Free Music Worksheets
Printable one-page handouts from Tissimo teachers — view them here, download the PDF, or print a stack for your next lesson.
Notes & Rhythm
The quarter note
Your very first note symbol: the quarter note. One note, one steady count — like footsteps. Learn this one, and every other note will be measured against it.
The half note
One note, two counts: the half note. Its secret is the hollow notehead — an open head means a longer, ringing note.
The whole note
The longest of the basic notes: the whole note fills a whole bar of 4/4 all by itself — four slow counts of ringing sound.
The dotted half note
Meet your first dot. A dot after a note makes it half again longer: the half note you know holds 2 beats — add the dot and it holds 3.
The eighth note
Two sounds inside one beat: the eighth note lasts half a count. You’ve already played them — “one-a-penny” and “in a” were eighth notes in disguise.
The dotted quarter note
The dot returns — now on a quarter note. Same rule as always: the dot adds half, so 1 beat becomes 1½. Its favorite partner is the eighth note: together they make music’s famous LONG–short.
The Rests
silence is part of the music — every note value has a matching rest
The Sixteenth Note
four to a beat — the beat sliced fine: 1 - e - & - a
The Rest Family
every note has a silent twin — all five rests, whole to sixteenth
Time Signatures I: Simple Time
the two stacked numbers — how many beats, and which note gets one
Time Signatures II: Compound Time
when beats split in threes — 6/8, 3/8, 12/8 and 6/4
Triplets
three in the time of two — the beat learns to waltz for a moment
Polyrhythms
two rhythms at once — three against two, the classic first polyrhythm
Tempo & the Metronome
how fast is the music — the Italian speed words, and the ticking coach that keeps you honest
Pickup Notes
the anacrusis — when a song starts before beat 1
The Dotted Eighth + Sixteenth
the skipping rhythm — LONG-short inside a single beat
Syncopation
the off-beat surprise — when the accent lands where the beat is not
Pitch & Notation
The flat: one half step down
A flat (♭) in front of a note lowers it by one half step — play the very next key to the left. Usually that lands on a black key.
The sharp: one half step up
A sharp (♯) in front of a note raises it by one half step — play the very next key to the right. Usually that lands on a black key.
The natural: back to plain
A natural (♮) cancels a sharp or a flat: the note returns to its plain, white-key self. It’s the eraser of the accidental family.
Navigation Signs
repeats, endings, double bars and D.C. al Fine — the map of a piece
Ledger Lines
when the music climbs off the staff — little rungs extend the ladder, above and below
Stem Rules
which way do stems point? — the middle-line rule, plus stems to draw yourself
Octave Signs: 8va & 8vb
the notation elevator — same notes, written where you can actually read them
D.S. & the Coda
the advanced road signs — the segno, the coda, and the jumps between them
Intervals
Intervals: steps & skips
An interval is the distance between two notes — how far apart they sound. The two smallest intervals do most of the work in music: the 2nd (a step) and the 3rd (a skip).
Major & minor 2nds and 3rds
Two intervals can share a name but not a size. Counting letters gives the name — 2nd, 3rd. Counting half steps gives the quality: major for the wider one, minor for the narrower one.
Intervals: the 4th
After steps and skips comes the first real leap: the 4th — four letters from bottom to top, like C up to F.
Intervals: the 5th
The biggest interval in your five-finger world: the 5th — five letters from bottom to top, like C up to G. You already know this pair by another name.
The 6th, the 7th & the Octave
the wide intervals — completing the family from 2nds to the full eight-note span
Scales & Keys
The C 5-Finger Scale
Your very first scale: five neighboring notes that sit right under your hand — one note for each finger. In C, those notes are C · D · E · F · G.
The C 5-Finger Scale: left hand
The same first scale you already know, now for the left hand: the same five notes — C · D · E · F · G — an octave lower, written in the bass clef (the curly clef with two dots).
The major scale
Take the five-finger scale and keep walking to the top: eight notes from C to C. Its sound comes from one fixed recipe of whole steps and half steps.
Tonic & dominant: home and away
Every major scale has two anchor notes. Degree 1 is the tonic — the home note you already know. Degree 5 is the dominant — home’s opposite pole. The push and pull between them powers almost all music.
The G 5-Finger Scale
The five-finger scale isn’t glued to C. Any note can be home — move your hand so the thumb sits on G, and the same five-finger shape gives you G · A · B · C · D.
The F 5-Finger Scale
Home moves to F — and for the first time, the five-finger shape needs a black key. Meet B♭ in the wild: F · G · A · B♭ · C.
The D 5-Finger Scale
Home moves to D — and this time the black key comes from the sharp side. Meet F♯ in the wild: D · E · F♯ · G · A.
The A 5-Finger Scale
Home moves up to A — and once again the middle finger takes a black key: C♯. The position: A · B · C♯ · D · E.
