Rhythm –
how much time each note (or rest) takes up. Some notes are longer, some are shorter.
Beats –
a special unit of measurement that we use to measure how much time a musical element takes up called Beats.
Notes and Rests –
Notes are pitches. Rests are the absence of sound. We have several different kinds of notes and rests that receive a certain number of beats according to their names.
Important: Notes and rests with the same names take up the same number of beats!
How many Beats does each note/rest get?
an eighth (1/8) note or rest gets 1/2 beat
a quarter (1/4) note or rest gets 1 beat
a half (1/2) note or rest gets 2 beats
a whole (1) note or rest gets 4 beats
Refer to the cheat sheet (pdf download for this lesson) for a chart on the names of each note and rest, what they look like, and how many beats they get.