1. You will need a pencil and something to write on.
Today you will be learning about
note values and time signatures!

2. Note Values Whole Note 4 beats Half Note 2 beats Quarter Note 1 beat
Eighth Note ½ beat
Sixteenth Note ¼ beat

3. Measures and Time Signatures
Music is divided into measures using bar lines.
Within those measures is a time signature. A time signature tell you how many total number of beats you can have in any given measure.
The top total number tells you the total number of beats you can have in a measure
The bottom number tell you which note gets 1 beat.
In this case, the bottom 4 is equal to a quarter note.

4. Time Signatures
In a
Time signature you can use any combination of notes to equal 4 beats.
For example:
& & 4
Every measure ALWAYS begins with beat 1
When you have 8th notes, each note get a number (1,2,3,4) as well as an & (and). The number get half the beat and the & gets the other half.

5. Note Values and Time Signatures
The following website can be used to help understand the basic of music reading.
Music Theory Website

6. There is a link available on my BHS webpage

7. Time Signatures
There are other time signatures used. Below are the most common.
2 =
In each time signature, the bottom number represents a different note.
4 =
8 =

8. = + 2 + 1 = 3 or Dotted Notes and their Value
The dot (.) raises the value of the note by half the value of the original note.
Dotted Half Note
Dotted Quarter Note
For example: A
is equal to 2 beats.
Take half of 2
equaling 1 and add that to the 2 beats = + or
= 3