Foundations
You already know which note is which. Now let's learn how long each one lasts, how fast to go, and how to count it — with a real metronome to feel it in your body first.
Before we look at a single note, let's just feel a steady pulse — the way your foot taps along to a song without you even thinking about it. That pulse is the beat. Every note duration you'll learn is measured against it.
Hit Start, then tap the spacebar (or tap your foot) right along with the click. Don't worry about being perfect yet — just get the pulse into your body.
Every note shape is really just an instruction for how many beats to hold. The bar below each note shows its length compared to one beat — and its little spoken syllable (from the Kodály method) sounds exactly as long as the note lasts, which makes it much easier to remember than the name alone.
That fraction-looking symbol at the start of a piece is the time signature. The top number says how many beats are in each measure. The bottom number says which note gets one beat (4 means "a quarter note = one beat").
Two eighth notes share one beat, so we count the beat itself and then squeeze in an "and" (&) exactly halfway through: "1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +". Say it evenly and you're already saying "ti-ti" for every eighth-note pair.
BPM (beats per minute) is just how many beats happen in 60 seconds — the number on the metronome above. Composers often write a tempo in Italian instead of a number. Tap a term to hear what it feels like on the metronome from the first section.
Read the rhythm below, then hit Start. You'll hear a 4-click count-in, then tap the button (or spacebar) for every note you see — rests get no tap at all.
Hit Start when you're ready.
Cheat sheet
| Note | Name | Syllable | Beats |
|---|
| Term | Feel | Typical BPM |
|---|
Next step
Now read the pitch and the rhythm — head back to the sight-reading trainer.