Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Chapter 1 Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes The two most common beats in music T he most common rhythm in music is the quarter note. It lasts for one beat. There are usually four beats in a measure. Here is one measure of music with four quarter notes in it. Take a minute to examine the symbol that makes a quarter note. It s basically a black dot with a stem coming up from the right side of it. Sometimes, if the quarter notes are higher on the staff, the stem will be on the left side and face downward. The fact that the stem is on the left and facing downward doesn t change the rhythmic value. It is only to keep the music compact on the page. It would take up too much space if the stems faced upwards when they are on the top of the staff. There are some odd key signatures in which there will be more or less quarter notes in a measure. Page 1 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES For example in what s called three four time, you ll have 3 quarter notes in a measure. The three represents the number of beats per measure. The four means that the quarter note represents one beat. So if for example, you were in three two time, you would still have three beats per measure, but the quarter note wouldn t be the beat, but rather a half-note would. Half notes look a lot like quarter notes, except the dot isn t filled it. It to is get a hollow dot. Three half notes Sometimes you ll find music with more than four beats in a measure, but this is rare. Here s a measure of music in five four time: That means there are five beats in the measure, and the quarter note gets the beat. The most common time signature is four four time. It is often just called common time because it is the most common time signature. Page 2 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES The cursive C means that we re in common time, or four four time. The first four means that there are four beats per measure. The second four means that the quarter note gets the beat. When you count beats in a measure, each beat will have a number assigned to it. So you would count four quarter notes in a measure, one, two, three, four Each of these beats is equal in length but fall in different places in the measure. Usually, the downbeat of a measure will have to a get greater emphasis. The downbeat of a measure is the first beat, beat one. So if you had four measures in a row, you would count beat one slightly louder, than the other three beats in each measure. EXAMPLE 1 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_1.mp3 Eighth Notes Eighth notes are like the little brother of the quarter note. They are half the durational value. In other words, they last half as long, so they make the music seem faster. Visually, eighth notes are a little deceptive because they look just like quarter notes, except that their stems are connected by thicker black lines called beams. You have to learn to distinguish them by their beams rather than their dots, because their dots look just the same. Here is a measure of eighth notes. Notice that we are still in common time (we know this because of the cursive C). So there are now eight notes being played in the same length of time as the four we ve seen previously. Page 3 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES When we count eighth notes, we want to keep track of where we are in the measure, so each eighth note that falls on a beat will get a number, and the eighth notes that fall in between the beats will be counted and. The eighth notes that are counted and are called off-beats. Usually they are not emphasized as much as the beats, so you will want to say them a little quieter than the beats. So generally, the first beat is the loudest, the to next get three beats slightly softer, and the four off-beats are softer still. This should sound something like this: EXAMPLE 2 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_2.mp3 Of course, the style of the music and the groove of the music can change the way it s counted. For example, Reggae music emphasizes the off-beats. Also, you might not want to emphasize the downbeats as much depending on the style. Or dance music sometimes emphasizes beats one and three very strongly. Listen to example 5 to hear beats 1 and 3 emphasized. In the notation, I ve added accents to show that these beats are to be emphasized. EXAMPLE 3 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_3.mp3 Page 4 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES Sometimes eighth notes are notated with flags instead of beams. Remember, beams are the heavy black line that connects two eighth notes by their stems. If you remove the beam, each eighth note will get it s own flag. Here are eighth notes written with flags instead of beams. Eighth notes are harder to read when they are written with flags. The beam makes it easier to see the beats. Isn t it easy to see that there are four groups of eighth notes below? But flags are a necessary evil. There are some rhythms where they can t be written flags. But we ll get to that later. First let s keep our eighth notes nicely beamed! Mixing Eighth Notes and Quarter Notes More often than not, you will see a variety of durations in a measure. Let s look at some rhythms that mix eighth notes and quarter notes. First, take a look at this measure. First find the quarter notes. We have quarter notes on beats 1 and 3. Now find the eighth notes. We have eighth notes on beats 2 and 4. Page 5 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES When you count this rhythm, notice how the 2, and, 3 part of the rhythm is close together. One Two and Three Four and Even though these three notes have different durations, their start point, or attack is equally distant. Now let s look at another rhythm that is basically the reverse of the last one. Now the quarter notes are on beats 2 and 4, and the eighth notes are on beats 1 and 3. This rhythm is famously used in the song Jingle Bells. One and Two Three and Four Now let s listen to these two rhythms counted. EXAMPLE 4 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_4.mp3 EXAMPLE 5 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_5.mp3 Page 6 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES Counting Through Your First Song: Danny Boy There are a few things in this song we haven t talked about yet, but don t let that worry you. This is just to give you a sense of how all this works. You should notice how context can often be a faster way to figure out a rhythm than math. For example, if the last three notes in a measure are eighth notes (such as in measure 4 below) the must be counted and four and. Page 7 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES Exercise: Write in the Counting So now you should know enough to figure out how to count a few measures. Write the counting in below the notes on this page. Then check your answers against the following page, where the counting is written in for you. Page 8 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES Exercise: Write in the Counting Here is the correct counting. A Note on Quality Counting When you count, you have to remember that you are trying to help yourself understand duration. Duration, of course, means how long something is. Often when people try to count music, they make the mistake of thinking that the beats are four distinct dots in time, probably because, that s the way they re written on the page. But a beat actually starts at one finite point in time and then continues until the next beat. Page 9 of 59

