Today we are going to are going to be speaking about how to read music: rhythm. So if you missed our first couple lessons in this series I suggest you take a look at them now.
How to Read Music: Sharps, Flats, and Naturals
These are a great precursor to today’s lesson.
Music Notes
The music notes you use is important because it shows you how long to hold a note. The quarter note, half note, and whole note are the most common notes.
For example, the quarter note is worth one beat (count), the half note is worth two beats and the whole note is worth 4 beats.
Those notes can be divided into smaller units as well. For example, we have the eighth note which is worth 1/2 a beat, sixteenth which is worth a 1/4 beat, and thirty-second notes is worth 1/8 a beat and the triplet which is worth 1/3 beat. These notes can either be seen as a single note below with a flag or as joined together notes with beams.
Dotted Notes
When you come across a dotted note it takes the original value of the note and multiplies it by 1 1/2. So, for the dotted half note you take the half note which is worth 2 x 1 1/2 = 3. For the dotted quarter note it is 1 x 1 1/2 = 1 1/2 beats. I’ve included more examples below.
Rests
Rests are when you take a break from playing music. How long each of the rest is located below.
How to Count Rhythm
Counting quarter notes, half notes, dotted half notes and whole notes are pretty simple but what do we do about more complicated rhythm? (see example below)
When we have eighth notes or rest we segment the rhythm into “and”. For example 1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and. This helps to subdivide the beat into 1/2 beats/counts.
When we have sixteenth notes or rests we segment the rhythm into “1-e-and-a” for 1/4 beats. For example we can use 1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a, 3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a.
When we are subdividing triplets we use “1-i-let” to divide into 1/3 beat. For example 1-i-let, 2-i-let, 3-i-let, 4-i-let.
I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson on how to read music rhythm. We will in future lessons be covering in more depth about time signatures and more complicated rhythm. I hope you check back frequently for more piano and vocal lessons for your musical adventure.
Linnea Loves Music
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Piano Note Names and Finger Numbers
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