Month: June 2025

This week, I focused on on something easily overlooked but so important when learning the piano: time signature and rhythm. My goal was to better understand how time signatures affect the way we count, plat music, and start practicing rhythm by clapping alone with the metronome.

Tools that Helped me this Week: 

• Metronome Online  – a free, simple metronome
• Rhythm Organizer – great for practice
• Rhythm Clap Along – great for beginners/kids clapping rhythms
• Crack the Code: Learn Time Signatures  – learning time signatures
• I also tapped our rhythms with my fingers on the table when I didn’t have the piano near buy

What are Time Signatures

Using my educational online platform, “Crack the Code: Learn Time Signatures,” I learned at the beginning of most pieces of music, you’ll see two numbers stacked like a fraction (for example, 4/4 or 3/4). That is the time signature. This tell us how many beats are in a measure and what kind of note gets the best.

Here is my I found:

• 4/4 is called “common time” and means four quarter-note beats per measure. It has this rhythm as most pop songs. (Count – 1-2-3-4)
• 3/4 has three quarter-note beats and gives a waltz-like, swaying rhythm. It has this rhythm in classical music or folk songs. (Count – 1-2-3)
• 2/4 feels like march, a perfect simple strong walking beats. It has this rhythm in dancing music. (Count – 1-2)
• 6/8 this is called “Compound Time”. This means it has technically 6, but grouped as 2 main beats, each split into 3. It has the rhythm of R&B, Irish jigs, and love songs. (Count – 1-la-li, 2-la-li)
• 5/4 has five beats in each measure, and each beat is a quarter note. This rhythm is known as being irregular or an odd meter because most music uses even numbers like 2, 3, or 4 beats per measure. This rhythm is usually used in jazz music. (Count – 1-2-3, 4-5)
• 7/8 means there are seven eight note beats in each measure. This rhythm is also known as being jerky and uneven. This rhythm is also known being in prong rock music as well. (Count – 1-2, 3-4, 5-6-7)

Understanding these time signatures helped me feel more confident when reading music and finding out how to read them.

Clapping with a Metronome

To strengthen my rhythm skills, I used an online metronome and practiced clapping these different rhythms. At first, I kept it simple, clapping quarter notes at a slow tempo (around 60 bpm), once I felt steady, I tried eighth notes and further challenged myself as I got the hang on it.

What I noticed:

• A metronome is super helpful but also challenging. It took me a while to get the hang of counting my beats without counting the metronome. It showed me where I rush or slow down.
• Clapping the rhythm before playing helped me internalize the rhythm before touching the keys.
• I started “feeling” the beat more than just counting it–like dancing with sound.

I additionally used this Youtube video to guide me on clapping beats. It was super easy to use and It honestly made me feel like I knew what I was doing.

Here is a quick video of me trying out these clapping rhythms for the first time!

Goal Reflection 

This week I was able to complete my goal successfully. I explored different time signatures, learned to count them, and practiced clapping along with a metronome. It was a big of a challenge as did harder time signatures that went faster than expected. However, practice makes perfect and redid my rhythm claps until I was on the right track. I found that all my online digital tools this week were easy to use especially for beginners like myself. The tool I found the most helpful this week was the Youtube video called, “Rhythm Clap Along- Level 1 to 3”. It provided my with notes I learned last week into a measure. I was provided with different time measures to practice clapping. What I loved about this video was it would clap the beats first for me to listen than it would do it with me. I highly recommend this video for any future teachers in music or future piano learners.

Next Week

Next week, I’m shifting my focus from  rhythm to ear training–learning to recognize sounds in music without looking at my sheet music. I’m excited (and a little nervous) to try this kind of musical training because it’s new for me, but I know it will make me stronger, more well-rounded piano player. See you then!

This week, my goal was to understand note values–learning how long each note is held when playing music. I also wanted to learn how to count them, and how to draw them correctly on a music staff.

Tools

• To help me learn and practice, I used a few different digital platforms
  • YOUTUBE – Music4Kids Organization: Learn about Note Values in Music!
  • PINTEREST – TopMusicCo: Where to Find Piano Sheet Music fot Beginners

What I learned

On Music4Kids Youtube channel “Learn about Note Values in Music”. I was taught this basic information:

• What is a Note Value?
  • A note value indicates the length of a note. Meaning how long you hold the notes for.
  • Each note has three parts. The note head, the stem, and the flag. Each of these parts can tell you the note value.
• The first note I learned is the Quarter Note. The note head is filled in, and there is no flag at the top of the stem.
  • The note value of a quarter note is 1 beat in a measure
  • 
  • A Measure is a short phrase in a music piece. The top number of a time signature is, in this case is 4, is how many beats are in a measure. The bottom number, in this case is also 4, tells you the type of note that gets one beat.
• The Eighth Note looks like a quarter note, however, it has one flag at the top of the stem. Each flag on a stem means it’s half the notes long.
  • The note value of it is with the time signature is 1/2 a beat
• The Sixteenth Note with two flags, would be half as long as the eighth note. This can keep going in notes, and the notes can become very short in value.
• The Half Note looks like a quarter note, but the note head has space in the middle.
  • In the time signature of 4/4 the note value of a half note is 2 beats.
• The Whole Note looks similar to a half note, however, it has no stem.
  • In a time signature of 4/4, the note value of a whole note is 4 beats. It takes up the entire measure.
    

I learned that these notes create the rhythm of the song, kind of like a heartbeat of music. Each type of note has a different shape, which helps you know how long to hold it.

To learn/practice writing these note values on a measure. I went onto Pinterest and sound a simple song I could practice drawing. In this case I practiced Mary Had a Little Lamb written by Gilbert DeBenedetti.

What helped me understand their shapes better was practicing this technique:

• Whole notes are just open ovals with no stem
• Half notes are open ovals with a stem
• Quarter notes are filled-in ovals with a stem

Reflection:

This week helped me better understand how rhythm works in music. I used to think all notes were just symbols, but now I know that each one tells me how long to play a sound. Using these free beginner friendly tools online made this easier to learn at my own pace. I still need more practice counting out loud and drawing from my memory, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come in a few weeks. If anyone is wanting to learn note values I suggest my tools provided above. I watched a couple other videos that were not making much sense, Music4Kids Youtube channel is an awesome channel that is great for all ages that helped me understand in a simple manner. Pinterest also has hundreds of easy sheet music to practice off. Not only for sheet music, but for almost anything you want to learn on the interest.

Next Week:

Next week, I want to explore time signatures and how they affect the way we count music. I also hope to try clapping rhythms along with a metronome to build my timing. I would love any suggestions of any platforms if you have benefited from any in your past learning journeys!

Thank you for following along!