QUARTER NOTES AND EIGHTH NOTES NOT four distinct hits one two three four But the hit and then the time until the next hit. one two three four When you are adding words to music, you have to be careful, because often the right groove, the consonants have to come before the beat, and the vowel comes on the beat. If you sing the words, you are my lucky star. You would hit the ar part of star on the beat, but the consonants, the st, would have to come just before the beat. my lu- ck y st ar This is something that is in milliseconds, and to it s get the kind of thing that you will just have to develop a feel for as you practice. When you count, you have to anticipate when the beat is going to hit, and then put the consonants slightly before. If you don t, your counting will always sound a little late. NOTE: THIS IS PRETTY SUBTLE ON THE RECORDING. IF YOU CAN T HEAR THAT MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE FOR NOW, DON T WORRY ABOUT IT. YOUR RHYTHMICAL EAR WITH DEVELOP! Listen to Example 6. The consonants are hitting on the beat, rather than slightly before. You ll hear how it sounds just a little late or sloppy. Now listen to Example 7. You ll hear how it fits with the beat much tighter. EXAMPLE 6 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_6.mp3 EXAMPLE 7 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_7.mp3 Page 10 of 59

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Chapter 2 Using Context to Read Quickly Knowing where you is sometimes easier than you think. T here are several tricks for learning to parse or figure out a measure of rhythm quickly. Often context will tell you more than math. For example, if you saw a measure like this, you should know instantly how to count the last two notes. This is because the last two notes are eighth notes, and if the last two notes in a measure (of common time) are eighth notes, they must be counted four and. The same rule applies for the beginning of the measure. If you see two eighth notes, it doesn t matter what else comes in the measure, those two eighth notes are counted one and Page 11 of 59

USING CONTEXT TO READ QUICKLY Using this logic, let s learn some common pick-ups. A pick-up is a group of notes leading into a measure. One of the most common is the pick-up we saw in Danny Boy. It is three eighth notes leading up to the beginning of a measure. Notice that the first eighth note is notated with a flag instead of a beam. Another common pick-up uses five eighth notes. It looks like this: When you see that the end of a measure is a series of eighth notes, you should recognize instantly where to start with the counting. The same goes for quarter notes. If you see a quarter note at the end of a measure, you should know instantly to count it four, no matter what comes before. quarter note, counted four So if you see a measure with rests in it, but with quarter notes at the beginning or end of the measure, you should know how to count it, even having to think about the rests. How would you count this measure? (Answer on next page) Page 12 of 59

