Rhythm & Notation
Today we’re going to review Rhythmic Notation, which is how we write-down music as it moves through time.
Have you ever tapped your foot to a catchy tune? This consistent pulse is called the Beat. Sometimes the beat moves fast like in a thrasher by Slayer, or sometimes slow like in a spacey Grateful Dead jam. We call the speed of the beat the Tempo and measure it in beats per minute (bpm).
As you tap along to that catchy song, you’ll start to notice that the beats naturally groups together in sets. It’s common to hear beats in groups of 2, 3, or 4 but the possibilities really are endless. These groups of beats are called Measures and we use Barlines to separate them.
The time signature tells us how to read the beat. The top number tells us how many beats are in the measure, and the bottom number tells us the beat unit which is the note type used to represent a single beat.
We can use any note to represent the beat unit. Here are some examples of time signatures using a quarter note as the beat unit.
Notes & Rests
Notes are symbols used to write-down the length of time and pitch of a sound.
The length of time a Half note is half as long as a Whole note. The length of time a quarter note is half as long as an Eighth note…notice a pattern?
Rests are symbols used to write-down the length of time there is an absence of sound.
There is a rest symbol for every note symbol
Take a look at the different rest values and how they related to each other.
3 More Things…
An Augmentation dot placed to the right of the notehead adds half of the original notes value
Beams are used to group any notes smaller than a quarter note that are played within the same beat. This helps the reader recognize each of the beats in the measure for easier playing.
A Ties is a curved mark that connects two or more notes to create a single sound. A Tie is used to create a single long note that spans more than one measure.
Counting Beats
Let’s practice reading rhythmic notation by counting beats. For a simple measure of quarter notes in 4/4, the beats get count as 1, 2, 3, 4.
For a measure of eighth notes in 4/4 you would count the beats like with the quarter notes but add the & in between the beats 1, &, 2, &, 3, & 4, &.
If we count a measure of 16th notes in 4/4 we layer in Es and Ahs like this: 1 E & A 2 E & A 3 E & A 4 E & A.
A Metronome is a tool that will play beats based on the tempo you set. Practicing with a metronome is a great way to sharpen your sense of time or gradually increase speed!
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