- 1). Examine a piece of rock sheet music in traditional music notation. You'll see a horizontal graph featuring five lines and four spaces. This is the music staff. Each line and space represents a note. Music notes of different time values (denoting rhythm) and pitches are placed on this staff to indicate a melody. Above the staff you'll find letters indicating the chords used in the song. The top staff features the melody and lyrics. Two more staves beneath the lyrics (one treble and one bass) represent a piano part that encompasses the major sounds of the piece (chords and melody). Even for rock music, publishers typically transcribe guitar and bass parts to piano. The exception is a printed rock score, which will have a separate music staff for guitar and bass.
- 2). Study the same song in tablature. Tablature is an important form of notation for rock music in particular. Tablature can be easier to read because a separate part exists for each instrument. Tablature for guitar and bass is a graph of horizontal lines (six for guitar, four for bass) that represent the strings of the instruments. Numbers on the strings indicate which frets on the guitar or bass should be played. Some rock charts will also contain tablature for drums, which uses the same horizontal layout as guitar, with each line and space devoted to one piece of the drum set.
- 3). Read the same song as a lead sheet. The lead sheet is the simplest way to notate a song. It is popular among rock bands because it consists of lyrics with accompanying chord changes. Bands like to use lead sheets for the foundation of a song, then individual players often improvise their parts (solos, etc.) rather than write them out note for note.
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