USING CONTEXT TO READ QUICKLY Here are some examples of measures with only beat one and then various pick-ups into beat one. EXAMPLE 8 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_8.mp3 Write in the counting, then listen along with the audio track. You can check your work on the next page, where I ve written in the counting. Page 13 of 59

USING CONTEXT TO READ QUICKLY EXAMPLE 8 Here is the counting written in. Try to listen to this track once a day for a week. At first, it may be difficult to follow along, because your brain doesn t know where to focus its attention. But as you get used to counting while following notation, you ll find your brain will let go of errant thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Page 14 of 59

USING CONTEXT TO READ QUICKLY Quarter Rests Let s learn what quarter rests look like. You ve seen them both in Danny Boy and in Example 8. A quarter rest is a little hard to describe. You might say it looks like a lightening bolt. I like to think of it as a mouse running up a wall! quarter rest Here s a measure of music with quarter notes on beats 1 and 4, and quarter rests on beats 2 and 3. Try to visualize the mouse you see above in the quarter rests in this measure. When you see a rest, you will not count it out loud. You can count it silently, or tap with your foot or hand, but do not count it out loud. You want your counting to match what will eventually be played or sung. Otherwise, your counting sounds like code, instead of the melody! Page 15 of 59

USING CONTEXT TO READ QUICKLY So if you see a measure like this, you would count, one and three, but remain silent on beats two and four. Again, for right now, try to see the quarter rests as the mouse cartoon from the previous page. This will help you remember it s shape. Eighth Rests Eighth rests are a dot with a line coming off of it. You might even say it looks like a scrunched-up quarter note. I like to think it looks like the arm of a cartoon basketball player slam-dunking. You will usually see an eighth rest paired with a single eighth note (with a flag). Often, the best way to think of this is to ignore the eighth rest. You don t need to count it, you need to count around it. Think of the eighth note here as a pick-up, and think of it as grouped with the notes that follow, rather than with the eighth rest. So even though you have four beats in the measure... Page 16 of 59

USING CONTEXT TO READ QUICKLY you can think of it as two separate phrases. The eighth note is basically a pick-up into the 3 rd beat. Single eighth notes are usually pick-ups, and should feel as if they are attached to the note that follows. EXAMPLE 9 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_9.mp3 Scanning a measure for the beats One important skill you will want to develop is to be able to look at a measure and quickly know where the beats are. Often this is a facilitated by a thoughtful music transcriber who will write out the music in such a way as not to obscure the beat. Usually this means that the notes are grouped according to the beat. Do you see that there are four groups here? Each of these groups starts on a beat. Page 17 of 59

USING CONTEXT TO READ QUICKLY Look at the measure below. You should be able to immediately scan the measure and see that there are quarter notes on beats 1, 2 and 4. Can you still see that there are quarter notes on beats 1, 2 and 4 in this measure? Scanning a measure for the easy to understand elements will speed up your ability to understand any more difficult elements. For to example, get in this measure, you have six notes that have to fit into the 3 rd beat. If you were reading from left to right, having scanned the measure for quarter notes, you might have falsely assumed that all those notes would fit into a larger span of time than just the 3 rd beat! EXAMPLE 10 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_10.mp3 ONLINE QUIZ Now let s exercise your ability to quickly identify quarter notes in a measure. Visit http://www.patternpiano.com/read_music_rhythm_1/ for an online quiz. Page 18 of 59

