Note lengths and subdivision
Measure any rhythm in beats: whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, the rests that match them, and the "1 & 2 &" count that keeps them in place.
MEASURING RHYTHM
Rhythm is long and short, measured in beats
In lesson 1, rhythm was "the pattern of long and short sounds". Now we measure it. Every note has a length counted in beats, and each length has a name. With four names you can describe the rhythm of most songs you know.
In "Twinkle Twinkle", every syllable lasts one beat, except "star", which lasts two. That sentence is already a complete description of the rhythm.
| Name | Length in 4/4 | How many fit in one bar |
|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 beats | 1 |
| Half note | 2 beats | 2 |
| Quarter note | 1 beat | 4 |
| Eighth note | half a beat | 8 |
| Dotted half note | 3 beats (a dot adds half again) | fills a 3/4 bar |
Cutting a pizza
A bar of 4/4 is a whole pizza. Cut it in two and you have halves. Cut again for quarters, and again for eighths. However you slice it, the pieces must add back up to one pizza. Where the analogy breaks: the names come from 4/4. In 3/4 a bar holds only three quarter notes, so a "whole note" is longer than the bar. What stays true everywhere is the ratio: a half note is always two quarters.
Check yourself
Nika writes out the first line of "Twinkle Twinkle" with one beat per syllable: Twin-kle twin-kle lit-tle star. Which set of notes does she need?
- Seven quarter notes
- Six quarter notes and one half note
- Six eighth notes and one quarter note
- Seven quarter notes and a whole note
Show the answer
Six quarter notes and one half note
Yes. Six one-beat syllables are six quarter notes, and "star" lasts two beats, which is a half note. 6 + 2 = 8 beats, exactly two bars of 4/4.
BETWEEN THE BEATS
Subdivision: "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &"
Eighth notes are shorter than a beat, so you need a way to count between the beats. Musicians say "and": 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. The numbers are the beats, exactly where your foot taps. Each "&" falls halfway to the next beat, when your foot is in the air.
Tap your foot slowly and say "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" evenly. Foot down on the numbers, foot up on the "&". You are now counting eighth notes at the same tempo as before.
One bar of 4/4, filled four different ways.
A letter marks where a note starts; dashes show it still sounding.
count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
whole: W-------------------------------
halves: H-------------- H--------------
quarters: Q------ Q------ Q------ Q------
eighths: E-- E-- E-- E-- E-- E-- E-- E--1 x 4 beats = 4
2 x 2 beats = 4
4 x 1 beat = 4
8 x 1/2 beat = 4Clap each line while counting out loud. The count never changes speed. Only the number of claps per bar changes.
Check yourself
When a song switches from quarter notes to eighth notes, its tempo has doubled.
Show the answer
False
The tempo is the speed of the beat, and the beat has not moved. Eighth notes just put two sounds inside each beat. The music feels busier, but your foot taps at the same speed.
Rest
A silence with a length. Every note value has a matching rest: a whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest. A rest takes up its beats in the bar exactly as a note would. The beat keeps going through it.
Clap on 1, 2 and 3 and stay silent on 4. That silence is a quarter rest, and the bar still adds up to four beats.
The stadium pattern: stomp, stomp, CLAP.
count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
do: st st CLAP st st CLAP
stomp = eighth note (1/2 beat)
CLAP = quarter note (1 beat)
1/2 + 1/2 + 1 + 1/2 + 1/2 + 1= 4 beats, one full bar of 4/4Try it while counting out loud. The stomps sit on "1 &" and "3 &", and the claps land on 2 and 4. Nothing new starts on the "&" after 2 or after 4; the clap is still ringing there.
Check yourself
Omid is filling one bar of 4/4. He has written a half note and then a quarter note. He wants to finish the bar with eighth notes. How many does he need?
- Two
- One
- Three
- Four
Show the answer
Two
Right. 2 + 1 = 3 beats used, one beat left. One beat holds two eighth notes.
How to clap any written rhythm
- Start the count first
Say "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" slowly and evenly for a bar before you clap anything.
- Clap only where a note starts
A half note gets one clap, not two. The sound begins once and then lasts.
- Keep counting through long notes
Hold your hands together while you count the remaining beats of the note.
- Count rests just as carefully
Open your hands and say the numbers. The silence gets its full length.
Check yourself
Does this fill one bar of 4/4 exactly?
- Two half notes
- Three quarter notes
- One half note and four eighth notes
- A whole note and a quarter note
- Quarter note, quarter rest, half note
- Six eighth notes
Show the answer
Exactly 4 beats: Two half notes, One half note and four eighth notes, Quarter note, quarter rest, half note
Too short or too long: Three quarter notes, A whole note and a quarter note, Six eighth notes
Check yourself
Match what you hear to what it is
Show the answer
- One sound held through a whole bar of 4/4 → Whole note
- Two even sounds inside every beat → Eighth notes
- Silence for exactly two beats → Half rest
- The last "you" of "Happy Birthday" filling a 3/4 bar → Dotted half note
Lesson recap
- In 4/4 a whole note lasts 4 beats, a half note 2, a quarter note 1 and an eighth note half a beat.
- Count eighth notes as "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &": numbers on the beat, "&" halfway between.
- More notes per beat is not a faster tempo; the beat stays where it was.
- Rests are silences with a length, and they are counted like notes.
- Every bar must add up to its time signature. Long notes and rests are where beginners lose beats.