Pathways to Harmony

1. Pathways to Harmony Chapter 3: Basic Rhythms 3.1 Measures and Time Signatures

2. Bar lines and measures • Vertical lines on the staff are called bar lines.

3. Bar lines and measures • Vertical lines on the staff are called bar lines. • The spaces between the bar lines are called measures.

4. Bar lines and measures • Vertical lines on the staff are called bar lines. • The spaces between the bar lines are called measures. • The first measure in a staff usually has no left bar line.

5. Bar lines and measures • Vertical lines on the staff are called bar lines. • The spaces between the bar lines are called measures. • The first measure in a staff usually has no left bar line. • Measures show the regular pattern of strong and weak beats in music: The first beat of every measure is strong.

6. Bar lines and measures • Vertical lines on the staff are called bar lines. • The spaces between the bar lines are called measures. • The first measure in a staff usually has no left bar line. • Measures show the regular pattern of strong and weak beats in music: The first beat of every measure is strong. • Each measure has the same number of beats (or counts).

7. Bar lines and measures • Vertical lines on the staff are called bar lines. • The spaces between the bar lines are called measures. • The first measure in a staff usually has no left bar line. • Measures show the regular pattern of strong and weak beats in music: The first beat of every measure is strong. • Each measure has the same number of beats (or counts). • The double bar at the end of the above staff signals the end of the music

8. Time Signatures • The numbers at the beginning of a piece, the two fours after the clef in the above phrase, are called a time signature.

9. Time Signatures • The numbers at the beginning of a piece, the two fours after the clef in the above phrase, are called a time signature. • The time signature tells how long each measure is.

10. Time Signatures • The numbers at the beginning of a piece, the two fours after the clef in the above phrase, are called a time signature. • The time signature tells how long each measure is. • The top number tells how many counts there are in each measure. This phrase has four counts in each measure.

11. Time Signatures • The numbers at the beginning of a piece, the two fours after the clef in the above phrase, are called a time signature. • The time signature tells how long each measure is. • The top number tells how many counts there are in each measure. This phrase has four counts in each measure. • The bottom number tells what kind of note to count. If there is a 4 on the bottom, count the time in terms of quarter notes.

12. Listen to the Rhythm • You will soon LISTEN to the phrase whose rhythmic organization and notation was just explained.

13. Listen to the Rhythm • You will soon LISTEN to the phrase whose rhythmic organization and notation was just explained. • FOLLOW the notation in the above illustration as you hear the music.

14. Listen to the Rhythm • You will soon LISTEN to the phrase whose rhythmic organization and notation was just explained. • FOLLOW the notation in the above illustration as you hear the music. • RECALL the durations of quarter, eighth and half notes from Chapter One.

15. Listen to the Rhythm • You will soon LISTEN to the phrase whose rhythmic organization and notation was just explained. • FOLLOW the notation in the above illustration as you hear the music. • RECALL the durations of quarter, eighth and half notes from Chapter One. • COUNT STEADILY to four during each measure.

16. Listen to the Rhythm • You will soon LISTEN to the phrase whose rhythmic organization and notation was just explained. • FOLLOW the notation in the above illustration as you hear the music. • RECALL the durations of quarter, eighth and half notes from Chapter One. • COUNT STEADILY to four during each measure. • Now CLICK the icon of the speaker to start the playback.

17. Listen to another rhythm • The above music is the violin part in an excerpt of "Autumn", from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons

18. Listen to another rhythm • The above music is the violin part in an excerpt of "Autumn", from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons • NOTICE the rhythms and how they are organized into measures of four beats each (the last measure is incomplete).

19. Listen to another rhythm • The above music is the violin part in an excerpt of "Autumn", from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons • NOTICE the rhythms and how they are organized into measures of four beats each (the last measure is incomplete). • As before when you hear the music, COUNT to four twice, once for each of the two measures.

20. Listen to another rhythm • The above music is the violin part in an excerpt of "Autumn", from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons • NOTICE the rhythms and how they are organized into measures of four beats each (the last measure is incomplete). • As before when you hear the music, COUNT to four twice, once for each of the two measures. • Now PLAY the music.

21. Your turn • DOWNDLOAD Chapter Three of Pathways to Harmony from this website http://www.gmajormusictheory.org/Fundamentals/workbooks.html • DO worksheets 3.1 to 3.3.