œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œe +œ œa œ3 œe +œ œa œ4 œe +œ œa Counting Rhythms in Simple -Meter------
An important facet to correctly feeling the steady pulse of any piece of music, and knowing how to READ any written rhythm (or to write a rhythm so that others can clearlyœ1 follow)+œ œ2is to learn+œ toœ3 count+œ rhythmsœ4 +œwhile maintaining the steady pulse. This helps you to discern when- -notes- -should- - be- played- - - and- -when- the- - music- indicates you should be silent.
In simple meters where the basic ‘feel’ of the music is always evenly divided into 2s, such as 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 2/2 œ1 œ2 œ3 œ4 time signatures, we always count the main beats — This helps- - us- maintain- - - the- -steady- - pulse- - of- the- -music.- So for instance, in 4/4 time, you’ll always count the strong beats 1-2-3-4 whether a new note is 4 sounded or not… 4 ˙1 2 ˙3 4 ------
But we also count the names of any subdivision w1 2 3 4 of the beat which contains a note or a rest. 4 4 -œ1 - - - œ-2 - +œ- - œ-3 - - - Œ-4 ------
16th notes (or rests), are the smallest typical subdivision we encounter˙1 in2 simple meters.œ3 j œ4 œ-1 - +œ- - œ-2 - - - ‰-3 - +œ- - œ-4 - - - The subdivision of 16th notes is counted ------1-e-+-a-2-e-+-a-3-e-+-a-4-e-+-a. œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œe +œ œa œ3 œe +œ œa œ4 œe +œ œa (Sounds like: One-ee-and-ah-Two-ee-and-ah…) œ1- - - - Œ2- - -j- œ3- - - - Œ4- - - - œ-1 - +œ- - ‰-2 - +œ- - œ-3 - - - Œ-4 - - - Since an 8th note is twice as long as a 16th note, 8th ------notes will take the space of 2 of the smallest divisions. œ1 +œ œ2 +œ œ3 +œ œ4 +œ Œ1-j- - - œ2- - -j- Ó3- - - - 4- - - - -œ1 - +œ- - -2 - +œ- - ˙-3 - - - -4 - - - A Quarter note (or rest) is equal to 4 of the ------smallest divisions. œ1 œ2 œ3 œ4 ˙1-j. - - - 2-j- - - 3- - - - œ4- - - - -œ1 - +‰- - œ-2 - +‰- - ˙-3 - - - -4 - - - With the most simple rhythms, you may only need to count- the- main- - beats- - of- the- measure.- - - - (1-2-3-4- - -) - But you may also find it helpful to think in this manner: ˙1 2 ˙3 4 œ1 œ2 œ3 +œ œ4 +œ A Sixteenth note or rest will only take the space of 1 of -the- individual- - - -sixteenth- - - note- - counts.- -j - -(Ù- or Å = 1) œ1 Œ2 œ3 +œ œ4 +‰ An Eighth note or rest lasts the same duration as 2 of the- sixteenth- - - - note- -counts.------(‰- or Ò = 2) *A Dotted Eighth note or rest has the same duration as -3 sixteenth- - - -notes.------(‰˘- or Ò¿ = 3) A Quarter note or rest lasts the same duration as 4 sixteenthw1 notes. 2 3 4 (Œ or Ô = 4) *A Dotted Quarter note or rest has the same duration asÓ1- 3 eighth- - - notes,2- - or- 6- sixteenthœ3- - - notes.- œ4- - +œ-(Œ˘- or Ô¿ = 6) A Half note or rest lasts the same duration of 8 sixteenthœ1 notes. œ2 +œ œ3 +œ œ4 (Ó or = 8) ------◊ *A Dotted Half note or rest has the same duration as 3 quarter- - - notes,- - or- 12- sixteenth- - - - notes.- - - (-Ó˘ or- ¿ = 12) A Whole note or rest lasts the same duration as 16 sixteenth note. („ or ◊ = 16) ˙1 2 œ3 œ4 * A dot following a note or rest extends the duration to 11/2- times- -the- length- - of-j the- -same- -un-dotted- - - note- - value. œ1 . 2 +œ œ3 +œ œ4 ------œ1 Œ2 œ3 Œ4 ------j------œ1 œ2 +œ œ3 +‰ œ4 ------Œ1 œ2 Ó3 4 ------j- ‰1 +œ. 2 œ3 +œ ‰4 +œ ------˙1 . 2 3 œ4 - - -j------‰1 +œ œ2 +œ œ3 Œ4 ------œ1 œ2 œ3 +œ œ4 +œ ------
Ó1 2 œ3 œ4 +œ ------STRONG BEATS AND ‘UPBEATS’œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œe +œ œa œ3 œe +œ œa œ4 œe +œ œa When performing with a music conductor,- - - -it is- common- - - to- visualize- - - each- - numbered- - strong beat in a measure with a downstroke of the conductor’s hand motion. We refer to each of the beats of the measure by its number, and the first beat in any measure may be called that measure’s downbeat. (Tapping your foot or making a similar downstroke motion with your hand may assist you when playing or transcribing music.) œ1 +œ œ2 +œ œ3 +œ œ4 +œ ------X X X X
œ1 œ2 œ3 œ4 ------In between each conductor’s downstroke there must be an upstroke or an ‘upbeat’. When counting in simple meters, each AND (+) in the measure represents an upbeat. œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œe +œ œa œ3 œe +œ œa œ4 œe +œ œa ˙-1 - - - -2 - - - ˙-3 - - - -4 ------U - - - -U - - - -U - - - -U -
œ1 +œ œ2 +œ œ3 +œ œ4 +œ -w1 - - - -2 - - - -3 - - - -4 - - - These counts are used to identify specific- - - placements- - - - -in -the- measure–- - - for- -instance,- a conductor may ask you to accent the AND of 3, meaning the upbeat which follows beat 3 in the measure.
