Last Updated on June 13, 2022 by Rebecca
If you want to learn how to read rhythms, you need to understand bar lines, measures, time signatures, and meter.
When you're learning to read music, there are 3 things you need to learn to read: rhythm, pitch, and stylistic elements. And it's best to start by learning to read rhythms first.
But there's actually more to reading rhythms than just learning note values.
If you don't understand how beats are grouped in music, you're going to struggle with rhythm and beat.
So the first things you need to learn about are:
- Bar lines
- Measures
- Time Signatures
- Meter (a lot of people overlook this one, but it's so important!)
Now let's dive in and learn these 4 basic elements of rhythm and beat!
Bar Lines
Bar lines are used to divide a piece of music into smaller sections. They run vertically through the the music staff.
Measures
The space between two bar lines is called a measure. Many musicians also call it a bar (not to be confused with a bar line!).
In a longer piece of music, the first measure of each line is usually numbered, just above the music staff. This makes it easier to identify, reference, and locate individual measures.
Time Signatures
Time signatures tell you how beats are grouped within the measures of a piece of music.
A time signature consists of 2 numbers stacked on top of each other.
The top number tells you how many beats you'll find in each measure.
The bottom number tells you what kind of note gets 1 beat.
For example, in 2/4 time, the 2 tells you there are 2 beats in each measure, and the 4 tells you that a quarter note is equal to 1 beat.
Where are the time signatures located?
If you look at the very first measure of any piece of music, you'll notice that it begins with a clef, followed by a key signature, followed by a time signature. All 3 types of symbols are included on both the treble staff and the bass staff.
On the first measure of every subsequent line, you'll find the clef and the key signature repeated, but the time signature will not be repeated.
The only time you'll ever see a time signature outside the first measure of a piece of music is if the music changes to a new time signature. (You're not likely to come across this in the pieces of music you'll be learning as a beginner.)
Meter
The term meter refers to the pattern of stressed and unstressed beats in a measure of music.
It's like the “secret” message hidden inside every time signature. You're expected to know about the meter and play the music accordingly, but you won't find any explicit instructions about it on your piece of music. It's a part of the time signature that you're expected to understand.
Every time signature has a unique meter, and this is what makes the time signatures sound different from each other.
Yes, 2/4 time and 4/4 actually do sound different!
The easiest way to get a handle on meter is to relate it to the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the language you speak every day.
My favourite examples (that I use with my students all the time) are: pizza, strawberry, and watermelon.
2/4 Time and Meter
It's not enough to know that 2/4 time means 2 beats to a measure. You also have to know that these beats follow a pattern of a STRONG beat followed by a weak beat.
It's like the word pizza: the first syllable is accented, the second syllable is not.
3/4 Time and Meter
In 3/4 time, there are 3 beats to a measure, and you need to know that these beats follow a pattern of STRONG, weak, weak.
It's like the word strawberry: the first syllable is accented, the 2nd and 3rd syllables are not.
4/4 Time and Meter
In 4/4 time, there are 4 beats to a measure, and they follow a pattern of STRONG, weak, Medium, weak.
It's like the word watermelon: the first syllable is accented, the 3rd syllable has a smaller accent, and the 2nd and 4th syllables are not accented at all.
Test Your Knowledge of Time Signatures and Meter
To really understand how meter works, you need to hear it in action.
In this video, I explain how time signatures and meter work, and I also provide demonstrations.
Then, to make sure you're really understanding it, I provide a listening challenge so you can test your ability to hear the difference between meter in 2/4 time, 3/4 time, and 4/4 time.
And to wrap things up, I provide some strategies you can use to practice playing the different meters.
Practice Rhythm and Meter… the FUN Way!
If you want some extra practice reading and playing rhythms, while also developing your creativity, you'll love my Improvisation Rhythm Challenge series of ebooks.
They let you use improvisation to practice reading rhythms, so you can focus your energy on playing the right rhythms without having to think about what notes to play.
Which makes them a great way to practice playing with the appropriate meter!
Check them out here:
I often have difficulty understanding what is the purpose of a bar line, are they helpful or a hindrance ? Helpful because they help the player count rhythm in 2, 3 or 4 etc and give accents to strong beats. Hindrance because musical phrases often extend over a bar line and the music shouldn’t hesitate at the line. So I conclude the bar line just aids counting rhythm and doesn’t necessarily mean it is separating music into sections.
I should have started this message saying what good articles you produce.
Excellent point, Chris! Your observation reminds me of the Benjamin Zander TED Talk, where he demonstrates that a musician’s ability to express music improves drastically as they learn to focus less on the impulses and more on the phrasing.
And yes, I hesitated using the word “section” because to my mind, a section is a larger thing in a piece of music, like an exposition or even a theme within an exposition, or a section as indicated with a double bar line. But I couldn’t think of a better word to use. The bar lines divide the music into measures, but what to call a measure in laymen’s terms to help a new learner wrap their head around the idea? I may come back in the future and update the post to use the word measure instead of section.
The bar lines are important because they help you to understand the underlying heartbeat of a piece of music. Even when we feel as though we’re disregarding the bar lines in order to achieve proper phrasing, I think you’ll find that the truth is we are still in fact honouring the bar lines. For example, if you were to take a piece you’ve learned in 4/4 time, maintain the exact same note values, pitches, articulation and phrasing, but change it to 3/4 time and relocate the bar lines accordingly… I think you’d find you would play the piece very differently.
The challenge, as a musician advances in their studies, is to learn to find a balance where they can appropriately honour both the bar lines and the phrasing, without allowing the bar lines to interfere with the phrasing, and vice versa. (Which it sounds like you’ve successfully learned to do! 🙂 )
What ends up happening, is that you’re able to move your focus away from the bar lines in favour of focusing on the phrasing, because you’ve achieved a level of skill where you’re able to understand and express the heartbeat of the music on a more automatic level without having to consciously think about it, and you’re also able to express it more subtly.