Baritone music uses bass clef, also known as F clef because the clef's two dots surround the F below Middle C. The lines on the staff for bass clef are, from bottom to top, GBDFA. There are several mnemonic devices to remember these notes; a common one is "Good Boys Do Fine Always." The spaces between the lines are, from bottom to top, ACEG; good mnemonics are "All Cows Eat Grass" and "All Cars Eat Gas."
Sharps and flats are used to alter notes, either up by a half step (sharp, whose symbol looks like a number sign) or down by a half step (flat, whose symbol looks like a lowercase b). If sharps or flats appear at the beginning of a staff (line of music), they make up a key signature. If the key signature has a sharp on F, for example, every F will be played sharp unless noted otherwise (with a natural sign). In addition, if a note is altered, every appearance of that note afterward in the same measure will also be altered in the same way unless noted otherwise.
The baritone voice range lies between tenor (a high male voice) and bass (a low male voice), generally extending from the lowest A of the bass clef to the A above Middle C. Since baritone is the middle male voice range, baritones who sing in choruses will either sing bass (ranging from E or F below the bass clef to the E above Middle C) or tenor (ranging from the lowest C on the bass clef to the C above Middle C). Baritone singers should know how to read treble clef (also called G clef) so that they can sing tenor. The lines on the treble clef are, from bottom to top, EGBDF ("Every Good Boy Does Fine"), and the spaces are FACE.
Most pieces of music begin with a time signature, two numbers displayed after the clef and the key signature. The top number represents the number of beats in a measure, while the bottom number represents which note has the beat. For example, in 4/4 time, there are four beats in a measure and the quarter note gets the beat. 4/4 time is often notated with a capital C for "Common Time." A C with a vertical slash through it represents 2/2 (two beats in a measure and the half note gets the beat, or "Cut Time").
The basic rhythmic representations are an open circle (whole note, or four beats in 4/4 time), an open circle with a stem (half note), a filled-in circle with a stem (quarter note), and a filled in circle with a flagged stem (eighth note). Adding a dot to the right side of a note increases its value by half the note's usual rhythmic value, and each additional flag added to an eighth note halves its value. Practice reading rhythms by clapping the beats of each measure while speaking the rhythm on a repeated syllable, such as "ta." Practice rhythm exercises can be found at Daniel Laberge's website linked in Resources.
The most important step toward reading music as a singer is learning what different musical intervals look and sound like. Learning to recognize intervals by ear is known as ear training; learning to sing intervals by sight is known as sight singing. A good ear training tool, which randomly generates intervals and phrases both for ear training and sight singing, can be found at the I Was Doing All Right website in the Resources section.
Practice intervals slowly using solfege syllables (do, re, mi and so on). Sing up and down the scale a few times, then skip around: sing do-re-do, do-mi-do, and so on. Mnemonic devices are helpful for remembering intervals. For example, the first two notes of "Here Comes the Bride" are an ascending major fourth (do-fa), and the first two notes of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" are an ascending fifth (do-sol).
Young baritones whose voices are still changing and developing often find that their vocal ranges can shift rapidly, and even that they are no longer baritones at all. This can make it difficult to find intervals when reading music because notes feel different in different parts of your range. If you know that the E above Middle C is the highest point of your range, for example, but your range has shifted and you can now sing up to a G, you may overshoot the E based on how the note feels in your voice. If you continue to practice your intervals, this will give you little trouble.