Description:
Dividing The Beat: Counting Symbols
Now that we understand that a
beat is an amount of time measured by the foot going up and down, let’s
look a little further into the concept. Because we are going to be working
with this unit of measurement we need to be able to do a few things with
it. We need to group beats together, so we can give some sounds a long
amount of time. The same as if we were using inches to measure something,
sometimes we would have to group inches together to measure long things.
Something may be five inches long for instance. Some things may be shorter
than an inch, so we need to divide the inch into smaller parts.
The Parts
of the Beat
We do this with beats also, we
divide them in half and in quarters sometimes, (which makes for short
notes) and because of that, we have to know the different “parts” or
really “places” in the beat
Beginning of the Beat:
The beat begins at the point
in time when your foot is DOWN and is just about to start it’s round
trip up and back.
Middle of the Beat: 
X
The middle of the beat is where
and when the foot is UP
End of the Beat: 
X
The beat ends when the foot
comes back down again. The end of one beat is simultaneously the
beginning of the next beat.
The Use of
Counting Symbols
In order to understand, work
with, and have control over rhythm, we must not only understand the parts
of the beat, such as beginning, middle and end, we must also have a way on
knowing WHERE we are in the beat at any given moment in playing. We must
KNOW where and when the beginning of the beat is. We must KNOW where and
when the middle of the beat is. We must know this because we are going to
have to PLAY certain notes EXACTLY on the beginning, or middle of certain
beats.
The way we know where we are in
the beat is through the use of Counting Symbols. For instance, when you
tapped your foot and counted along with it, you were using a Counting
Symbol. Numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, are the Counting Symbol used for the
beginning of beats. When the foot goes down, and you say a number, you
know you are at the beginning of the beat. The beginning of the beat is
also called the Downbeat.
Counting Symbols are
signposts that are written under parts of the beat, to tell us where we
are in the beat; beginning, middle, or some smaller division. You must be
able to write them in, and to say them in correct time while tapping the
foot. If you can't do this, you don't understand the rhythm.
The middle of the beat is much
trickier. To tell when we are at the middle of the beat, we use the
Counting Symbol AND, usually written with a plus sign (+). Such as
1+2+3+4+.
So, the middle of the beat is
where and when your foot is UP, and that divides the beat in half. This is
also called the Upbeat.
Counting symbols are the tools
we use to make sure we are dividing time up correctly when we play. If you
cannot write in the Counting Symbols under the notes of music you are
playing, then you DO NOT understand the rhythm.
RHYTHM means the
relationship in time that sounds have to one another. To do the right
rhythm is to make the notes have the correct relationship of time to one
another. If a sound is supposed to be one beat long, it must BE one beat
long. If it is supposed to be one half of a beat, it must BE one half of a
beat.
The anchor of your measurement
of the beat is, of course, your steadily tapping foot.
Exercise 4: Dividing the Beat in Half
Start tapping your foot to a
steady beat
When your foot goes down, say
DOWN. When it is up, say UP.
After this is going smooth and
steady, use Counting Symbols instead of DOWN and UP. So now, 1+2+3+4+,
over and over.
You are now dividing the beat in
half.
Exercise 5: Singing notes that
get ½ beat.
Repeat Exercise 4, and after
saying 1+2+3+4+ over and over a few times, replace each Counting Symbol
with a sung LA.
You are now singing notes that
get one half of a beat. This is done often in playing, and is mixed in
with notes of other lengths to create interesting rhythms. If you take
your guitar and strum a chord for each LA, you will be playing what are
normally called EIGHTH notes. You should do this strum with a DOWN motion
of pick or thumb, followed by an UP motion when the foot comes up. Notes
that get one half of a beat are usually called EIGHTH notes, but you will
learn later this is not always true.
Exercise 6: Mixing Notes of Different
Lengths, Including Half Beats
a): Count and tap foot: 1 2 3 4 | 1+2+3+4+| 1 2 3 4 | 1+2+3+4+
Also, sing LA instead of saying
Counting Symbols
Now, strum your guitar to this
rhythm (use open strings if you don’t know any chords yet)
Click here
to hear this rhythm done correctly, playing a G chord. You will hear a
metronome clicking, and hear me count 4 before playing.
2 more examples: you should try
playing along and counting, or just count along and tap your foot.
1 2 3+4+| 1 2 3+4+| click here
1 2+3 4+| 1 2+ 3 4+| click here
Lesson
Review
Key Definitions
Downbeat-beginning
of beat, when the foot is down
Upbeat-
middle of beat, when the foot is up
Counting
Symbols-are signposts that are written under parts of the beat, to tell us
where we are in the beat; beginning, middle, or some smaller division.
Rhythm- means the
relationship in time that sounds have to one another. To do the right
rhythm is to make the notes have the correct relationship of time to one
another.
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