Rhythm

Rhythm The musical division of time and space into notes and
rests of different lengths and stresses.
Note and Rest names and rhythmic value in

4
4

time:

Rests are named by how much of a measure with 4 beats it lasts.

For example, a half note is half the measure, a sixteenth note is 1
sixteenth of the measure, etc.
4 beats:

Whole Note,

2 beats:

Half Note,

1 beat:

Quarter Note,

beat:

Eighth Note,

beat:

Whole Rest (looks like a hole)

Half Rest (looks like a hat)
Quarter Rest

Eighth Rest

Sixteenth Note,

Sixteenth Rest

You can see the relationship between each note value by halving
note/rest value as follows:

Rhythm

Beaming:
For Eighth notes and smaller, notes are typically beamed
together.
The number of beams = the number of
tails.
1 beat of eighth notes:
1 beat of sixteenth notes:

(notice there is 1 beam)

(notice there are 2 beams)

Rhythm
Dotted Notes/Rests:
When a note or rest has a dot after it,
the total value of the note = the note value + half the note value

Dotted half note

= 3 beats
(half note (2 beats) + half the note value (1 beat) = 3 beats)
Dotted Quarter Rest

= 1.5 beats

Ties & Slurs:

A Tie is a line that is drawn between two notes on the same pitch.
It adds their rhythmic values together.

Do not confuse a tie with a slur, which is drawn above a

collection of notes that belong to the same phrase. It also
indicates for the singer to sing legato, or smoothly between
pitches.

Time Signature & Meter:

Meter The way the steady beat is grouped into specific
patterns. The beat/pulse is typically felt in groups of 2 or 3.
Time signature tells the meter of a piece, or how the beats are
divided into
measures. The top number tells how many beats
are in a measure, and the
bottom number tells what kind of
note gets 1 beat.

Rhythm
Ex.

3
4

time means there are 3 beats in every measure and a

quarter note = 1 beat

6
8

time means there are 6 beats in every measure and an

eighth note = 1 beat

2
2
note = 1 beat

time means there are 2 beats in every measure and a half