Reading rhythm (part 2)

Reading Rhythm (Part 2)

Hey there,

In this article we will expand on time signatures and the way the different note values interact with them. This is a continuation of Reading Rhythm (Part 1), so make sure you read that one first just to cover our basis.

There are many time signatures available, at the moment we will be focusing on three of them, 4/4,3/4 and 2/4.                                                               

Quick reminders                                                               

Time signatures are written using two numbers, one on top of the other. The upper number tells us how many beats we have in a measure, the bottom number tells us which of the note value figures gets to be the beat.                                                                

 
                                                           
There are fixed note shapes to tell the duration of notes.                                                                


Interaction of the note values and the time signatures 

Lets take a moment to see how the usage of the note values within a measure is affected by time signatures. In the following examples, we will see the maximum amount of each note value that we can get in the three time-signatures that we have been talking about.

The whole note                                                              

The whole note is equivalent to four quarter notes. So, in the 4/4 time-signature, the whole it takes an entire measure.                                                                
                                                              

And, since in the time signatures 2/4, and 3/4 there are not enough beats in a measure to accommodate the equivalence of four quarters, the whole note cannot be used in these cases.

The half note                                                              

The half note is equivalent to two quarter notes. This means that we can use it in all the time-signatures that we are talking about here.                                                                
A 4/4 time-signature can fit two half notes. A 3/4 signature can fit one half note and has space for another quarter note. And a 2/4 can fit one half note.                                                                

                                                               

The quarter note                                                                

In all the time signatures covered in this article, the quarter note is the value of the beat, so, there can be as many quarter notes as the upper number of each time signature establishes, because that number tells us how many beats per mesasure there are.

                                                              

The eight note                                                               

The eight note is smaller than the quarter note. In the space of a quarter note there can be two eight notes. This means that there can be two eight notes per beat on any given time signature that show 4 as the bottom number.                                                                

                                                              

It is costumery to group the eight notes in groups of two, to clarify where each beat starts.

                                                               

The sixteenth note                                                              

Four sixteenth notes fit into a quarter note. There for, in our examples, we can get the following amount of sixteenth notes.

                                                            

It is costumery to group the sixteenth notes in groups of four, to clarify where each beat starts.                                                                


The Thirty-second note                                                              

Eight thirty-second notes fit in a quarter note.                                                               


                                                               

It is costumery to group the eight notes in groups of eight, to clarify where each beat starts.

                                                               

Equivalences between the note values

There is an equivalence of note values. Every bigger not value equals the duration of two of the following values.                                                              

                                                               

A whole note = 2 half notes = 4 quarter notes = 8 eight notes = 16 sixteenth notes = 32 thirty-second notes.                                                                
A half note = 2 quarter notes = 4 eight notes = 8 sixteenth notes = 16 thirty-second notes                                                              

A quarter note = 2 eight notes = 4 sixteenth notes = and 8 thirty-second notes                                                               

An eighth note = 2 sixteenth notes = 4 thirty-second notes                                                               
A sixteenth note = 2 thirty-second notes.                                                               
Combining the note values
                                                              
The examples above show a very mathematical equivalence viewing the maximum amount of each note value that we can find in the time signatures mentioned in this article. In a real piece of music, we will find this note values mixed up.                                                                
Always complete full measures 

No matter what possibilities of combination get used, they will always make sure to complete in full the beats per measure.                                                                 

I hope this has been helpful. Happy study 😊