Notes

Dotted Quarter Note

1 1/2 beats

Dotted Quarter Rest

1 1/2 beats

Quarter Note

1 beat

Quarter Rest

1 beat

Dotted Half Note

3 beats

Dotted Half Rest

3 beats

Dotted Eighth Note

3/4 beat

Dotted Eighth Rest

3/4 beat

Beats in 6/8

In 6/8 time, we will refer to the eighth notes as "divisions" rather than beats. Divisions one and four act as the two beats, with one being the strongest out of the two. Divisions two, three, five, and six are all weak.

Sixteenth note and Thirty Second note in compound time

Now that we're in compound time, the beat has changed from a quarter note to a dotted quarter note. So instead of four sixteenth notes per beat, we now get six, and instead of eight thirty-second notes per beat, we now get twelve. Thirty-second notes, however, will still be in subgroups of four, connected by a single line.

Stem Rules

Stems reaching up are to the right of the note, and stems hanging down are on the left.

Stem Direction

To work out which way to draw your stems when beaming two or more notes, first you need to work out which note is furthest from the middle line.

General Beam Rules

1. The Eighth, Sixteenth, Thirty Second, and Sixty Fourth notes in a measure should be joined together to make the quarter notes etc. obvious 2. Beams never cross over the bar lines. Beaming takes place within the measure! If you have a stray eighth note at the end of a measure, it should be written with the tail, rather than connected to the first beat of the next measure. 3. The first note of a beamed group must never fall on a off beat, unless it's preceded by a rest or a dotted note 4. Do not beam across the center of a measure. 5. Sixteenth, Thirty Second and Sixty Fourth are grouped by beat

Sixty Fourth Note

1/16 beat

Sixty Fourth Rest

1/16 beat

Eighth Note

1/2 beat

Eighth Rest

1/2 beat

Sixteenth Note

1/4 beat

Sixteenth Rest

1/4 beat

Thirty Second Note

1/8 beat

Thirty Second Rest

1/8 beat

Half Notes

2 beats

Half Rest

2 beats

Incorrect 3/4 Eighth Note Grouping

3/4 is a simple time signature, meaning that the beat is divisible by two, not three

Whole Notes

4 beats

Whole Rest

4 beats

Double Whole Note

8 beats

Double Whole Rest

8 beats

Angling Direction

Beams can be flat, angled up or angled down. Beaming should follow the general direction of the music, from left to right. If the music is getting higher, the beam should point upwards; if it's getting lower it should be downwards. If the pitch of the beamed notes is the same overall, the beam should be flat.

Beaming in 6/8

It's a compound time signature, so the beat is divided into three equal parts. There are six eighth notes per measure, but it often feels like there are only two beats. In 6/8 time, we will refer to the eighth notes as "divisions" rather than beats. Divisions one and four act as the two beats, with one being the strongest out of the two. Divisions two, three, five, and six are all weak. The center of the measure in 6/8 time is between divisions three and four, so we keep them separated

Weak Beat

The other crotchet beats of the bar.

Two Dots

The second dot add half the value of the first dot

Strong Beat

The strongest accent in the bar and falls right at the beginning of the bar.

Beats in 4/4

There are four quarter beats per bar. The first beat of the bar is the strong beat, the second and fourth beats are weak beats, and the third beat is a secondary strong beat. This means that the first beat of the bar has the strongest accent, the third beat has a slightly weaker accent, and the second and fourth beats receive no accent.

Beaming in 4/4

There are four quarter beats per bar. The first beat of the bar is the strong beat, the second and fourth beats are weak beats, and the third beat is a secondary strong beat. This means that the first beat of the bar has the strongest accent, the third beat has a slightly weaker accent, and the second and fourth beats receive no accent. You can beam together eighth notes which can only make up to two quarter notes worth of beats, but only if they fall on beats 1-2 or 3-4. You cannot beam together eighth notes or sixteenth notes which cross beats 2-3.

Beats in 3/4

There are three quarter beats per bar. The first beat of the bar is usually the strong beat followed by two weak beats.

Beaming in 3/4

There are three quarter beats per bar. The first beat of the bar is usually the strong beat followed by two weak beats. Because there is an odd number of beats per measure, the "center" of 3/4 time is in the middle of beat two. However, as both beats two and three are weak, there is no need to separate them. Though most choose to group eighth notes by beat in 3/4 time eighth notes can be beamed to equal two or three quarter beats.

Beats in 2/4

There are two quarter beats per bar. The first beat of the bar is usually a strong beat followed by a second weak beat.

Beaming in 2/4

There are two quarter beats per bar. The first beat of the bar is usually a strong beat followed by a second weak beat. You cant cross the center of the measure to make the strong and weak beat clear so notes are usually beamed together to make one quarter beat.

Off Beat

They are any notes which fall in between the strong and/or weak beats.

Beaming Rest Rules

We can include rests inside a group of beamed notes. Rests themselves are never beamed - we simply insert them between the notes. We can change their vertical position on the rest if we need to, to make the music clearer.

Multi measure rest

horizontal line placed on the middle stave with serifs on either side. It is used to simplify musical notation, and to indicate the number of measures in a resting part. It is used to denote rest of more than one bar in the same meter. The number printed above the stave corresponds to the length or duration of the rest of the particular note.

Caesura

indicates a brief pause or break in the piece of music. It is placed between notes or measures before or above the lines of a stave. It is represented with two slanting parallel lines often referred to as railroad tracks or tram lines. The break or interruption in music can be of any length, and the time often depends on the discretion of the conductor.

Breath Mark

represented by a filled-in single inverted comma placed above the musical staff. For a singer or a performer playing a wind instrument, it translates as an instruction to pause for breath. For those playing non-wind instruments, it is an instruction to take a slight pause.