LEVEL 2

RHYTHM

34

qE E q.E E E

Notation: Meter

QQ QQ QQ QQ QQ QQ QQ QQ QQ QQ QQ >>> QQ Q QQ QQ QQ QQ

34 QQ Q Q QQ

a fundamental feature ofmost pieces of music is a

consistent rhythmic pulse. this pulse is called the beat,

and a single pulseis called a beat unit.

there are two types of beat units:those containing two divisions,

called simple beat units...

...and those containingthree divisions,

called compound beat units.

the c

oors

“heaven k

no

ws” [drum intro]

forgiven, not f

orgotten (1996)

in music, beats are organized into patterns of accented and unaccented beat units.in fact, if you listen to a sequence of repeated notes, your brain will probably start toperceive the notes as groups of two, three, or four, even if no accents are present!

these groups are called measures,and they are delineated with barlines.

the organizationof beat units

and measures ina piece is calledmeter. Meter isdescribed by twonumbers placedat the beginningof the piece:

the time signature.

by looking at the topnumber of the time signature,you can tell two things aboutthe meter: whether it’s simpleor compound, and how many

beats are in a measure.

beats p

er m

easure

simple compound

2

3

4

the top numberindicates the numberof beats in a measure.

the bottom numberindicates the type ofnote which serves asthe beat unit.

simple TIME SIGNATURES are easy.

measurebarline

the code for the bottom noteis pretty easy: refers to

a quarter note, to an eighthnote, to a sixteenth note,

and so on.

4816

682 63 94 12

2 68 Q. Q. Q. Q.the top number indicates the numberof divisions in a measure. to get thenumber of beats, divide it by three.

in fact, wouldn’t this bean easier way to notate

compound meters?

sorry... the man saysyou have to do itthe other way.

the bottom number indicates the type ofnote which serves as the division.to get the beat unit, use the note thatis equal to three of these notes.in a compound meter, the beat unit isalways a dotted note!

compound TIME SIGNATURES are stupidly complicated.

notes that have flags canbe grouped together by usingbeams in place of flags.

however, beaming is only used to group notes within beats.for the most part, you shouldn’t beam notes between beats,

nor should you tie notes within beats.

music theory for musicians and normal people by toby w. rush

licensed under a creative commons BY-NC-ND license - visit tobyrush.com for more

whole n

ote

double w

hole n

ote

half n

ote

eig

hth n

ote

sixteenth n

ote

thir

ty-s

econd n

ote

sixty-f

ourth n

ote

one-h

undred-

twenty-e

ighth n

ote

quarter n

ote

whole r

est

double w

hole r

est

half r

est

eig

hth r

est

sixteenth r

est

thir

ty-s

econd r

est

sixty-f

ourth r

est

one-h

undred-

twenty-e

ighth r

est

quarter r

est

Notation: Rhythm

W w h

Œ

q

‰

e

≈

x

®

xK

Ù

xKK

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xKKK

∑ ∑„

while pitch is pretty clearly notated on avertical axis, note length is indicated using a

somewhat arcane system involvingnoteheads, stems and flags.

in this chart, each successive type of note is half as longas the note to its left. none of these notes has a standardlength; a half note in one piece may be the same length as

an eighth note in a different piece.

note lengths in a pieceare indicated by the tempomarking at the beginning

of a piece or section.

a rest is a period ofsilence that a length

which corresponds to aparticular note.

usually rests areplaced on the staff at a

particular verticalposition as shown here.

the augmentation dot is a dot placed to theright of a notehead. though small, this dot

wields some serious power: it changes thelength of the note by 150%. In other words,

it makes the note half again as long!

multiple dots can also be added,each one adding half of the

previously added value.

q e e= + q. e e e= + + q.. e e e= + + x+ q... e e e= + + x+ +xKties are curved marks which connect

two notes together to createa single, extended sound.

to tie more than two notes together,draw ties between each note; do not

use a single, extended tie.

a tuplet is any non-standard division of anote. these are usually written as a group

of notes delinated with a bracket anda number showing the division being made.

most tuplets are simple divisions, likethe triplets to the left. but anything ispossible! chopin, for example, wouldoften go to town with these things.

œ .œjœ jœ jœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ= =

œ œ œ3 for example, these aren’t

exactly quarter notes;they are each a third aslong as a half note.

wha... gah!chopin, no!down, boy!

frederic c

hopin

noctu

rne in b

major, op. 6

2, no. 1 (1846)

music theory for musicians and normal people by toby w. rush

licensed under a creative commons BY-NC-ND license - visit tobyrush.com for more

BASICS - METHOD OF COUNTING

RULES• All beats must be represented in the measure

(i.e. in 5/4 time, we must show the 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to represent every beat in the measure.)• A dash mark (—) is used to represent beats (rhythmic values) that are connected using a tie or

“within” a larger rhythmic value.• Parenthesis are used to represent a rest value.

CLAP - TAP - COUNTSTEP 1 - TAP your foot to the pulse (beat)

STEP 2 - COUNT the smallest subdivision in the measure or phrase.

STEP 3 - CLAP the written rhythm

When the Quarter Note receives one count (2/4, 3/4, 4/4 (Common Time), 5/4, etc.) we use the following counting system…

?4

1

1

2

2

-

e

3 4- -

3 4

a

1 2- 3 4-

1 2+ 3 4+ + +

1 2+ 3 4+ + +e e eaaa

DOTTED QUARTER NOTESUsing the Time Signature to the left, write the counting for each example below. Once you have mastered writing the counting, you can then apply your knowledge to Clap - Tap - Count and then performance on your instrument.

RHYTHMLEVEL 2A

?4

1 STAR Write Correct Counting

1 STAR Clap - Tap - Count (Correct Counting - Subdivision)

1 STAR Clap - Tap - Count (Correct Clapping)

1 STAR Perform Rhythms Accurately

1 STAR Create your own musical example using…Dotted Quarter Notes (Rests), Quarter Notes (Rests), and Eighth Notes (Rests).

RHYTHMLEVEL 2A - ASSESSMENT

SIXTEENTH NOTESUsing the Time Signature to the left, write the counting for each example below. Once you have mastered writing the counting, you can then apply your knowledge to Clap - Tap - Count and then performance on your instrument.

RHYTHMLEVEL 2B

?4

1 STAR Write Correct Counting

1 STAR Clap - Tap - Count (Correct Counting - Subdivision)

1 STAR Clap - Tap - Count (Correct Clapping)

1 STAR Perform Rhythms Accurately

1 STAR Create your own musical example using…Quarter Notes (Rests), Eighth Notes (Rests), and Sixteenth Notes (Rests).

RHYTHMLEVEL 2B - ASSESSMENT

DOTTED EIGHTH NOTESUsing the Time Signature to the left, write the counting for each example below. Once you have mastered writing the counting, you can then apply your knowledge to Clap - Tap - Count and then performance on your instrument.

RHYTHMLEVEL 2C

?4

1 STAR Write Correct Counting

1 STAR Clap - Tap - Count (Correct Counting - Subdivision)

1 STAR Clap - Tap - Count (Correct Clapping)

1 STAR Perform Rhythms Accurately

1 STAR Create your own musical example using…Quarter Notes (Rests), Dotted Eighth Notes (Rests) Eighth Notes (Rests,and Sixteenth Notes (Rests).

RHYTHMLEVEL 2C - ASSESSMENT