COUNTING TRIPLETS œ1 œ2 œ3 œ4 ˙1 2 œ3 œ4 Eighth note triplets and Quarter note- - triplets- - -(and- to- some- - lesser- - extent,- - - 16th- - note triplets) are quite common in simple meters, but there is not a -concensus- - - among- - - musicians- - - -on- how- -to count- - them. A quick check of Wikipedia references 9 or 10 completely different methods, each employing some variety of syllables. ˙1 2 ˙3 4 This probably happens because, by-œ1 nature,- - -allTuplets Œ-2 - - (a- tripletœ-3 - is- one- formŒ-4 - of- a- tuplet) fit anon-standard number of notes into the duration normally- occupied- - - by- standard- - - -note- values.- - - The- -Eighth- note triplet fits 3 Eighth notes into the time that 2 eighth notes normally last; it’s useful to know that an Eighth note triplet fills one full beat:
w1 2 3 4 -Œ1 - - - œ-2 - - - Ó-3 - - - -4 ------Œ -=- ŒÂ- - =- -ŒÍÂ------and the Quarter note triplet fits 3 quarter notes into the time that 2 quarter notes normally last– ˙1a Quarter note2 tripletœ3 fills two fullœ4 beats: ˙-1 .- - - -2 - - - -3 - - - œ-4 ------Ó = Œ Œ = ŒŒÇŒ œ1 Œ2 œ3 Œ4 The wide variety of methods of countingœ1 tripletsœ2 suggests œ3that it+œ is moreœ4 important+œ to know how tofeel , hear, and play triplets than it is to know -how- to- count- - them,- - -but- I will- - make- -3 a -suggestion- - that we count all triplets by using the syllables: trip-a-let. We need- - to- recognize- - - -that- a -quarter- - note- - triplet- - -count will be much longer than an eighth note triplet count, but once you learn to hear the differences, counting triplets will become easy. Œ1 œ2 Ó3 Tripœ - 4œa - letœ œ3 œ4 +œ -Ó1 - - - -2 - - - œ-3 --- - œ-4 - +œ------X 3 X X - - - X------X - - - - X - 3- X X
Tripœ - œa - letœ œ3 ˙1 . œ4 2 +œ 3 œ1 œ4 Tripœ -œa - letœ œ3 +œ œ4 ------3
œ1 Tripœ -œa - letœ œ3 œ1 +œ œ4 œ2 œ3 +œ œ4 +œ ∑ ------
∑ Ó1 2 œ3 œ4 +œ ------œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œ3 œ4 ------
œ1 œ2 œe +œ œa ˙3 4 œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œ3 œ4 ------
œ1 œ2 +œ œ3 œe +œ œa œ4 œ1 œ2 œe +œ œa ˙3 4 ------≈ ‰1 +œrœa œ2 3 œe +œ œ4 œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œ3 œ4 œ-1 œ-e +œ- ≈-a œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +œ- - œ-4 - - - œ-1 - - - œ-2 - +œ- - œ-3 œ-e +œ- œ-a œ-4 ------r------œ1 +œ œa ≈2 œe +‰ œ3 +œ œ4 œe . ‰1 +œ œa œ2 ≈3 œe +œ œ4 œ1 œ2 œe +œ œa ˙3 4 ------r------œ1 œe +œ œ2 œ3 +œ ‰4 +‰ œ-1 œ-e +œ- ≈-a œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +œ- - œ-4 ------j ------r------œ1 . œa œ2 +œ œ3 œe +œ ≈4 œe . œ1 +œ œa ≈2 œe +‰ œ3 +œ œ4 œe . œ1 œ2 +œ œ3 