How to Read Music - Lesson 9 - Rhythmic Values

DOWNLOAD THE FREE RHYTHMIC VALUES POSTER



Rhythm is the systematic arrangement of musical sound in time. In order to show this musicians use musical notation.

Rhythmic values, the individual mathematical time values of rhythm, are shown with notation such as whole, half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes. Also there are other possible notational values.

To begin to understand rhythm imagine a circle. A circle is a complete whole. A whole note looks like a circle. A whole note gets 4 beats.

If you divide the circle into 2 parts, you get 2 halves. A half note is half the value of a whole note, 2 beats.

If you divide the whole into 4 equal parts you get quarters. A quarter note is 1/4 the value of a whole note, 1 beat.

If you divide this quarter into 2 halves you get a 1/2 beat for each new note. But this new note is called an eighth note. This is because the value of this note is 1/8 the time value of a whole note. 4 beats divided by 8 parts will equal a 1/2 of a beat.

Finally if you divide the circle, or whole note, into 16 equal parts you will get 1/16 of a beat, called a sixteenth note.

To understand this better take a look at the video above and download the free rhythmic value poster so can visually make the connection with the math.


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How to Read Music - Lesson 8 - Alto Clef

DOWNLOAD THE FREE ALTO CLEF POSTER HERE



The alto clef's proper name is the C clef. This is because it's pointer points to middle C.

The C clef is a special clef, because it is a movable clef. Wherever you place the pointer of the C clef that line will be the middle C.

There are 5 possible positions for the C clef, but the most commonly used it the position with the pointer on the middle line, known as the alto clef.

The notes of the clef are from the bottom up, F, G, A, B, C, E, D, F, G.

You can easily remember the lines of the alto clef with the phrase "Fast Ants Can Eat Grass" and the spaces can be remembered with the phrase "Great Big Dragons Fly".

To help you learn and remember the notes of the alto clef here is a FREE ALTO CLEF POSTER DOWNLOAD for you.



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How to Read Music Lesson 7 - Ledger Lines

How to Read Music Lesson 7 - Ledger Lines

In this lesson we will learn about ledger lines. A ledger line is a short line added below or above the staff to extend it's range.

Ledger lines are only used when a note is outside the range of the staff. When extending the staff it is best to use no more than 4 ledger lines for easy readability.

When using ledger lines we only want to use them briefly. If a musical passage needs ledger lines for a long time there is usually a better notational solution.

Ledger lines can be used on any staff. When using ledger lines it is important to only use the number of lines needed to show a given pitch. We do not want to put extra ledger lines above or below a pitch, only use enough to show to pitch you want.



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Every Major and Minor Chord Possible

To Download this Free Poster CLICK HERE

This poster shows every possible major and minor chord that is a 3-note triad. Also it shows the enharmonically equivalent triads. If you need a quick refresher on how enharmonics work watch Lesson #5 - Enharmonics



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Interactive Bass Clef Practice Tool

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If you need a refresher on how to read the bass clef watch Lesson #3 - How to Read Bass Clef. Subscribe