Learn to Read and Write Music
A step-by-step course that teaches you to read sheet music and to write it yourself – in your browser, at your own speed. Each unit explains one idea, lets you see and hear it, then gives you as many practice questions as you want, and a check at the end. You write answers straight onto the staff and Classfern grades them by rules. Five levels, like Grades 1–5. No sign-in and no ads.
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The course
Level 1 – first steps
(like Grade 1) · 5 unitsThe staff, the treble and bass clefs, note and rest values, beats, measures and time signatures.
- Unit 1The staff, clefs and middle CFive lines and four spaces, the treble and bass clefs, and the note that joins them: middle C.Not started
- Unit 2Notes in the treble clefName and write every note on the treble staff, with memory aids to help.Not started
- Unit 3Notes in the bass clefName and write the notes on the bass staff – the lower notes of the piano and many instruments.Not started
- Unit 4Note and rest valuesHow long each note lasts – whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note – and the rests that match them.Not started
- Unit 5Beats, measures and time signaturesMusic is cut into measures of equal length. The time signature says how many beats fill each measure.Not started
Level 2 – reading further
(like Grade 2) · 5 unitsLedger lines, dots and ties, sharps and flats, major keys and reading a whole tune.
- Unit 6Ledger linesShort extra lines for notes that are too high or too low for the staff.Not started
- Unit 7Dotted notes and tiesTwo ways to make a note last longer: a dot after it, or a tie to the next note.Not started
- Unit 8Sharps, flats and naturalsSigns that raise or lower a note by a half step – and how long they last.Not started
- Unit 9Major scales and key signaturesThe pattern of whole steps and half steps that makes a major scale, and the key signatures that come from it.Not started
- Unit 10Reading a melodyPut it all together: read a whole tune – its key, its rhythm and its shape – and write it down.Not started
Level 3 – keys, intervals and form
(like Grade 3) · 5 unitsMinor keys, intervals, compound time, dynamics and articulation, repeats and form.
- Unit 11Minor keys and scalesEvery major key has a relative minor that shares its key signature – and minor scales come in three forms.Not started
- Unit 12IntervalsThe distance between two notes: its number (2nd, 3rd …) and its kind (major, minor, perfect).Not started
- Unit 13Simple and compound timeWhen each beat splits into two it is simple time; when it splits into three it is compound time, like 6/8.Not started
- Unit 14Dynamics and articulationHow loud or quiet to play, and how to start and join the notes – the signs that bring music to life.Not started
- Unit 15Repeats and formRepeat signs, 1st- and 2nd-time measures, D.C., D.S., Fine and Coda – the road signs of music.Not started
Level 4 – chords and transposing
(like Grade 4) · 4 unitsTriads, more keys and time signatures, transposing, and reading for your instrument.
- Unit 16Simple chords: triadsThree notes stacked in 3rds make a triad – the building block of harmony.Not started
- Unit 17More keys and time signaturesKeys up to five sharps and flats, and the time signatures 2/2, 9/8 and 12/8.Not started
- Unit 18TransposingMoving music higher or lower – into another clef, another key, or for an instrument that reads differently.Not started
- Unit 19Reading music for your instrumentConnect the notes on the page to your own instrument: its clef, its written notes, fingering, tab or chord shapes.Not started
Level 5 – the whole picture
(like Grade 5) · 5 unitsEvery key, every kind of interval, inversions and cadences, dictation and composing.
- Unit 20All the keysEvery key signature, up to seven sharps or flats – and the circle of 5ths that links them.Not started
- Unit 21Every kind of intervalAugmented and diminished intervals, intervals below a note, and intervals from any note.Not started
- Unit 22Inversions, chord symbols and cadencesTriads with a different note at the bottom, the chord symbols used in songbooks, and the chords that end a phrase.Not started
- Unit 23Dictation: hear it, write itWrite down music you hear – first rhythms, then tunes – using everything you have learned.Not started
- Unit 24Write your own musicCompose your own tunes by simple rules, play them back, save them and turn them into lessons or class play-alongs.Not started
How each unit works
- Learn – a short explanation with the music drawn out, and memory aids where they help.
- Watch and listen – see it on the staff and hear it played.
- Practice – new questions every time, made by rules in your browser: reading questions and writing tasks. You get a hint if you want one, two tries, and the reason why for every answer. Get one wrong and another like it comes back later.
- Check – one try at each question and the score at the end. 80% passes the unit.
- Think back – a couple of questions to help it stick.
