Jenni Harris EdTech 521

1. Basic Music Rhythms
Instructor: Jennifer Harris
jenniferharris2@u.boisestate.edu
(515)###-####

2. Objectives
• 3A. Identifies standard symbols used to
notate meter (e.g., 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8 time
signatures, rhythm (e.g., whole, half,
dotted half, quarter, eighth notes, and
rests), pitch (e.g., notes in treble clef), and
dynamics (e.g., p, f, <,>) in simple patterns
– Focus of this lesson is on reading rhythmic
symbols
• Specifically: quarter note, eighth notes, sixteenth
notes in 4/4 time

3. Rhythms Are Multiple Beats &
Fractions of the Beat
The following image is an excellent representation of how the largest note value,
a whole note, is broken down to multiple fractional levels.
http://youtu.be/9cbAOM_sSuQ

4. Bar Lines and Measures
• Music is divided by bar lines, vertical lines
that run through the music
• The music between the bar lines is called
a measure

5. How many measures do you see in
the song below?

6. Quarter Note
• The quarter note’s duration (amount of
time held) for this lesson is one beat
• When counting quarter notes, each note
gets a single numbered count

7. Practice
• Try keeping the beat by tapping a surface
while you count each note.

8. Eighth Notes
• Each eighth note’s duration is ½ a beat,
therefore 2 eighth notes add up to one
quarter note (one beat)
• When counting pairs of eighth notes, we
say the number for the first eighth note,
and & for the second

10. Questions?
http://www.philtulga.com/counter.html

12. Sixteenth Notes
• Each sixteenth note’s duration is ¼ a beat,
therefore 2 sixteenth notes add up to one
eighth note, and 4 sixteenth notes add up
to one quarter note (one beat)
• When counting groups of sixteenth notes,
we say the number for the first sixteenth
note, E for the second, & for the third, and
a (uh) for the last

13. Where duration (length of time the note is
held) is concerned, all of these notes are
the same duration when if paired correctly.
http://youtu.be/4hpNlh_pj0Y

15. Questions?
http://www.philtulga.com/counter.html

16. Assignment
• Choose one of the 4 options shared with you via Google
Docs
• Use the Google Drawings or another program such as
– Microsoft Paint
– http://www.sumopaint.com/www/
– http://pixlr.com/editor/
– Your choice
• Draw/write in the counting for one of the examples
below.
• You will receive one extra credit point for every extra
song you complete

17. Assignment Option #1

18. Assignment Option #2

19. Assignment Option #3

20. Assignment Option #4
• Find your own short song which only
includes quarter notes, eighth notes, and
sixteenth notes.
• Email the name of the song to the
instructor by Wednesday for approval:
jenniferharris2@u.boisestate.edu