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Rhythm Reading
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Lesson 09 Eighth notes everywhere

  • Practice
  • 4/4
  • 66 bpm
  • 8 bars
  • 37 claps
66 bpm

About this exercise

The exercise opens with eight eighth notes in a row: a whole bar of "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &". It is the block's evenness test. Then the eighth notes appear in groups of four and six, in different positions, alternating with bars of quarter notes, half notes and whole notes.

In long runs of eighth notes the hands tend to speed up. Keep the claps small and light, almost just the fingers, and check that the numbers still land together with the metronome.

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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 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 66 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 8 eighth notes 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
2 2 quarter notes, half note 1 2 3 (4)
3 2 eighth notes, 2 quarter notes, 2 eighth notes 1 & 2 3 4 &
4 whole note 1 (2) (3) (4)
5 quarter note, 4 eighth notes, quarter note 1 2 & 3 & 4
6 6 eighth notes, quarter note 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
7 half note, 4 eighth notes 1 (2) 3 & 4 &
8 whole note 1 (2) (3) (4)

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