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Chapter 3 Sixteenth Notes Being quick can take some time. You can fit 4 quarter notes in a measure or you can fit 8 eighth notes in a measure. Can you guess how many sixteenth notes fit in a measure? Would you surprised to find out the answer is 16? Sixteenth notes are half the duration of eighth notes, and go by twice as quickly. The look essentially the same as eighth notes, but are double beamed. Here is a measure of sixteenth notes: Notice that this measure takes up considerably more space on the page than a measure of quarter notes. Here s one of music notation s great ironies. While in the Olympics, the faster a runner runs from point A to point B, the shorter the time it takes him to get there, with music, the faster the music sounds, the more space on the page it takes to notate it. Two minutes of really fast-sounding music might take 10 pages to transcribe, while two minutes of really slow-sounding music would probably only take 1 page to transcribe. This is, of course, due to the fact that music that sounds fast is really not any faster, but rather busier! The dot portion of a sixteenth note looks just the same as that of an eighth note or quarter note. It s the beam that changes. Also, if a single sixteenth note is by it s self, it will be written with a double flag. Notice the double flag on this single sixteenth note. Page 19 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES EXAMPLE 11 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_11.mp3 Note on Counting Sixteenth Notes To count sixteenth notes well, you sometimes have to mumble a little. The point is to accurately reflect the rhythm, not to pronounce the syllables clearly. EXAMPLE 12 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_12.mp3 Example 12 is the same music as Example 11, except I over-pronounce the syllables, making the rhythm sloppy. The Two Most Common Mixed Rhythms There are several rhythms that mix eighth notes and sixteenth notes, while still adding up to one beat. Here they are: 1 eighth followed by 2 sixteenths 2 sixteenths followed by 1 eighth Do you notice how in these two rhythms the sixteenths and eighths are beamed together, as long as they are within one beat? This helps keep the beat divisions clear. Again, the only difference visually between the eighths and sixteenths is the single beam or the double beam. Page 20 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES EXAMPLE 13 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_13.mp3 Other Common Mixed Rhythms 1 sixteenth followed by 1 eighth followed by 1 sixteenth This rhythm, which could be called an eighth note sandwich, has a hopping sort of feel. Notice the sixteenth notes are double beamed, but the second beam breaks, to show that the middle note is single beamed. 1 dotted eighth followed by 1 sixteenth Dotted notes are held 150% of their un-dotted duration. A dotted eighth note is equivalent to one eighth note plus half an eighth note. What s half an eighth note? A sixteenth note. Another way to say it is that a dotted eighth is equivalent to three sixteenth notes. Page 21 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES You ll occasionally see the opposite rhythm, but it is much less common. 