Rhythm
Student learning materials and activities
The beat refers to the basic unit of time that make up the pattern of counts in music . When you tap your foot or clap your hands in time with the music you are following the beat.
A rhythm is made when you put a series of notes (beats) together. A rhythm can be made up of notes of the same or different lengths.
You measure note lengths by counting, or you can use the Kodaly method where you use special note names to help you measure the length of the notes.
Beat and Rhythm - what's the difference?
(Text and pictures adapted from O'Brien & Miles, 1998)
In music, different note shapes tell you how many beats to count for each note.
A note that lasts for one beat is called a crotchet or a ta (Kodaly).
Say the words under the notes and clap as you say them. There is one crotchet or ta for each clap. Try to make each clap last the same length of time.
In this rhythm the beats are all the same length.
In the Kodaly method it's called a ta.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta
Music Notes
Writing Rhythms
The bottom number tells you that they are crotchet or ta beats
Each bar is separated from the next one by a bar-line
This is a double bar-line. It tells you that the music has finished
When a rhythm is written down the counts are divided into groups. These groups are called bars.
The numbers at the beginning are called a time signature. This time signature is called 'four-four time'.
The time signature tells you how many how many counts there are in each bar.
Try clapping this rhythm with a louder clap on the first beat of each bar
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta
Another rhythm note in music is the quaver. It is a shorter note and lasts for half a crotchet (ta) beat.
When two quavers are written next to each other their tails are joined together. The two notes are played in the same time that a crotchet (ta) note would be played. When you are counting it helps to say the word ‘and’ for the second one.
Try clapping this rhythm.
Quaver
This is what two quaver notes look like joined together
ti - ti
ta ta ta ta ti - ti ti - ti ti - ti ti - ti
In Kodaly notation a quaver is called a ‘ti-ti’. So you would say ‘ti-ti’ in the same time that you would normally say ‘ta’.
Semiquaver
Another even shorter note is the semiquaver. It lasts for a quarter of a crotchet (ta) beat.
So four semiquavers will fit into the same time that you would count for a crotchet. In Kodaly notation four semiquavers are called a 'tika-tika'.
Try clapping this rhythm.
ti ka - ti ka
ta ta ta ta tika - tika ti - ti tika - tika ti - ti
Here are four semiquavers!
Rests
Sometimes there are gaps in music when no sound is made. These gaps are called rests. There are symbols to tell you how long each rest lasts.
This is a crotchet rest. It lasts for one beat – the same time as a crotchet. In Kodaly notation it is called a ‘za’.
Clap and count this rhythm. When you see a rest, don’t clap, but keep counting steadily.
Did you notice the repeating pattern? The two first bars are the same as the last two bars.
The repeated rhythm is called an ostinato.
za
ta ta ta za ta za ta za ta ta ta za ta za ta za
Listen to Inanay.
Q Can you clap along to the beat?
Listen to the rhythm of the percussion
Q Is the rhythm the same as the beat?
Listen to some other versions of the same song and see if you can notice the differences in the rhythm of the percussion.
Time to get Busy!
(Sing and Grow Australia, 2014)
The Whirling Rainbow Foundation , 2015)
Describe the rhythm of the clapping stick in the song.
Questions to ask yourself:
What type of rhythm note is the clapping stick playing?
Is it constant?
Does it repeat?
Is it an ostinato?
Have a go at writing down a one bar rhythm using music notation in a four-four time signature.
Now play it along with Inanay.
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
(GuildMistress, 2010)