Sangeet Yatra

Dividing the beat

Almost every rhythm puts hits between the beats. This lesson gives those places names: first halves of a beat, then quarters, then the gallop that mixes them. Each step is one small change from the one before.

From theory: Western theory: note values · time signatures

Halves: eighth notes

1Every eighth

A beat can be cut in half. Each half is an eighth note, because eight of them fit in a bar of four beats. Say the beat number on the beat and & (“and”) half-way between: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. The faint line in the grid starts each beat, and the bold numbers are the beats. In the notation, each beat gets its own beamed pair.

Do this: Tap the count on your knee with the click, press play, and clap on every dot: two claps for every tap. Say “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” as you clap, numbers a little louder than the &s.

2Only the ands

Keep tapping the beat. Now leave out the numbers and clap only on the &, the place half-way between your taps.

Do this: Foot on the numbers, clap on the &s only. Say the numbers out loud so you do not lose the beat.

3A gap in the eighths

Back to every eighth, but one is missing: the & after 2. The gap is part of the rhythm, so say it in your head and keep your hand moving.

Do this: Clap every dot. Keep counting out loud through the small dot, and do not let the next clap rush.

4Eighths, then quarters

Eighths and beats can share a bar. Here the first two beats are cut in half and the last two are not.

Do this: Clap two beats of eighths, then one clap each on 3 and 4. The foot never changes speed.

Quarters: sixteenth notes

5Every sixteenth

Cut each eighth in half again and you have sixteenth notes: four to every beat. Count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a. The number is still the beat and the & is still half-way, so the e and a are the two new places. Sixteenths have two beams, four joined under each beat.

Do this: Keep tapping. Clap on every dot: four claps to every tap. Go slowly; the e and the a are the ones that rush.

6The first two

Only the first half of each beat: the number and the e. The & and the a stay quiet.

Do this: Say “1 e & a” and clap on 1 and e only. Four beats round, foot steady.

7The last two

Now the other half: the & and the a. The number and the e stay quiet.

Do this: Say “1 e & a” and clap on & and a only. This one is harder, because the beat itself is silent.

Mixing the two: the gallop

8One gallop at a time

The gallop is a clap on the number, a clap on the &, and a clap on the a, with the e missing: an eighth note, then two sixteenth notes. Say “one-and-a”. Here it is on beats 1 and 3 only, so there is a rest to breathe in.

Do this: Clap on 1, & and a of beat 1. Rest through beat 2 (count it). Then the same on beat 3. Say “one-and-a, two, three-and-a, four”.

9The gallop

Now every beat. The grid shows the long note as a gap: a hit that lasts two columns, then two hits of one column each. In the notation, the beam thins from two lines to one at the long note.

Do this: Say “one-and-a, two-and-a, three-and-a, four-and-a” while you tap the count, and clap on every word. “One” lasts half a beat; “and” and “a” are a quarter each.

10Turned round

Play the gallop backwards: two sixteenths, then an eighth. Clap on the number, the e and the &, and rest on the a.

Do this: Say “1 e &, 2 e &” and clap each word. It feels like running the other way.

Before you go on

  • Say eighths and sixteenths against the click without losing the beat
  • Clap only the &s of an eighth-note count while tapping the beat
  • Say the gallop out loud: one-and-a, two-and-a

Play it on your instrument

You have been clapping this. On an instrument it is the same rhythm, with each clap played as a note or stroke while you keep tapping the count.

Every lesson on every instrument: Take it to your instrument.