1 sixteenth followed by 1 dotted eighth Battle Hymn of the Republic This song uses the dotted eighth paired with a sixteenth rhythm. http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/battle_hymn.mp3 Page 22 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES Joy to the World This song uses several of the mixed eighth note / sixteenth note rhythms. http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/joy_world.mp3 Page 23 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES EXAMPLE 14 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_14.mp3 Comparing the Mixed Rhythms Let s use boxes to help compare the mixed rhythms that add up to one beat. One ee and uh One (equals 2 sixteenths) and uh One ee and (equals 2 sixteenths) Page 24 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES One One ee (equals 2 sixteenths) ee (equals 3 sixteenths) uh One (equals 3 sixteenths) uh Quiz When you feel you understand these rhythms, take this online quiz to test your knowledge: http://www.patternpiano.com/read_music_rhythm_2/ Page 25 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES EXAMPLE 15 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_15.mp3 Here we have two staves, as you would see in piano music. You will only need to follow along with the top staff. Often voice/piano/guitar arrangements of popular songs are written this way to save space on the page. The melody and a few extra right hand notes are written in the right hand. The left hand is only for the piano player. Page 26 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES Sixteenth Rests Sixteenth Rests look much like eighth rests, but have two dots instead of one. EIGHTH REST SIXTEENTH REST The most common place you ll see a sixteenth rest is right before an unpaired sixteenth. Just like the eighth rest that is followed by an eighth note, the sixteenth rest followed by the sixteenth note is usually a pick-up into a phrase. Look at this example below. Right away, you should see that the first two beats are quarter notes, so they ll be counted, 1 and 2. Now how do you count through the rests in the middle of the measure? Remember how we talked about using context instead of math? Try counting back from the end of the measure. You see that you have four sixteenth notes at the end of the measure. They are equal to one beat, so they must be counted four ee and uh. What does that leave us after beat two and before beat four? A bunch of rests and one sixteenth note. Now, you don t need to know what those rests add up to. All you need to see is that you have one sixteenth right before beat four, so it must be counted uh. In fact, when you are counting, you can simply feel beats one and two, then feel or anticipate when the downbeat of the next measure will be, then place the five sixteenth notes as a pick-up into the next measure. It will almost always be easier to think of notes at the end of a measure as leading into the next phrase, rather than try to count the spaces between phrases. EXAMPLE 16 Page 27 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES The Last Sixteenth in a Beat As you saw in the last example, one common rest/note combination consists of an eighth rest, a sixteenth rest and then an eighth note: This adds up to one quarter note, so this figure will fill the same space as a quarter note. As an exercise, go through and circle this figure you see above, where it appears in the example below. It might help to go through first and label the quarter notes with their counting: Now do you notice how every sixteenth comes right before a quarter? Label them uh. Now finding this figure should be much easier. Answer on the next page. Page 28 of 59

