Skip to content
Rhythm Reading
EN

Lesson 03 Eighth notes on beat 2

  • Practice
  • 4/4
  • 60 bpm
  • 4 bars
  • 15 claps
Watch the video
60 bpm

About this exercise

The eighth notes move to beat 2. Now the bar starts with a calm quarter note and the quick claps come right after: "1, 2 &, 3, 4". Bars 1 and 2 are the same, bar 3 ends with a half note and the whole note in bar 4 closes the phrase.

The difficulty is entering the eighth notes in the middle of the bar without rushing the quarter note before them. Let beat 1 last its full length and only then split beat 2 into two even claps.

Lesson video: watch and listen to the whole exercise before you practice.
View Details

How to play it

  1. Count-in: the site counts 1 bar before starting ("1 2 3 4"). Clap the first note on beat 1 of bar 1.
  2. Reading: read the line on the yellow strip and look ahead to the next one: that's how you read ahead.
  3. Hands together: on notes longer than 1 beat (half note and whole note) clap and keep your hands together until the end of the note: hands together = the sound keeps going.
  4. Eighth notes: count "1 & 2 &"; the "&" falls exactly in the middle of the beat.

How to practice

  1. Say the count out loud, without clapping, looking at the Bar by bar table.
  2. In Together mode, count and clap at the same time as the character.
  3. In Your turn mode, clap on your own. If it's hard, slow down and then come back.

Goal: ★★★ three times in a row at 60 bpm. Then the lesson is completed.

The full practice method →

Bar by bar

Bold = clap · (n) = don't clap, the sound keeps going (hands together) · [n] = rest, hands open.

Bar Notes Count
1 quarter note, 2 eighth notes, 2 quarter notes 1 2 & 3 4
2 quarter note, 2 eighth notes, 2 quarter notes 1 2 & 3 4
3 quarter note, 2 eighth notes, half note 1 2 & 3 (4)
4 whole note 1 (2) (3) (4)

Notes used: whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note.