NotePlayMusicGrade 2: Rhythm Practice
Note values, bar lengths, rests, and time signatures. Build on Grade 1 note values with triplets and simple time using minim or quaver beats.
Work with semiquavers, triplets and different beat units
The bottom number of a simple time signature gives the beat unit: 4 means crotchets, 8 means quavers and 2 means minims. A semiquaver lasts half a quaver. A dot adds half a value, so a dotted crotchet lasts three quavers or six semiquavers.
Three quavers marked as a triplet fit into the time normally taken by two quavers: one crotchet beat. Compare durations in a common unit before deciding whether a bar is full.
How to work it out
- Read the bottom number first, then convert every note, rest and tuplet into that beat unit.
- Add the values and compare the result with the top number; for notated options, also check whether beams clarify the beat groups.
Worked example
A bar has a crotchet, a triplet of quavers and another crotchet. How many crotchet beats?
The two ordinary crotchets contribute one beat each; the three triplet quavers together contribute one. The total is three beats, fitting 3/4.
Watch for this mistake
Do not count three triplet quavers as one and a half crotchet beats: the triplet marking compresses them into one.
Why does 3/4 feel like a waltz?
Hear Happy Birthday lean on beat one, hear it limp when forced into four, and see what the two numbers of 3/4 mean.
Learning objectives
- Read time signatures and bar lengths, including semiquavers.
- Work with simple time using a minim beat.
- Recognize correct and incorrect rest values.
Worksheet
Select the correct time signature for the bar.
Answer: ______________________
Select the correct time signature for the bar.
Answer: ______________________
Select the correct time signature for the bar.
Answer: ______________________
How many semiquavers are there in a dotted crotchet?
Answer: ______________________
How many crotchets are there in a semibreve?
Answer: ______________________
Select which of these bars is grouped correctly.
Answer: ______________________
Identify which of the following shows the bar above correctly rewritten in notes of half the value.
Answer: ______________________
Answer Key
- 3/8 — The bar is a quaver followed by four semiquavers, which totals a dotted crotchet — three quaver beats, so 3/8.
- 4/2 — A dotted minim (3) + three crotchets (3) + a minim (2) totals eight crotchets, i.e. four minim beats — 4/2.
- 3/4 — A crotchet, a triplet of quavers (one beat), and a crotchet make three crotchet beats — 3/4.
- 6 — A dotted crotchet equals a crotchet plus a quaver = 1½ crotchets = six semiquavers.
- 4 — A semibreve lasts four crotchet beats.
- option 3 — In 4/4 the quavers should be beamed in two groups of four so the middle of the bar is clear; a beam must not cross the mid-bar.
- option 3 — Halving every value turns the four quavers into four semiquavers and the two crotchets into two quavers, giving a 2/4 bar.