Clefsight Connect keyboard

First pageLesson 5 of 7

The beat

Count and tap quarter, half and whole notes in time.

Your first page so far. This lesson writes on the blue.

Music moves to a steady beat, like an unhurried walk. A note lasts a number of beats, and its shape says how many: a quarter note (a filled head with a stem) one beat, a half note (an open head with a stem) two, and a whole note (an open head, no stem) four.

The time signature at the start, here 4 over 4, says how the beats are grouped: the top number is the beats in each bar, and the bottom 4 says each beat is a quarter note. Count steadily aloud, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4; each note starts on its count, a half note lasting two counts and a whole note all four.

Keeping the beat matters more than playing every note right. A wrong note is a slip; stopping to fix it loses the beat, and with it the music. When you play a page, Clefsight follows your own steady beat, so playing steadily a little slower than the click isn't marked late. In the taps below, keep with the click.

4 beats a bar1234123412341 beat each2 beats each4 beats
Four quarter notes, two halves and a whole: each bar holds four beats.

Try it

Listen to four clicks, then tap as each note starts: any key, the space bar or the pad.

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