Note Values and Simple Rhythms The Foundation for Reading Music

The Definition of Music Sound Silence Time

Rhythm Rhythm is the basic element of western music. Lets look at the way we read and write rhythms.

The Basic Notes These are the basic markings that we use to represent sound and silence. Notes represent sound and Rests represent silence.

The Basic Notes These notes and rests get the following number beats in 4/4 time. (We’ll learn about time signature later) A whole note/rest = 4 beats A half note/rest = 2 beats A quarter note/rest = 1 beat An eighth note/rest = ½ beat A sixteenth note/rest = ¼ beat

The Basic Notes Let’s try to clap and count some simple rhythms together and by ourselves to help us understand the concept of rhythm Quarter Notes Count Aloud! 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

The Basic Notes Half Notes Whole Notes Count Aloud! 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Whole Notes Count Aloud! 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

The Basic Notes Count Aloud! 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Count Aloud! 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4