Major & minor: two colors of home
The same home note can host two moods. Major sounds bright and open; minor sounds darker and warmer — and the difference comes down to a few lowered notes.
The three minors: natural, harmonic & melodic
Minor isn’t one scale — it’s a family of three. All share the lowered 3rd that makes them minor; they differ in one thing: how they climb back home. Colors: coral = lowered, cyan = raised back.
The Chromatic Scale
every key on the piano, one half step at a time
The Circle of Fifths
all twelve keys arranged like a clock — each step up a fifth adds one sharp
Thumb-Under: the Full Scale
five fingers, eight notes — the tuck that unlocks the whole keyboard
One-Octave Scales: G, F & D
the thumb-under travels to new keys — including F major’s famous rebellion
Scale Degree Names
every step of the scale has a title — tonic, dominant, and the five in between
The Pentatonic & Blues Scales
two scales that cannot sound wrong — the improviser’s best friends
Parallel vs Relative Minor
two different ways for a major key to have a minor cousin
Major Scale Primer
Chords & Harmony
Triads & their inversions
A triad is a chord of three notes stacked in thirds — a root, a third, and a fifth. Every chord you play begins here.
Tonic & dominant harmonies
Melody is only half the story — underneath, the left hand plays harmony. In major keys, beginner music runs almost entirely on two harmonies: the tonic chord (C) and the dominant seventh (G7).
Tonic & dominant in G major
Same two harmonies, new home: in G major the tonic chord is G (G · B · D) and the dominant seventh is D7 (D · F♯ · A · C).
Tonic & dominant in F major
Same two harmonies, new home: in F major the tonic chord is F (F · A · C) and the dominant seventh is C7 (C · E · G · B♭).
Tonic & dominant in A major
Same two harmonies, new home: in A major the tonic chord is A (A · C♯ · E) and the dominant seventh is E7 (E · G♯ · B · D).
Tonic & dominant in D major
Same two harmonies, new home: in D major the tonic chord is D (D · F♯ · A) and the dominant seventh is A7 (A · C♯ · E · G).
The primary chords: I, IV & V
Two chords took you far — a third finishes the toolkit. The chords built on degrees 1, 4 and 5 are the primary chords, and together they can harmonize almost anything.
The primary chords in minor: i, iv & V
You already know the three-chord toolkit in major. Move it into C minor and the same journey works — with i and iv wearing minor colors, and V still shining major.
Alberti Bass
the spinning left hand — a broken chord that accompanies all by itself
Primary Chord Patterns
I, IV and V7 in their closest shapes — smooth changes in 4/4 and 3/4
The Ostinato
a stubborn little loop — one pattern, repeated under everything
Block & Broken Chords
one chord, two deliveries — the pillar and the ripple
The 12-Bar Blues
the most-played chord progression on Earth — three chords, twelve bars, endless songs
Cadences
how phrases end — the period, the amen, and the comma
Chords & Progressions in Every Key
Four chords, three loops — the toolkit behind a thousand songs, in all 24 keys.
Cadences in Every Key
How phrases end — the four kinds of musical punctuation, written out in all 24 keys.
The Primary Chords in Every Key
I, IV and V — the three chords that can harmonize almost anything, in all 24 keys.
The diminished triad
Major and minor are the two chords you already know. There is a third one, built from two minor thirds stacked on top of each other — and it is the most restless chord in music. It is written B° or Bdim.
The diminished 7th
Take a diminished triad and stack one more minor third on top. Now every gap in the chord is the same size — and that one fact gives it every strange property it has. Written B°7 or Bdim7.
The half-diminished 7th
Same diminished triad underneath, one note different on top — and that single half step turns the most restless chord in music into one of the most beautiful. Written Bø7 or Bm7♭5.
The dominant 7th
Take a major triad and stack one more third on top. In C major the chord lands on G–B–D–F, written G7. It is the least contented chord in tonal music — and that restlessness is the whole reason an ending sounds like an ending.
Arpeggios
Arpeggios: One Hand
a chord, played like a harp — one note at a time, up and back down
Cross-Hand Arpeggios
one chord swept across the whole piano — the left hand flies over the right
Arpeggios in Every Key
The chord played like a harp — one note at a time, up and back down, in all 24 keys.
Primary Chord Arpeggios in Every Key
I, IV and V broken open, one note at a time, in all 24 keys.
Expression & Technique
Fermata, Tenuto & Accent
three small marks, three big personalities — hold, lean, punch
Grace Notes
tiny crushed notes that decorate the melody — ornaments with no beat of their own
Ornaments
trill, mordent and turn — the melody’s jewelry, each sign with its sound spelled out
The Damper Pedal
the magic on the right — how the piano learns to sing beyond your fingers
Two-Note Slurs
the sigh — drop on the first note, float off the second
The Dynamic Ladder
six volumes from pp to ff — the full family of loud and soft
Ritardando & Accelerando
when the tempo itself bends — slowing down, speeding up, and snapping back
