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reading sheet music

retitled said:
im trying to learn to read sheet music and im having trouble. lets say it tells me to play an "A" how do i know if i have to play an open third string or the 5th fret on the top string?

You play whathever sounds good to your ear it doesn't matter it's the same note and sheet music only tells you the pitch and the duration of the note. where you play the note is up to you.
 
does that pertain to octaves too? i was told that if standard the strings are tuned to standard then the 5th fret up and over is the same as the one u started from. so would it matter wich string u play? and how will i know wich octave to play?
 
retitled said:
im trying to learn to read sheet music and im having trouble. lets say it tells me to play an "A" how do i know if i have to play an open third string or the 5th fret on the top string?

In general you may wish to choose the one which minimizes switching between different
left hand positions.
i.e. you should consider the range of the surrounding notes.
Notes that can be played as open strings aren't really a problem
of course, more difficult decisions may have to be made with e.g.
a B flat.

Tonal considerations also may be important too.
 
retitled said:
does that pertain to octaves too? i was told that if standard the strings are tuned to standard then the 5th fret up and over is the same as the one u started from. so would it matter wich string u play? and how will i know wich octave to play?

If I'm understanding your question correctly...

An A on the 5th fret E string and an A on the 2nd fret G string, for example, would be written in different places on the staff because they are different pitches.

For a quick review...

The lines on the staff are G B D F A
The spaces on the staff are A C E G

The higher the pitch, the higher the note's place on the staff.
 
stephanie said:
...sounds the same to me... open G, 5th fret D string, 10th fret A string, and 15th fret E string all have the same pitch.

12th fret G string and 17th fret D string have the same pitch.

I know the same pitch. But different string "density" since the G(15th fret -E ) is on the low E string,and is high up on the board...it makes it sound "thick" when open G is "twangy" and thin. I dunno.