Writing music on the staff
The note writer works with a mouse, a touch screen or the keyboard. Choose a length, then tap the staff where the note goes – or type a letter from A to G and the note appears on the nearest line or space. The ▲ and ▼ buttons (or the arrow keys) move a note up or down, and ♯, ♭ and ♮ change it. The writer follows the key signature for you, and knows that an accidental lasts until the bar line. Below the staff, each measure shows whether it is full.
Keyboard: A–G add a note · Shift + letter adds it to a chord · ↑ ↓ move it (Shift: an octave) · ← → choose a note · 1 whole note, 2 half note, 3 quarter note, 4 eighth note, 5 sixteenth note · . dot · 0 rest · + sharp · - flat · = natural · T tie · Backspace delete · Ctrl+Z undo · P play · Enter check.
The writing tasks
- Write the notes named – any octave counts.
- Complete the measure with notes or rests (any lengths that add up are right, unless the task asks for one note).
- Write a scale, with or without a key signature.
- Write a rhythm from its note names.
- Write an interval above or below a note, and write chords (triads and their inversions).
- Copy a tune, and transpose it into another clef or key.
- Dictation: hear a short tune or rhythm, then write it down (any spelling of the right sounds counts, and so do tied notes that last the same).
- Compose: write a short tune that keeps a few simple rules – the rules are graded, the tune is yours.
Write your own music
“Write your own music” opens the note writer with every tool: any clef, key and time signature, sharps and flats, ties, rests and chords. Your tunes are saved in this browser, play back at any speed and download as a MusicXML file that most music programs open. Make this a lesson turns your tune into a Classfern lesson to read and play back, with a class screen and a print view; Make it a class play-along opens it in class play-along with parts for every instrument.
Certificates
Pass every check in a level and you can print a Classfern certificate for that level from My progress and certificates. You type the name to print when you print it – it is not saved anywhere. Each certificate says honestly how it was earned: the checks were graded by Classfern’s rules on this device.
For teachers
- Class screen: on any unit page, project the lesson one step at a time: the explanation, the examples with sound, then questions – Space shows the answer and the reason – and a writing task the class can do together on the board. ← → move, K switches kids’ mode, Esc closes. Nothing is saved.
- Worksheets: “Print a worksheet” makes reading questions and writing tasks with blank staffs, and an answer key on its own page (with one right answer drawn where several are right).
- The same test for everyone: every check ends with a test code (like RW-treble-C-k7q2a). Typing it on any of these pages brings back exactly the same questions.
- Student codes, never names: results stay in each browser under a class code. Students can save a progress file to share with you. (Classfern Pro will add class reports later.)
- Kids’ mode: bigger buttons and color notes, shared with the other music pages.
Questions and answers
Do I need to know anything before I start?
No. Level 1 starts with the five lines of the staff and builds up one small step at a time. If you already read a little music, start at the level that suits you, or take the check at the end of a unit to see if you can skip it.
How does the note writer work?
Click or tap the staff to put a note there, or type the letters A to G. Choose the note length first (whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note and so on), then add sharps, flats, naturals, dots, ties, rests and chords with the buttons or the keyboard. Every measure is checked as you write, so a note that does not fit is never put in by mistake.
How are my answers graded?
By rules, in your browser – Classfern does not send your work anywhere. Each task is worked out twice by two separate sets of rules (one does the music arithmetic, the other reads your notes back from the staff drawing and checks them against hand-typed tables), and a task is only shown when both agree. Where several answers are right – any octave, or any notes that fill the measure – the task says so, and every right answer is accepted.
Are these exam papers?
No. Levels 1–5 are Classfern’s own levels, like Grade 1–5 music theory. They are good practice for any course, but they are not an exam board’s syllabus, and the certificates are Classfern certificates, not exam results.
Where is my progress kept?
In this browser on this device, under the class code you type (such as 7K-04 – never a name) or under “just me”. You can save a progress file and add it on another device. Your own compositions are saved in this browser too.
Can a teacher use it with a class?
Yes. Each unit has a Class screen for the projector – big type, one step at a time, questions with “Show the answer”, and a note writer you can fill in together – and a printable worksheet with an answer key. A test code gives the whole class exactly the same questions.
Is there sound?
Yes – the tunes, the examples and the dictation tasks are played by your browser, so nothing large is downloaded. The course questions never use the microphone. Only if you turn your own tune into a lesson can you play it back to the microphone, and only after you press “Use microphone”: it hears which notes you play (pitch and timing), on this device, and nothing is recorded, saved or sent.
How is each question marked?
Every question says how it is marked. Reading questions and writing tasks are graded by Classfern’s rules in your browser. The composing tasks are graded by the rules only – the tune is yours. Think back and Write your own music are self-assessed. On the Class screen, the teacher judges the answers and Classfern shows the right one.