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Rhythm Reading
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Lesson 39 Reading in 4/4 with eighth notes

  • Practice
  • 4/4
  • 80 bpm
  • 12 bars
  • 45 claps
80 bpm

About this exercise

Twelve bars of 4/4 at 80 bpm and 45 claps. The exercise goes through almost everything in the level: eighth notes in pairs and groups, a whole bar of eight eighth notes (bar 10), dotted half notes, whole notes, quarter rests at the end and at the start of the bar (bars 5 and 6) and a half rest (bar 8).

Bars 5 and 6 form the hardest passage: bar 5 ends in silence and bar 6 starts in silence, so there are two beats without a clap in the middle of a busy line. Count "4, 1" inside and come in with the eighth notes on "2 &".

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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, dotted half note and whole note) clap and keep your hands together until the end of the note: hands together = the sound keeps going.
  4. Rests: hands open, no clapping, and keep counting in silence.
  5. 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 80 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 2 eighth notes, 3 quarter notes 1 & 2 3 4
2 quarter note, 2 eighth notes, quarter note, 2 eighth notes 1 2 & 3 4 &
3 dotted half note, quarter note 1 (2) (3) 4
4 whole note 1 (2) (3) (4)
5 4 eighth notes, quarter note, quarter rest 1 & 2 & 3 [4]
6 quarter rest, 4 eighth notes, quarter note [1] 2 & 3 & 4
7 2 quarter notes, half note 1 2 3 (4)
8 half note, half rest 1 (2) [3] [4]
9 2 eighth notes, quarter note, 2 eighth notes, quarter note 1 & 2 3 & 4
10 8 eighth notes 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
11 quarter note, dotted half note 1 2 (3) (4)
12 whole note 1 (2) (3) (4)

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