Hi boomka,
You're a great teacher. Your explaination to this question is absolutely fantastic. It is so clear and easy to understand. It has help me understand a bit more about reading music.
Thanks.
"I have a puppy, yes I have a puppy, yes I have a...."
Say that to yourself over and over. That's the rhythm described in the notes above.
Take the first group of three notes. The first note is an 1/8th note and the second two are 1/16th notes. The lines across the top of the notes tell me this - one line = 8th note, two lines = 16th note.
Think of fractions in math class, or the measurements on a ruler or tape measure. 1/16th is half the length/size of 1/8th. So for every 1/8th note, there are two 1/16th notes. If you count up the total number of 1/16th notes in each of the groups in the pattern, there are 4. The most common way to count these is "1-e-and-ah". Each sound is one 1/16th note.
In the case of the first group you are playing an 1/8th note on "1" and since an 1/8th note is two 1/16th notes, it also takes up "e". Then the two 1/16th notes fall on "and-ah".
So if I capitalize the notes you play it would look like this: ONE-e-AND-AH.
The second group is a 1/16th note, then an 1/8th note (twice as long) and then a nother 1/16th note. So it would be counted like this, "ONE-E-and-AH". Capitals are notes you play, small letters are "space".
It's so much easier in person to just play it for you and have you follow along on the page. I hope this helps.
