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Music Timing and Rhythm

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Music Timing and Rhythm

Explore how musicians organise sound and silence. Use the rhythm key and beat grid to solve the challenges. In this worksheet, a crotchet lasts 1 beat, a quaver lasts ½ beat, a minim lasts 2 beats and a crotchet rest lasts 1 silent beat.

Find the pulse

Tane, Ari and Rawiri are testing a rhythm station. Its metronome clicks evenly at 80 beats per minute.

1.The metronome clicks four times in three seconds. What does the steady beat represent: the regular pulse, the pattern of note lengths, or the loudness?

The regular pulse
The pattern of note lengths
The loudness

2.Ari claps on every metronome click, while Rawiri taps a pattern of long and short sounds across those clicks. Which person is showing rhythm rather than simply marking the beat? Explain briefly.

3.The metronome is set to 80 beats per minute. How many beats will it produce in 15 seconds?

Decode the rhythm

Use the key: ♩ = 1 beat; ♪ = ½ beat; 𝅗𝅥 = 2 beats; 𝄽 = 1 silent beat. A rest has a duration but no sound.

4.Use the key above to match each symbol to its name. Then write the duration of each symbol using beats; for 𝄽, state how many beats are silent.

♩
♪
𝅗𝅥
𝄽

Minim — 2 beats
Crotchet — 1 beat
Crotchet rest — 1 silent beat
Quaver — ½ beat

Bar A ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩

Bar B 𝅗𝅥 ♩ ♩

Bar C ♪ ♪ ♩ 𝄽 ♩

Bar D 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥

5.Bar C contains two quavers, one crotchet, one crotchet rest and one crotchet. How many of its beats are sounded, and how many are silent?

6.True or false: Two quavers take the same total time as one crotchet.

TrueFalse

7.Ari says, “A crotchet rest means the music stops for the whole bar.” Is Ari correct? Give the reason.

Create and perform

The rhythm station needs a short pattern visitors can clap together.

8.Complete this four-beat pattern by choosing one sounded-note symbol for the blank: ♩ | | ♪ ♪ | 𝄽. Your choice must make the whole pattern exactly 4 beats long.

9.Write a different rhythm that fills exactly 4 beats, using crotchets, quavers, minims and/or crotchet rests. Then describe a way to keep it together when performing with others.

10.Choose two useful actions for a group performing a rhythm pattern together.