œe +œ œa œ4 ------œ1 +œ œ2 œ3 +œ œa œ4 œ-1 œ-e +œ- - œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +œ- - ‰-4 - +‰------j- - ≈1 œe +≈ œa œ2 ≈3 œe œa œ4 1 . r a 2 + 3 e + ≈4 e . PRACTICALœ œ≈ œEXAMPLESœ œ œ œ œ œ1 œe +œ a œ2 œ3 +œ œ4 œ-1 - +œ- œ-a œ-2 œ-e +œ- - Ó-3 - - - -4 - - - So -how- can- - we- determine- - - -where- - the- beats- - fall- -in complex rhythms? Let’s take a look at some tricky examples œ-1 - +œ- - œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +œ- œ-a œ-4 ------œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œ3 jœ4 and-1 consider-e +- -a our-2 -sixteenth- - -3 note- - counting- -4 - pattern:- - 1 + a 2 ≈3 e + 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙1 ‰- 2- œ- œ- œ- œ3- œe- +œ- œa- ‰4œ- œ- +œ- œ- - - - ≈1 œe +≈ œa œ2 e + a ≈3 œee + œaa œ44 e + a r j œ-1 œ-e +œ- - œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +œ- - ‰-4 - +‰------≈------≈------œ1 œe +œ 2 œe +œ œ3 +œ œa œ4 e +œ Now,-œ1 -every+œ- œ-atimeœ-2 weœ-e +œ-see- a sixteenthÓ-3 - - - note-4 - or -rest–- that gets ONE- - of- these- - counts,- - - and- -every- - time- -we -see- an eighth note or rest that gets TWO of these counts, so let’s circle the countsœ1 that each noteœ2 œe jror+œ restœa in˙3 this example4 takes. -1 - - - -2 -e +- -a -3 - - - -4 - - - 1 + a ≈2 e + 3 + 4 e . œ œ œ œ œ ˙ j œ1 . œ- 2- œ- +œ- œa- œ3- ‰- +œ-. œ- 4- œ- - œ- œ- - - ˙1 2 œ3 œe +œ œa ‰4 +œ j œ-1 - +œ- - œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +œ- œ-a œ-4 ------r- -j- œ1 œe œa œ2 +‰ ‰3 +œ œa œ4 œ-1 œ-e +œ- - ≈-2 œ-e +œ- - œ-3 - +œ- œ-a œ-4 ≈-e +œ------1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a œ1 œ2 +œ œ3 œe +œ œa ≈œ4 j -œ1 - - - œ-2 - +œ- - œ-3jœ-e +œ- œ-a œ-4 - - - œ1 .≈ œa œ2 +œ ≈ œ3 œe +œ 4 œe . . . ‰1 +œ œa- 2- œe- +œ- - œ3- - +- œa- œ4- œe-. - - - - - Now,œ-1 -always- - counting-2 - +œ- theœ-a œ-3strong- +œ- beats- -4 in- every- - measure– (1 2 3 4) what- - beats- - do- the-j- other- - notes- - and- rests- - fall- - œ1 +œ œa œ2 œe +œ Ó3 4 Œ-1 - - - œ-2 ≈-e +≈- œ-a œ-3 - +‰- - œ-4 - - - on?- (The- - first- syllable-j- - circled- - -in -each- grouping)- - - - r œ-1 œ-e - œ-a œ-2 - +‰- - ‰-3 - +œ- œ-a œ-4 ------r œ1 œe +œ ≈a œ2 œ3 +œ œ4 -1 -e +- ≈-a -2 - - - -3 - +- - -4 - - - ≈1 e +≈ a 2 ≈3 e a 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ1 œe +œ - œ2- - +œ- œ- ‰3- - +œ- œa- œ4- œe- +œ- œ- - - - ‰1 +œ œa ≈2 œe +œ œ3 +≈ œa œ4rœe . j j -1 -e +- - ≈-2 -e +- - -3 - +- -a -4 ≈-e +------œ1 œ-e +œ- -a -2 œ-e œ-+ -a œ-3j -e œ-+ œ-a œ-4 -e œ-+ -a œ1 . œa œ2 œ3 +‰ Œ4 -Œ1 - - - œ-2 ≈-e +≈- œ-a œ-3 - +‰- - œ-4 ------and that becomes our count: 1 e + 2 e + 3 + a 4 e + j œ1 œe +œ jœ2 j œ3 +œ j‰4 +‰j -1 -e +- - -2 - - - -3 - +- - -4 - +- - 1 2 3 e + a 4 + œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ ‰ œ1 +œ -˙ 2- - +œ- - œ3- - +œ- œ- 4œ- œ- +œ- ‰- - œ- - œ1 œe +œ œ2j +œ ‰3 +œ œa œ4 œe +œ -œ1 -œe - œ-a œ-2 - +‰- - ‰-3 - +œ- œ-a œ-4 ------Let’s- try- -another- - - example:- - -j ------œ-1 .