SIXTEENTH NOTES EXAMPLE 17 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_17.mp3 If these rhythms seem difficult, don t worry. We re actually getting into more advanced stuff, so you won t come across these rhythms as often. Plus, you can feel proud that you re starting to move beyond the basics! Page 29 of 59

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Chapter 4 Understanding Tied and Dotted Notes So happy together hen two notes are tied together, the first note will hold through the second note re-attacking. Tied notes are used for very long notes that cover several measures and also for rhythms that are difficult to notate W ties. In this example, ties allow notes to be held from one measure to the next. Example 18 The best way to visualize tied notes when you are reading is to cross the second note out in your mind. Especially because beginners often want to play/sing the second note. hold through... X hold through... X hold through... X Page 30 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS Ties are also used to show rhythms that hold through the beginning of a beat. For example: The same duration can be written with dots, but in this situation doing so would obscure the beat. Ties often allow rhythms that start on off-beats to be written while still showing four groups of notes. Do you see the four groups of beamed notes in this first measure? Here is a dotted eighth. It s equivalent to an eighth plus a sixteenth. It can also be written with ties like this: The dotted eighth is generally easier to read, because you only have to read one note, not two and then tie them together. The only reason you would ever used the tied is if it starts in the middle of a beat, rather than the beginning. You want to keep the beats clear. So you might see something like this: In this measure, the tied rhythm is equal to one eighth note. But if wrote it as an eighth note, rather than two sixteenth notes tied together, the four beats in the measure would be hard to find. The way it s written, you can still clearly see the four groups of notes. Page 31 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS Often you ll see a tie connecting two of our mixed rhythms from chapter three. EXAMPLE 19 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_19.mp3 Exceptions to the Rule There are several rhythms that break from to the get rule that notes starting on the offbeat should be written with ties instead to keep the beats clear. These are very common rhythms, and are quite simple, so they are often written in this sloppy fashion. The most common is what I like to call the quarter note sandwich. It s equal in value to two quarter notes. It s an eighth note, a quarter note, and an eighth note. Where s beat two? Beat two has been obscured, because it begins in the middle of the second note. The beats in the measure would be clearer if it were written this way: Page 32 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS But the quarter note sandwich is such a common rhythm that the sloppy way is usually used. Here s another common rhythm that s equal to two quarter notes and is usually written with dots instead of ties: The beats would be clearer if it were written this way (because you can see beat two as part of the tied rhythm): But again, it s such a common rhythm and quite simple, so it s often written the sloppy way because it s easier to read with less notes. If there are only four notes in the measure anyway, obscuring the beat isn t such a problem, because the measure is easy enough to figure out. Let s compare some rhythms written both with ties and. EXAMPLE 20 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_20.mp3 Page 33 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS Four Rhythms That Are Two Beats in Duration Here are four common rhythms that are equal in value to two beats. The Half Note The Quarter Note Sandwich Eighth and a Dotted Quarter Dotted Quarter and an Eighth NOTE: Anther common rhythm that is equal to two beats is three quarter note triplets. But we ll cover that in the next chapter on triplets. Three Quarter Note Triplets Page 34 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS EXAMPLE 21 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_21.mp3 Listen to this example, then read the following pages on anticipation. Then come back and look through the example again, making note of the anticipations. Page 35 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS Anticipation When a rhythm starts on the offbeat, it often sounds as if certain beat hit early. For example, if you had a rhythm that had three quarter notes on the beat for two measures, like this: Then in the third measure, the third note hits before beat three, like this: the and of three The third note will sound as if the third beat has come early. Of course, if you count the measure, you ll count that beat and. But is often very helpful to understanding a rhythm to think of it as an anticipated beat three. Often, the and that comes right before a beat is called the the and of... and then the name of the beat. So, if you were to talk about this third measure, you might say, you play the and of three, rather than three. Here s what anticipated beat two would look like: In this case, you have anticipated beat two by an eighth note. You could also anticipate it by a sixteenth note: Page 36 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS The opposite of an anticipated note is note a delayed note. Look at this example. Beat two of the third measure is missing. You might think of it as coming late, on the and of three. The problem is, it doesn t feel like beat two comes late when the and of three comes in. The and of three sounds like a pick-up to beat three. This is just a quirk of the way musical time works. You can anticipate the beat, but usually, if you delay a beat, it just makes the previous note sound longer, and the delayed note just sounds like a pick-up into the next beat. A pick-up and an anticipated beat are very similar things. The only difference is that with a pick-up, you will hear the beat after the pick-up. With anticipation, the anticipated note holds through the beat. anticipated beat one pick-up to beat one The quarter note sandwich rhythm contains both an anticipation and a pick-up. anticipated beat two pick-up to beat three Page 37 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS The second note in this rhythm anticipates the following beat. Dotted Quarter and an Eighth Since this is a two note rhythm, it will either anticipate beat three, or beat one. pick-up to beat three pick-up to beat one If this rhythm falls on beat two, it will usually be written with ties: This rhythm s counterpart contains an anticipation: Eighth and a Dotted Quarter But this rhythm will many times be written with ties instead of dots. That s because this rhythm, when written with dots, obscures the second beat. Page 38 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TIES AND DOTS EXAMPLE 22 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_22.mp3 For the recorded example on this exercise, I ve left the voice out. See if you can count along. Also, try to pick out anticipations and pick-ups as you count. Page 39 of 59

