Piano lessons Intermediate Piano Rhythm Part 3

Piano lessons Intermediate Piano Rhythm Part 3

• Piano lessons Basic Rhythm Part 1
• Piano lessons Basic Rhythm Part 2
• Piano lessons Basic Rhythm Part 3

How about that? You're already on dotted notes! Think of dotted notes as prolonged notes. For the dotted half note, it's like a half note slurred with a quarter note.

The dotted quarter note is like a quarter note slurred with an eighth note. 

The dotted eighth note is like a eighth note slurred with a sixteenth note. 

The dotted whole note is like a whole note slurred with a sixteenth note. 

There is essentially no dotted sixteenth note.

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It's important to note that you'll never see a dotted whole note in a 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 1/4, etc. or any measure that does not have at least 4 1/4 beats.

Why? Because you can't "fit" a dotted whole note in these measures. You also won't see any of the other dotted notes if they don't "fit" into the measure. 

How, then, will it look on the music if it's not allowed to "fit" it into the measure?

Probably with slurs. Remember them? Anyway, now try the rhythm below. Don't forget to both clap and count and tap on the key below.

Think of triplets as three notes squeezed into one beat. They are a little faster than eighth notes and a little slower than sixteenth notes. 

We'll need to subdivide the beat as well, when playing triplet notes. However, instead of uses "e"s and "&"s, we say 1 trip-let, 2 trip-let, 3 trip-let, 4 trip-let, etc Try it now. 

Remember to clap and count as well as to play it with the key below. I'm sorry, but triplet graphics are not available. 

Try saying 1 trip-let, 2 trip-let, 3 trip-let, 4 trip-let while playing beat.mid. Then, try it with the key below. After that, clap and count a triplet, then a quarter note, then a half note, then two triplets, then two eighth notes and then four sixteenth notes.

It's tricky saying 1 trip-let, etc and clapping eighth notes or sixteenth notes, huh? Well, just go back to the old subdivision of "and" or "ee, and, uh". 

Do you remember them?
Whenever a triplet comes up, jump back to "trip-let". Good luck, and sorry about not having any measures graphically laid out.

This is the end of Lesson #3.

You can now officially go on to Lesson #4.

You have been given an incomplete and a remedial overview on rhythm and tempo. If you would like to be serious about music, enroll in a music theory class in your school or college. Good luck

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