How to Read Rhythm

IMPORTANT VOCABULARY TO REMEMBER:

RHYTHM - how long or short (or fast or slow) a note sounds; the rhythm can change and form patterns

BEAT - the steady pulse of music, like a heartbeat; the beat stays the same throughout the song (*usually!)

NOTE - how long or short you need to make SOUND

REST - how long or short you need to be QUIET

VALUE - the number of beats

Each NOTE and REST has a different shape
The different shape tells us how many BEATS the note or rest has, and how long or short to sing or play an instrument
The longest is the WHOLE - a whole note is 4 beats of sound, a whole rest is 4 beats of quiet
HALF - a half note is 2 beats of sound, a half rest is 2 beats of quiet
QUARTER - a quarter note is 1 beat of sound, a quarter rest is 1 beat of quiet
The shortest is EIGHTH - an eighth note is 1/2 beat of sound, an eighth rest is 1/2 beat of silence

Rhythm and note values are a lot like the fractions you learned (or ARE learning) in math class!

Check out the chart and video below to learn more about how music is just like math... and PIZZA, yum!

You can also think about rhythm and note values like a pyramid, with the biggest note (or rest) at the top and the smallest note (or rest) at the bottom! Below are two examples of different styles of note pyramids.

But What About RESTS?

The same kind of pyramid also works with the rests!

Remember: RESTS and NOTES have the same name and value, but for RESTS you stay quiet, and for NOTES you make sound.

For example...

A whole NOTE means I sing for 4 beats

A whole REST means I stay quiet for 4 beats

EIGHTH NOTES - Separate AND Together

Eighth notes are usually seen together in PAIRS.

Sometimes the eighth notes remain separate, where they each have a "tail" or "flag". Sometimes the eighth notes connect with a beam. No matter which way you see them, they are the same!