that corresponds to a flatted note in the key signature must be flatted.  If the composer wants to alter a note flatted by the key signature, they have to introduce an "accidental" to alter the note either up or down from what the key signature dictates.

[quantum]

[...] i thought if a black key was used there was a sharp sign before the note , or at the start , which is inline with the line or in between [...]

This is how the concept might be taught to beginner music students, to introduce black keys along with sharps and flats.  However, it is a gross oversimplification, and can become problematic when looking at music beyond the realm designed for beginner students.  This piece is far from beginner, or even first year of piano for that matter.

Think of it like this:  every key physical key (white or black) on the piano has multiple names.  Which name gets used depends on key signature, accidental, or both.  We decide which name to use based on context. 

For example: the black key B-flat can have other names.  We can also call it A-sharp

Example 2.  The white key A can have other names.  We can also call it G-double sharp.  We can also call it B-double flat (as in measure 6 of op 9/1) 

Example 3.  Op 9/1 is in the key of B-flat minor, with five flats.  This is the context.  Accidentals are named in a way that is appropriate for this particular key.

While this music notation thing is new territory to yourself, don't get into the habit of thinking of black keys as sharps (although many people do call them that).  Think of them as black keys, which can be either sharp or flat. 

Can you tell us where you are getting all these sharp named notes from?

[player10]

Sorry to be blunt, … but if you’re just learning to read sheet music, you really ought to start with something easier than a Chopin Nocturne. Get yourself a book that teaches how to read music and play piano — maybe one of Alfred’s Adult Piano books — and work through it starting at the beginning.