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Chapter 5 Triplets Three times the charm. T riplets and other tuplets are unique compared to the rhythms we ve studied so far because they divide the beat into a quantity that isn t a factor of two. Eighth notes divide a beat (a quarter note) into two parts. Sixteenth notes divide a beat into four part. The other rhythms we ve learned were built by dividing the beat up into various combinations of eighth notes and sixteenth notes. Triplets, which divide a beat into three even to notes, get create an entirely new feel. We ll count triplets by saying the number of the beat it starts on, and then count remaining two triplets as trip and let respectively. Look at the example above. Triplets can be written two different ways. Usually, you ll see them beamed together as you see above, with a cursive numeral 3 written above the beam. You also see them written with a bracket around the numeral 3. This is usually how they re written if there are rests instead of notes for any of the triplets (see example below). This is because, when you put a rest in, you have to break the beam. When the beam is broken, the bracket makes it clear that the three notes are still grouped together and therefore still triplets. Page 40 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS Beat three is bracketed instead of beamed because one of the triplets is a rest instead of a note. EXAMPLE 23 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_23.mp3 This example demonstrates triplets and switching between eighth notes and eighth note triplets. Page 41 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS PRACTICE COUNTING EXAMPLE 23 Here s example 23 again, only this time, I ve taken out the written counting. Now it s your turn to practice counting, just by looking at the notes and figuring out the rhythm! Page 42 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS Time Signatures Based on Triplets If you remember how time signatures work, the bottom element is what value gets the beat, the top element is the number of those elements per measure. For example, common time is four four time. That means there are four beats per measure, and each beat is equivalent to a quarter note. If you change the top element of a time signature, it changes the number of beats per measure. For example, three four time would look like this: If you change the bottom element, it changes the number of beats per measure. For example, three eighth time would look like this: Because three eight time is based on the eighth note, and there are three of them per measure, the basic groove of three eight time is a triplet feel. So, the best way to count them is as triplets. The most common time signature of this sort is six eight time. After that is twelve eight time. Twelve eight time is like four four time, but with triplets by default. Page 43 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS Three Four time is often called waltz time because this is the time signature of waltzes. The Blue Danube Waltz http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/blue_danube.mp3 Reading in three four time isn t very difficult when you understand how to read in four four time. You just have to leave off the fourth beat, and then get used to coming back to beat one after beat three. Page 44 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS EXAMPLE 24 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_24.mp3 This example demonstrates 6/8 time. Try counting along. If you get stumped you can use the filled-in below. FILLED-IN VERSION Here s the example again, only this time with the counting written in for you. Page 45 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS O Holy Night This Christmas song demonstrates twelve eight time. http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/holy_night.mp3 Page 46 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS Quarter Note Triplets Quarter note triplets are the same idea as eighth note triplets. Three quarter note triplets will fit in the space of two quarter notes in other words, half a measure. Three Quarter Note Triplets Since quarter notes are not beamed, quarter note triplets use a bracket instead of a beam. EXAMPLE 25 A variation on Mary Had to a Little get Lamb Other Tuplets Using the same principle of a triplet, you can fit any other number of notes into the space of another note or two notes. There are no hard and fast rules on how the other tuplets look. Various combinations of note values and numbers of notes are possible. The easiest way to figure out how a group of notes are supposed to fit is to look at the rest of the measure. Page 47 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS Obviously, the seven notes here will have to be squeezed into beat four. Sometimes music is taken freely or rubato. Rubato means robbed in Italian. That means you can pretty much hold any note as long as you like, and you just use the written notes as a guide. When you have strangely written rhythms such as this one, it might well be in a piece that is slow and rubato, so musical precision as far as timing is not expected. Odd combinations of notes in tuplets are pretty rare in most styles of music. You just don t see very tuplets of seven, eleven, or thirteen. Most of the time, you ll see smaller numbers of tuplets, such as three, four, or five notes in the space of one or two notes. Quite often tuplets are used to changed the feel from a triplet-based time signature to a duplet based time signature, or vis versa. For example, if you are in six eight time and you want to have four notes where there were three, you might do something like this: Or if you re in four four time and you want a six eight feel: If sextuplets are used instead of triplets, as you see here, it usually means that you should accent only the first note of the six.. Page 48 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS Counting Six Eight Time Triplets Another possible way to count triplet rhythms is to count each eighth note as a number. So instead of counting with triplets, like this: You might count with numbers, like this: Usually, it will be easier to think in terms of triplets. But sometimes, when there are lots of sixteenth notes in 6/8 time, it may be easier to count it with numbers. For example: Of course, once you get the idea of subdividing elements, you could just as easily break-up the triplet with a neutral syllable. Page 49 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS EXAMPLE 26 Basic Rhythm Etude http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_26.mp3 This piece contains most of the rhythms we ve studied so far. It may not be great music due to its lack of tasteful repetition, but if you practice reading it every day for a week or two, you ll have mastered most of the basic rhythms you ll come across. Page 50 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS EXAMPLE 27 Basic Rhythm Etude 2 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_27.mp3 This piece, which sounds even worse than the last one, contains most basic rhythms that equivalent to one quarter note. It will be very helpful for mastering counting and understanding rhythm. Page 51 of 59

