Rhythm
Bars and Beats
Music is broken up into bars and beats. The bar lines divide the stave into bars and the time signature indicates how many and what sort of beat are in each bar. See the example below.
Note Values
Below is a table of note values and their equivalent rests. You’ll notice the British name is in bold and the American name is in (brackets). You can use either but it is good to know both names as a musician.
Note beaming
Quavers and semiquaver can appear ungrouped with tails or in groups of 2, 3 and 4 with beams. See the table below.
Rhythm Values in Greater Detail
Here we explore how these rhythm values can be verbalised using rhythm syllables and how they sound (a bar of each note value is demonstrated).
A semibreve performed on a snare drum
A semibreve performed on a trumpet
A bar of minims performed on a snare drum
A bar of minims performed on a trumpet
A bar of crotchets performed on a snare drum
A bar of crotchets performed on a trumpet
A bar of quavers performed on a snare drum
A bar of quavers performed on a trumpet
A bar of semiquavers performed on a snare drum
A bar of semiquaver performed on a trumpet
Time Signatures
Time signatures tell musicians how many and the value of the beats in each bar. Look at the following explanation.
