Time Signatures/Rhythm: Notes
Measure, Bar line, and double bar
Music is divided into equal parts by bar lines. The area between the two bar lines is called a measure or bar.
A double bar is written at the end of a piece of music. It is made of one thin and one thick line, with the thick line always on the outside.
A double bar is written at the end of a piece of music. It is made of one thin and one thick line, with the thick line always on the outside.
Note Values:
Two half notes equal the duration of one whole note
Four quarter notes equal the duration of one whole note
Eight eighth notes equal the duration of one whole note
Sixteen sixteenth notes equal the duration of one whole note
This can be visually seen through a note hierarchy tree:
Four quarter notes equal the duration of one whole note
Eight eighth notes equal the duration of one whole note
Sixteen sixteenth notes equal the duration of one whole note
This can be visually seen through a note hierarchy tree:
This also applies to rests as well.
A dot after a note increases its duration by half the original value
Time signatures:
The time signature appears at the beginning of the music after the clef sign. It contains two numbers, one above the number
The upper number tells how many beats (or counts) are in each measure. In this time signature, there are four beats in each measure.
The lower number indicates what type of note receives 1 beat. In this time signature, the quarter note receives 1 beat.
Therefore, in 4/4 time, a whole note/rest is worth 4 beats, a half note/rest is worth 2 beats, a quarter note/rest is worth 1 beat, a eighth note/rest is worth 1/2 a beat, and so on.
The lower number indicates what type of note receives 1 beat. In this time signature, the quarter note receives 1 beat.
Therefore, in 4/4 time, a whole note/rest is worth 4 beats, a half note/rest is worth 2 beats, a quarter note/rest is worth 1 beat, a eighth note/rest is worth 1/2 a beat, and so on.
2/4 time and 3/4 time are both similar to 4/4 time. In all three key signatures, the quarter note gets one beat. However, in 2/4, there is only two beats in each measure, while in 3/4 time, each measure has 3 beats. As stated previously, 4/4 time has 4 beats in each measure.
*Things to be noted: In 2/4 time and 3/4 time, a whole rest is used for a full measure of rest, even if there are only two or three beats in each measure. Also, half rests and whole notes are never used in 2/4 time or 3/4 time.
*Things to be noted: In 2/4 time and 3/4 time, a whole rest is used for a full measure of rest, even if there are only two or three beats in each measure. Also, half rests and whole notes are never used in 2/4 time or 3/4 time.