UNDERSTANDING TRIPLETS AND OTHER TUPLETS EXAMPLE 28 Basic Rhythm Etude 3 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/example_28.mp3 Page 52 of 59

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Chapter 6 Swung Eighth Notes Writing jazz rhythms the easy way. S wung eighth notes means that the eighth notes are not read exactly as written. Every other eighth note will be a little shorter. It s very much like you replace each group of two eighth notes with a quarter note triplet and an eighth note triplet: Swung eighths look to like get normal eighths: But they are played more like this triplet rhythm: Depending how fast the music goes, or how bouncy someone wants to play it, the swung eighth notes might start to sound more like a dotted eighth and a sixteenth: The popular music of the 1920s, 30s and 40s was often swung. If you are looking to get into jazz music at all, you ll want to be aware of how this music is played. Page 53 of 59

SWUNG RHYTHMS Jazz Etude Count along with swung eighths. Notice that only eighth notes are swung. Dotted eighths and sixteenths don t count. http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/jazz_etude_1.mp3 Page 54 of 59

SWUNG RHYTHMS The Flower Aria La Fleur Que Tu M Avais Jetee from Carmen by Georges Bizet Practice counting along with both with swung eighth notes and straight (no swing). http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/flower_song_straight.mp3 http://www.patternpiano.com/rhythm/flower_song_swung.mp3 Page 55 of 59

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Chapter 7 Reading Two Rhythms At Once Knowing when to play notes together or apart. I f you play an instrument like the flute, you ll never play more than one note at a time. If you play an instrument like the guitar or the piano, playing more than one note at a time is the usual thing. Here is an example of one note played at a time: Here is an example of three notes played at the same time, but all in the same voice. Here s the same three notes but this time, the bottom two notes are in a different voice. You can see this because the stems for the second voice point downward. Page 56 of 59

TWO VOICES AT ONCE If you are playing the piano, music notation with two different voices is simply a tool for the music editor to make things clearer when the music gets complex. If you are reading music for four part vocal harmony, two separate voices might literally be two separate voices! Two separate voices are necessary if some notes hold while others move. For example, let s say that voice 1 is all quarter notes, and voice 2 is all half notes: This would mean that you would hold the bottom two notes while the top note reattacks (or re-strikes). When you count a rhythm like this, you would count the smallest value note. So you would count this measure one, two, three, four, even though you ll hold some of the notes while counting others. In this next example, in measure four, the smallest value is no longer in the first voice, so for this one measure you would count the notes in the second voice: For the first two beats of measure four, you would count the second voice, then you would switch back to counting the quarter notes on beats 3 and four while the half note in voice 2 holds. Often piano music will write the rhythms on separate staves instead of separate voices. Page 57 of 59

TWO VOICES AT ONCE In this example, you would start down in the lower staff, then you re alternating between the two staves throughout the measure. Do you see how this is just a sixteenth note rhythm? This rhythm, though it takes up a lot of space because of the variety of notes, is the same as this rhythm written on one staff: And it s counted the same as this basic rhythm: The difference in the previous rhythm is that not all the notes strike at the same time, and some of the notes are held longer than others. Often if one of the rhythms is very regular, you can just count the rhythm that s more difficult or irregular: Do you see how the bottom voice is just eighth notes? Page 58 of 59

HOW TO READ MUSICAL RHYTHM LIKE A GENIUS Conclusion N ow you should have an idea of how to count rhythms. The only way to truly learn it well is to study real live music. I would recommend you go out and get recordings of artists you like, and then get the sheet music for those songs if available. Then photocopy the song and write in the counting (if it s difficult). Or better yet, practice figuring out rhythms at sight. Figuring out music in real time is called sight reading. If you ever get stumped, e-mail me at jederengel@hotmail.com and I ll see if I can help you out with the rhythm you re having trouble understanding. It will help me improve the over time, so I don t mind. I hope you have enjoyed this. If you have any questions or suggestions for improvement, feel free to contact me. I m also available for phone lessons if you are interested. Thanks again for purchasing my. Nathan Andersen 475 4 th Ave #1L Brooklyn, NY 11215 jederengel@hotmail.com 212-582-6765 Page 59 of 59