1. Fraction of the Beat

2. Music and Math
At the beginning of every piece of music you’ll see something that looks like a fraction This is called a time signature. It isn’t actually a fraction but it helps organize the music into them. The top number in the time signatures lets us know how many beats per measure there are in the music. The bottom number tells us which kind of note gets one beat.

3. How the top number works
So here is a good visual of how the time signature works in music. As you see there is a time signature of meaning that there are 4 beats per measure based on the top number. A measure is how we organize the music, there are separated by bar lines. 1 2 3 4
Bar line
Measure

4. How the bottom number works
The bottom number represents what note gets one beat. The notes are named based off of their value in the most popular time signature, which is .
Note name
What it looks like
Whole
Half
Quarter
Eighth
Sixteenth

5. The whole picture
So basically, each note is named for the fraction that equals its value of the measure in . Below is an example.
Note name
Note value
Whole
4 beats (the whole measure)
Half
2 beats (half of the measure)
Quarter
1 beat (a quarter of the measure)
Eighth
Half a beat
(an eighth of the measure)
Sixteenth
Fourth of a beats
(a sixteenth of the measure)

6. How a measure with each note would look

7. The takadimi method
In the next slide you will be able to click on a note and hear how it sounds according to the takadimi method. This is the method I use here at Rocky Fork to teach choir and general music students how to read rhythms. Each part of the beat is given a specific syllable and said a certain way. Once you learn how to say each note then you can easily read any rhythm using those words. To play it on the instruments, you simply play every time you would say one of the syllables.

8. Click the note to see how its said and played
How to play
What to say
Whole note
Half note
Quarter note
Eighth note
Sixteenth note

9. Now your ready
There are several stations set up around the room with instruments and flashcards that have notes and their corresponding fraction on it. Combine the cards into four beat rhythms and see what you can come up with. Work with others to player your rhythms at the same time.
Have fun