NotePlayMusicGrade 2: Rhythm Practice
Count notes, rests and triplets in bars with crotchet, minim or quaver beats; compare written beat groupings and shortened note values.
Worksheet
Select the correct time signature for the bar.
Answer: ______________________
Select the correct time signature for the bar.
Answer: ______________________
Select the correct time signature for the bar.
Answer: ______________________
How many semiquavers are there in a dotted crotchet?
Answer: ______________________
How many crotchets are there in a semibreve?
Answer: ______________________
Select which of these bars is grouped correctly.
Answer: ______________________
Identify which of the following shows the bar above correctly rewritten in notes of half the value.
Answer: ______________________
In this 2/2 bar, how many minim beats are silent?
Answer: ______________________
In this 3/8 bar, how many quaver beats are silent?
Answer: ______________________
Answer Key
- 3/8 — The bar is a quaver followed by four semiquavers, which totals a dotted crotchet — three quaver beats, so 3/8.
- 4/2 — A dotted minim (3) + three crotchets (3) + a minim (2) totals eight crotchets, i.e. four minim beats — 4/2.
- 3/4 — A crotchet, a triplet of quavers (one beat), and a crotchet make three crotchet beats — 3/4.
- 6 — A dotted crotchet equals a crotchet plus a quaver = 1½ crotchets = six semiquavers.
- 4 — A semibreve lasts four crotchet beats.
- option 3 — In 4/4 the quavers should be beamed in two groups of four so the middle of the bar is clear; a beam must not cross the mid-bar.
- option 3 — Halving every value turns the four quavers into four semiquavers and the two crotchets into two quavers, giving a 2/4 bar.
- One minim beat — The minim rest lasts one minim beat. The minim note fills the second beat of this 2/2 bar.
- One quaver beat — Two semiquaver rests add up to one quaver beat of silence. The two played quavers fill the other two beats of this 3/8 bar.
1. Select the correct time signature for the bar.
💡 Convert the quaver and each semiquaver to the same beat unit before comparing their total with the time-signature choices.
2. Select the correct time signature for the bar.
💡 Use minims as the beat unit: convert the dotted minim, each crotchet and the final minim before comparing with the numerator.
3. Select the correct time signature for the bar.
💡 The three quavers under the triplet mark occupy the time of two ordinary quavers. Add that group to the two crotchets.
4. How many semiquavers are there in a dotted crotchet?
💡 Express a plain crotchet in semiquavers, then add half of its original value for the dot.
5. How many crotchets are there in a semibreve?
💡 Split the semibreve into two minims, then convert each minim into crotchets before choosing a count.
6. Select which of these bars is grouped correctly.
💡 All three options last the same length. Find the boundary between the second and third crotchet beats and see which beam leaves it visible.
7. Identify which of the following shows the bar above correctly rewritten in notes of half the value.
💡 Compare each written note with the original: quavers become semiquavers and crotchets become quavers. Then check the new bar length.
8. In this 2/2 bar, how many minim beats are silent?
💡 Use the denominator to name the beat unit. Count only the rest towards silent time, but include the note when checking that the bar is complete.
9. In this 3/8 bar, how many quaver beats are silent?
💡 Read the denominator to name the beat. Add only the rest durations in that unit, then use the played notes to check the full bar.
What this practice covers
- Read time signatures and bar lengths, including semiquavers.
- Work with simple time using a minim beat.
- Count rests in minim- and quaver-beat bars.
Need a reminder? Work with semiquavers, triplets and different beat units
The bottom number of a simple time signature gives the beat unit: 4 means crotchets, 8 means quavers and 2 means minims. A semiquaver lasts half a quaver. A dot adds half a value, so a dotted crotchet lasts three quavers or six semiquavers.
A rest takes the same time as its matching note without sounding. Count it in the beat unit named by the time signature: a minim rest fills one minim beat in 2/2; a semiquaver rest lasts half a quaver beat in 3/8.
Three quavers marked as a triplet fit into the time normally taken by two quavers: one crotchet beat. Compare durations in a common unit before deciding whether a bar is full.
How to work it out
- Read the bottom number first, then convert every note, rest and tuplet into that beat unit.
- Add the values and compare the result with the top number; for notated options, also check whether beams clarify the beat groups.
Worked example
A bar has a crotchet, a triplet of quavers and another crotchet. How many crotchet beats?
The two ordinary crotchets contribute one beat each; the three triplet quavers together contribute one. The total is three beats, fitting 3/4.
Watch for this mistake
Do not count three triplet quavers as one and a half crotchet beats: the triplet marking compresses them into one.
Why does 3/4 feel like a waltz?
Hear Happy Birthday lean on beat one, hear it limp when forced into four, and see what the two numbers of 3/4 mean.