  The space-borne missions CoRoT and Kepler have opened a new era in stellar
physics, especially for evolved stars, with precise asteroseismic measurements
that help determine precise stellar parameters and perform ensemble astero
seismology. This paper deals with the quality of the information that we can
retrieve from the oscillations. It focusses on the conditions for obtaining the
most accurate measurement of the radial and non-radial oscillation patterns.
This accuracy is a prerequisite for making the best with asteroseismic data.
From radial modes, we derive proxies of the stellar mass and radii with an
unprecedented accuracy for field stars. For dozens of subgiants and thousands
of red giants, the identification of mixed modes (corresponding to gravity
waves propagating in the core coupled to pressure waves propagating in the
envelope) indicates unambiguously their evolutionary status. As probes of the
stellar core, these mixed modes also reveal the internal differential rotation
and show the spinning down of the core rotation of stars ascending the red
giant branch. A toy model of the coupling of waves constructing mixed modes is
exposed, for illustrating many of their features.
