Bar Line
A bar line is the vertical line crossing the staff that divides music into measures. A double bar line marks the end of a section, and a thick double bar marks the end of the piece.
Bar lines exist so your eye can find its place. They also tell you where the strong beat is: the note right after a bar line is the downbeat, and it carries a natural emphasis whether or not anything says so.
How To Spot Bar Line
Vertical lines cutting through the staff at regular intervals. Two thin lines together mean a section ended; thin-then-thick means you are finished.
Find It In Thirty Seconds
Count the bar lines in the first system of any piece. Then play the first note after each one slightly stronger and hear the music find its pulse.
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
Related Topics...
How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each — clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Measure (Bar): A measure — also called a bar — is the space between two bar lines. The time signature says how many beats each measure holds.
Repeat Sign: A repeat sign is a double bar line with two dots. Play up to it, then go back to the matching sign facing the other way — or to the beginning if there is none…
Time Signature: The time signature is the pair of numbers after the clef. The top number says how many beats are in each measure; the bottom says which note value gets one bea…
More in This Section
Bass Clef: The bass clef is the symbol at the start of the lower staff. Its two dots sit either side of the fourth line up, fixing that line as F below middle C — hence i…
Chord Symbol: A chord symbol is the letter name printed above the staff — C, Am, G7 — naming the harmony so you can play it your own way rather than note for note.