NotePlayMusicGrade 2: Rhythm
Note values, bar lengths, rests, and time signatures. Build on Grade 1 note values with triplets and simple time using minim or quaver beats.
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.