Rhythm by ear: count what you hear
Tell the beat from the rhythm on top of it, count a beat in ones, twos, threes or fours, and write down a rhythm you hear one beat at a time.
Two layers in every song
The beat
The steady pulse, like a kick drum on every count: 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4. Every beat is the same length. Your foot finds it without trying.
The rhythm
The pattern of long and short sounds riding on top of the beat: the words, the melody, the shaker. It can stop, rush and hold, while the beat keeps going underneath.
Subdividing means splitting each beat into equal parts and giving each part a syllable. The number sits on the beat; the syllables fill the gaps.
| Sounds per beat | Name | Count it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | quarter notes | 1 2 3 4 |
| 2 | eighth notes | 1 & 2 & |
| 3 | triplets | 1-trip-let 2-trip-let |
| 4 | sixteenth notes | 1 e & a 2 e & a |
Check yourself
Kian's song has a kick drum on every beat. Between one kick and the next, a shaker plays two even hits, the second exactly halfway. How should he count the shaker?
- 1 2 3 4, one number for each shaker hit
- 1-trip-let 2-trip-let
- 1 & 2 &
- 1 e & a 2 e & a
Show the answer
1 & 2 &
Yes. Two even sounds per beat are eighth notes. The number lands with the kick, and the & lands halfway to the next kick.
THREE OR FOUR
Triplets and sixteenths
The two finer counts are easy to confuse. Triplets split a beat into three equal parts: 1-trip-let. They roll, and many people hear them as a lilt or a sway. Sixteenths split it into four: 1 e & a. They sound busier and more even, like fast typing. The test is simple: between two kicks, are there three sounds or four?
Say 1-trip-let 2-trip-let over a steady tap, then 1 e & a 2 e & a at the same tap speed. The tap does not change. Only the number of syllables squeezed into each beat does.
One beat, from kick to kick, split four ways.
position: 0 1/4 1/3 1/2 2/3 3/4
quarter: 1
eighths: 1 &
triplets: 1 trip let
sixteenths: 1 e & aThe & of eighths and the & of sixteenths land on the same spot: halfway.
Triplet notes land on neither: trip comes before halfway, let after it.This is why counting triplets as 1 e & gets the timing wrong: those syllables sit on quarters of the beat, not thirds.
Check yourself
Leila hears three even notes on every beat and counts them 1 e &. That count matches what she hears.
Show the answer
False
False. Three even notes per beat are triplets: 1-trip-let. 1 e & are sixteenth positions, so they squeeze the first sounds too close together and leave a gap where the a would be. Three sounds, three syllables.
Count out loud while you tap
- Tap the beat
Tap your foot or hand with the kick, steadily, and keep it going through long notes and silences.
- Say the smallest count you hear
If anything moves twice per beat, count 1 & 2 &. If something moves three or four times per beat, switch to 1-trip-let or 1 e & a for the whole bar.
- Mark where new sounds start
Listen again and notice which syllables have a sound starting on them. Ignore sounds that are only still ringing.
- Turn each beat into notes
One sound on a beat is a quarter. Sounds on 1 and & are two eighths. Sounds on all of 1 e & a are four sixteenths. A beat with nothing new is a held note or a rest.
Frère Jacques, third line: Morning bells are ringing.
Tap the beat, count eighths, mark each new syllable.
- means the sound is still ringing.
count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
words: Mor ning bells are ring - ing -
beat 1: Mor, ning 2 sounds -> two eighths
beat 2: bells, are 2 sounds -> two eighths
beat 3: ring 1 sound -> quarter
beat 4: ing 1 sound -> quartereighth eighth eighth eighth quarter quarter
Four eighths make 2 beats, two quarters make 2 more: one full bar of 4.The same method works on any line. The numbers stay locked to your tap; the words only tell you which syllables start a new sound.
Check yourself
How would you count each one?
- A shaker with 2 even hits per kick
- A hi-hat with 4 even hits per kick
- A rolling pattern where 3 even notes fill each beat
- Mor-ning, on beat 1 of Morning bells are ringing
- Nima needs four syllables per foot tap to keep up
- A sound that lands a third of the way to the next beat
Show the answer
1 & 2 &: A shaker with 2 even hits per kick, Mor-ning, on beat 1 of Morning bells are ringing
1-trip-let: A rolling pattern where 3 even notes fill each beat, A sound that lands a third of the way to the next beat
1 e & a: A hi-hat with 4 even hits per kick, Nima needs four syllables per foot tap to keep up
Check yourself
Arash taps along to a steady kick and counts 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. New sounds start on 1, on 2, on the & after 2, on 3 and on 4. What should he write for the bar?
- quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter
- quarter, two eighths, quarter, quarter
- two eighths, quarter, quarter, quarter
- quarter, quarter, two eighths, quarter
Show the answer
quarter, two eighths, quarter, quarter
Right. Beat 1 has one sound, beat 2 has two (on 2 and its &), and beats 3 and 4 have one each. 1 + ½ + ½ + 1 + 1 = 4 beats.
Check yourself
Where in the beat does each syllable land?
Show the answer
- 1 → Exactly on the tap
- & (in 1 & 2 &) → Halfway to the next tap
- e (in 1 e & a) → A quarter of the way
- trip (in 1-trip-let) → A third of the way
Lesson recap
- The beat is the steady pulse under a song; the rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds on top of it.
- Split a beat by counting: 1 2 3 4 for quarters, 1 & 2 & for eighths, 1-trip-let for triplets, 1 e & a for sixteenths.
- Three sounds per beat or four? Count what falls between two taps.
- To write a rhythm down: tap the beat, say the smallest count, mark where sounds start, then turn each beat into notes.