Piano Corner — Feel the Beat!

Learning to play rhythms correctly begins with knowing how to feel the beat. The beat in music is much like our own heartbeat. It remains steady and constant, always beating evenly. It can go faster or slower, but still remains steady and even.

The rhythms in music are all a part of that steady beat. Quarter notes play on each and every beat for the entire beat. Half notes play for two beats. Whole notes for four.

A great way to practice rhythms is by making up simple moves to represent each kind of note. For instance, a quarter note could be a clap of the hands. A half note could be raising both hands high in the air. A whole note could be turning in a circle. In essence, make the rhythm into a dance. So if my rhythm looked like this:

Then, I would raise both hands in the air twice, clap four times, turn in a circle, clap twice and raise both hands in the air. The key is to make sure the action fills the required number of beats. Make sure you have someone keep a steady beat while you “perform” your rhythm. Try making up your own actions and test them out on some of the rhythms in your books.