While there are many musicians who can learn music just by listening to it, most beginners should learn how to read music. Understanding how to count music is also very important for dancers and can add to the enjoyment of music lovers. Part of reading music is the ability to "count it," or knowing how long a note has to sound on the page. It is also important to understand what a time signature is. This article will explain the basic principles of counting music to a 4/4 beat and introduce time signatures.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Calculating the Rhythm
Step 1. Understand the meaning of bars
Music is divided into bars, which are indicated by vertical lines. Notes in music are named according to the length of time they are sounded in a bar. Think of the bar like a pie that can be cut into fours, twos, eights, or a combination of several notes.
Step 2. Learn basic notation
The note names show you how many bars are used. This will require a basic understanding of division. A full note will use up the entire bar. Half note will use half bar.
- A quarter note will be worth a quarter bar.
- One-eighth note will be worth one-eighth of a bar.
- One-sixteenth note will be worth one-sixteenth of the bar.
- Notes can be combined to make a full bar, for example one and a half notes and two quarter notes can make a full bar.
Step 3. Practice keeping the beat
At an even rhythm you can tap your feet and recount four beats, like this: 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. The speed isn't as important as keeping the beats the same on the count. A metronome can also help in adjusting the beats evenly.
Each full beat of 1-2-3-4 is one bar
Step 4. Practice calculating the length of the base notes
Say or sing "la" while counting in your head. A full note will use the full measure, so start singing "la" on a count of 1, and hold it until you reach a count of 4. You've just sung a full note.
- Two half notes will make one bar. Sing "la" on a count of 1-2 then sing "la" again on a count of 3-4.
- There are four quarter notes on a bar. Sing "la" on all four counts you beat.
Step 5. Add terms for the smaller notes
On the eighth note you will have to divide the count into eight equal pieces, but you will only tap four times for each bar. Divide the word “one” into two syllables when counting it like this: “one-tu two-a three-four.” Practice until it becomes easy. Each syllable is an eighth note.
- Use the same principle to count sixteenth notes. You will have to put sixteen sounds into a bar evenly. One common way of doing this is to sound “one-one-one-du-a-du-a ti-ga-ti-ga four-four-four.” Remember that each count must remain even.
- The same general idea can also be applied to smaller notes, but since these notes are rarely used they are not very important for beginners to understand.
Step 6. Understand what a dot means
Sometimes in music there is a dot next to a note. This point indicates that the length of a note should be shortened by 50%.
- A half note, usually worth two counts, becomes three counts if it has a dot.
- A quarter note, worth one count without the dot, will be 1.5 counts with the dot.
Step 7. Practice counting triplets. A triplet is when a count is divided into three notes. This can be tricky because the other notes you've learned have even divisions. Singing syllables can also help you learn triplets.
- Practice counting triplets by saying “one-tu-and, two-a-and, three-ga-and, four-pat-and.”
- Remember to keep making the calculations the same by using a metronome or by tapping your feet.
Step 8. Break the rules
A fermata mark is a mark that looks like a dot that has an eyebrow on it. When you see this symbol it means the notes can be held as long as you want, no matter what the music says.
- If you are part of an ensemble, the leader will determine how long the notes are held.
- If you're going solo, decide in advance how long it's best to hold it.
- Listen to a recorded performance of your song if you're not sure how long you should hold it. This will give you an idea of what other performers are doing and you can determine which one will sound better.
Part 2 of 2: Understanding Time Signs
Step 1. Find the time signature
In the upper left corner of the score sheet you will see some notations. First there is a symbol called a clef, which basically depends on the instrument you are using when playing this song. Then there is a sharp or mole sign. Eventually you will see two numbers stacked on top of each other. This is a time signature.
In the first part of this article we used the 4/4 time signature which is marked by two stacked fours
Step 2. Understand the importance of each number in the time signature
The top number indicates the number of counts in a bar, and the bottom number indicates the count value in the note. Often there is a four at the bottom, giving a quarter note count.
- At a 4/4 time signature, the number above indicates that there are four counts in a bar, and the number below indicates that the note is a quarter.
- At the 2/4 time signature there are two counts in a bar, but you're still counting the quarter notes as one count. Then you would use a count of 1-2, 1-2 instead of using a count of 1-2-3-4.
Step 3. Practice with the waltz
The music has 3/4 measure and three quarter notes on each bar. The waltz is always danced to this rhythm, and finding a song devoted to the waltz will help you to hear the pattern more clearly. As you listen to it count “1-2-3” in your head.
The song "Christmas Waltz" has a very clear waltz rhythm, and it also has the lyrics " and this song of mine/in three-quarter time (and here's my song/in three quarters)" that shows you the rhythm
Step 4. Look for unusual time signatures
The number at the top always indicates the number of counts in a bar, and the number at the bottom indicates the note value in the count. If the number below is eight, then you must count with eighth notes. If the number below is 2 then you have to count with half notes.
- The 6/8 time signature is like a waltz where the count is grouped into three, but there are two groups. Counts 1 and 4 will be emphasized more: "ONE-two-three-FOUR-five-six." The first count is the strongest count.
- The 3/2 time signature means that you must count three half notes in one bar. One half note is worth two quarter notes. Try counting evenly to six, emphasizing the odd numbers: "ONE-two-three-four-five-six, ONE-two-THREE-four-five-six." By emphasizing the odd number you indicate the start of the half note. By counting using even numbers you ensure the same speed.
Step 5. Practice counting while listening to music
Time signatures give specific rhythmic sounds to different types of music. For example, songwriters often write the national anthem in 2/4 measure to give a special feel to the 1-2, 1-2 booty steps.
- Pop, country and other music songs aimed at a broad audience have 2 or 4 bars because people like to tap their feet to the music. Having a simple time signature makes it easier for listeners to enjoy it.
- Jazz and other modern songs often sound odd because of unusual time signatures, such as 13/8, 5/4 and other odd divisions. This will be a challenge to quantify, but it can help you see how time signs contribute to the overall feel of the music.