- - œ-a œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +‰- - Œ-4 - - - Remember that sixteenth notes & rests get one count œ1 +œ œ2 œ3j +œ œajœ4 and- eighth- - -notes- -& rests- - get- two- - counts- - - - - 1 . 2 + a 3 + . 4 œ1j +œ œ2 j œ3j +œ œa œ4 j œ1 . œa- Œ2- - - - Œ3-. œ- œ- œ- 4- œ- +œ- - - - - butœ-1 you- also+œ- - need-2 ≈- to+œ≈- know- œ-3 thatj- +dottedœ- - -4 eighth- +œ- -notes & rests get three- counts,- - - quarter- - - notes- - &- rests- -get- four- - - counts,Œ1 and dottedœ2 e quarter+ œa œ3 notes+‰ & restsœ4 get six counts. So- let’s- circle- - each- - value- - in- our- -progression—------We count theœ1 first+œ œasyllable≈œ2 œe in+œ eachÓ3 group–≈ and4 note: we œ1 +œ œa œ2 œe +œ Ó3 4 j ‰1 +œ œa 2 œe . +œ œ3 + œa œ4 œe . . j. stillœ1 countœe +œ œa-4 asœ2- aœe -strong+œ- - beat,œ3- - even- œa- whenœ4- - it+ œ-doesn’t- - - - œ-1 . -e +- œ-a Œ-2 -e -+ -a Œ-33 -e -+ -a -44 -e +œ-+ -a coincide with- - the- start- - of- a new- - note!------œ1 - - œ-a œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +‰- - Œ-4 ------≈ r≈ j ≈ r≈ j œ1 œe +œ 2 œe +œ œ3 +œ œa œ4 e +œ Let’sœ1 tryœe +œfew more2 œe with+œ youœ3 filling+œ œa inœ4 thee +œblanks: œ-1 œ-e +œ- - œ-2 - +œ- - ‰-3 - +œ- œ-a œ-4 œ-e +œ- - Rememberœ-1 œ-e +œ- œ-ahowœ-2 manyœ-e +œ- counts- œ-3 .- each- œ-a noteœ-4 or- rest+œ- - value gets... and fill -in -every- -count.------j ‰1 +œ œa œ2j ≈3 œe +œ œ4 œ1jœe œa œ2 +‰j ‰3j +œ œa œ4 j œ-1 œ-e - œ-a œ-2 - +‰- - ‰-3 - +œ- œ-a œ-4 - - - œ-1 - +œ- - -2 - +œ- - œ-3 - +œ- - -4 - +œ------For this example, remember you STILL need to r count the strong beats, 1 2 3j 4. œ1 +œ œa ≈2 œe +‰ œ3j +œ œ4 œe . Œ1 œ2 ≈e +≈ œa œ3 +‰ œ4 j ≈ ≈ . . NowŒ-1 you- - fill- inœ-2 the-e +-circlesœ-a œ-3 and- the+‰- -counts…œ-4 - - - œ-1 - - œ-a Œ-2 - - - Œ-3 - - - -4 - +œ------j j œ1 . œa œ2 +œ œ3jœe +œ ≈4 œe . œ1 . œa œ2 œ3 +‰ Œ4 -œ1 .- - œ-a œ-2 - - - œ-3 - +‰- - Œ-4 - - - -œ1 œ-e +œ- œ-a œ-2 œ-e +œ- - œ-3 .- - œ-a œ-4 - +œ------
≈1 œe +≈ œa œ2 ≈3 œe œa œ4 ------j ˙1 2 œ3 œe +œ œa ‰4 +œ ------j œ1 . 2 +œ œa œ3 +œ. 4 ------
‰1 +œ œa ≈2 œe +œ œ3 +≈ œa œ4 œe . ------
œ1 œe +œ œ2 +œ ‰3 +œ œa œ4 œe +œ ------j j j j œ1 +œ 2 +œ œ3 +œ 4 +œ ------j œ1 . œa Œ2 Œ3 . 4 +œ ------
œ1 œe +œ œa œ2 œe +œ œ3 . œa œ4 +œ ------