Music theory, in your browser
Learn to read music, note by note
Exercises to read notes, recognize intervals and understand rhythm. You practice more of what you find hard and, when you get something wrong, we explain why.
It's G, not F. G is on the second line; you landed one step too low.
Count from G, the line the treble clef curls around: line, space, line. Each step is one note.
What makes it different
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You practice what you find hard
The notes you miss or take longer to read come up more often. The ones you already know, less. Once you can read the ones you have at a glance, the next one comes in.
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Every mistake, explained
“Incorrect” isn't enough. We tell you which note it was, where it sits on the staff and a concrete trick so you don't mix it up again.
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You hear it and you play it
Every note sounds when you answer, and you can answer on a piano keyboard. Reading music also means knowing how it sounds.
Exercises
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Note readingTreble and bass clef, from the E below the bass staff to the A above the treble staff.Available
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IntervalsRecognize them on the staff and by ear.In preparation
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RhythmNote values, time signatures and rhythm reading.In preparation
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DictationListen to a short melody and write it down.In preparation
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Scales and chordsBuild them, read them and hear them.In preparation
For teachers
Send your class the link to an exercise as homework. Each student practices at their own pace, and the practice keeps returning to what each one finds hard.
We're preparing the teacher side: choosing which notes go into the assignment, and seeing who has done it and where they slip.
Who's behind it
Octavalia is made by the teachers at Música y Maestro, a music school in Spain. The exercises come from what we see in class every week: where a student gets stuck at the start and what helps them move on.
Reading music isn't a hoop to jump through before you play. It's the tool that lets you read any score, and you learn it by practicing a little every day.