dancing,

pulse

we feel how rhythms

or beat. Usually,

the metre

should

those individual

them

beats are grouped,

to a basic underlying

providing

what is called

of the music (like metre in poetry).

Music is written
measures.

down in sections,

Each bar is separated

called a barline.

each several beats in length,

or

of beats per bar, which usually remains

a piece.

The end of a piece

is indicated

This is called a double

by two lines,

barline

one thin and one thick,

you'll see a double

and repeat the piece.

bar in the middle

should stop there and go back to the beginning.

you must ignore the repeat sign and continue
your repeat somewhere

close

(or 'double bar' for short). Two dots before

a double barline tell you to go back to the beginning

Sometimes

called bars

from the next by a vertical line across the stave,

The metre is the number

the same throughout

together.

go by relating

of a piece, indicating

that you

The second time round,

though,

to the end. If you're supposed

other than the beginning,

to stare

you'll see a double barline followed

by two dots.

barline
I

double barline
I

1 bar

~I~:~~~~:
~:~~-~
i i
i
repeat from start to here

Rhythms
starting

are written
point

In northern

using different

kinds of note, each with a different length.

is the longest commonly-used

created by dividing
by subdividing

repeat from here .....to here

note, the semibreve.

The

Shorter notes are

that long note, firstly into two notes of half its length,

and then

those notes, and so on.

Europe and America,

the names of the notes reflect that process of

division in a rational way. But the British use names that come directly from French
and Latin.

AMERICAN NAMES:
whole note

semi breve

half notes

minims

quarter notes

.J

.J

crotchets

eighth notes

sixteenth ootes

thirty-second notes

40

BRITISH NAMES:

.rJ .rJ .rJ .rJ

.J J J J .J

j j j

.J

j j j

.J

j j j

mm9mm9mm9mm9

quavers

semiquavers

dernisemiquavers