Lessons › Rhythm
Rhythm basics: note values, rests and counting
Pitches tell you which notes to play; rhythm tells you when and for how long. In sight-reading, keeping the rhythm steady matters more than getting every pitch right, so it pays to read rhythms fluently.
Note values
Each note’s shape shows how long it lasts. Each value is half the length of the one before it.
| Note | Looks like | Beats in 4/4 |
|---|---|---|
| Whole note | Open note head, no stem | 4 |
| Half note | Open note head with a stem | 2 |
| Quarter note | Filled note head with a stem | 1 |
| Eighth note | One flag, or one beam when grouped | ½ |
| Sixteenth note | Two flags, or two beams | ¼ |
Eighth and sixteenth notes are usually joined by beams in groups that fill one beat. Beams make the beat visible: in 4/4, each beamed group of two eighths or four sixteenths is one beat.
Rests
Every note value has a matching rest: a silence of the same length. The whole rest hangs below the fourth line; the half rest sits on the middle line, so a useful memory aid is that the half rest looks like a hat and the whole rest like a hole. A whole rest is also used for a full measure of silence in any time signature.
Dotted notes
A dot after a note adds half of its value. A dotted half note lasts 2 + 1 = 3 beats. A dotted quarter lasts 1½ beats and is usually followed by an eighth note to complete the second beat.
Time signatures
The two numbers at the start of the music are the time signature. The top number is how many beats are in each measure. The bottom number is which note gets one beat: 4 means a quarter note, 2 a half note, 8 an eighth note.
- 4/4 has four quarter-note beats per measure. It is so common it is also called common time.
- 3/4 has three beats: the feel of a waltz.
- 2/4 has two beats: marches and many folk songs.
- 2/2, or cut time, has two half-note beats. It looks like 4/4 but is felt in two.
Compound time: 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8
When the top number is 6, 9 or 12 and the bottom is 8, the eighth notes are grouped in threes and each group is one beat. 6/8 has six eighth notes per measure but is felt as two beats, each a dotted quarter note long. That gives music in 6/8 its lilting, rolling feel.
Counting out loud
Counting gives every note a place in time. Say the beat numbers, and fill the gaps between them with syllables for the smaller notes:
| Rhythm | Count |
|---|---|
| Quarter notes in 4/4 | 1 2 3 4 |
| Eighth notes | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & |
| Sixteenth notes | 1 e & a 2 e & a |
| Eighth notes in 6/8 | 1 2 3 4 5 6, with the stress on 1 and 4 |
When sight-reading, clap or tap the rhythm of the first few measures before you play a note. If the rhythm is secure, the pitches are much easier to fit into it.
Level 3 adds eighth notes, and Level 4 adds dotted rhythms and rests. Turn on the metronome while you play along.
Practice rhythms