Day 13: Rhythm Primer & Meet MuseScore

Work Session: Part 1 — Rhythm

Yesterday was about which note. Today is about how long.

Note Values

In 4/4 time, one measure holds four beats. Here is what fills it.

Each one is worth half of the one above it. That is the whole system — it is just repeated halving.

A dot after a note adds half of that note’s value back on. A dotted quarter note is 1 + ½ = 1½ beats. You will need that one tomorrow.

Rests

Every note value has a matching rest worth the same amount of time. A rest is not nothing — it is silence you counted on purpose.

The Time Signature

4/4 is two separate pieces of information.

• The top number says how many beats are in a measure. Four.
• The bottom number says which note gets one beat. Four means the quarter note.

Every project we have made this year has been in 4/4. Now you know what the two fours were telling you.

Counting

Say it out loud with the class.

• Quarter notes: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4
• Eighth notes: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

This Explains Day 9

Remember quantizing? You snapped kick and snare to a 1/4 grid and hi-hats to a 1/8 grid, and the rule was that the grid had to match what you played.

Now you know why. A hi-hat playing eighth notes needs an eighth note grid. Quantize it to 1/4 and every off-beat hi-hat gets dragged onto the beat, which erases half of them. Quantization was never magic. It was always just note values.

Work Session: Part 2 — Open MuseScore

MuseScore is notation software. Soundtrap records and arranges sound. MuseScore writes music down. For the rest of this unit we use both.

Get this far today and you are done.

1. Launch MuseScore. If it asks you to sign in, skip it — you do not need an account.
2. Choose Create New Score.
3. Set the title to LastName_First Steps.
4. Choose Treble Clef (the grand staff option is fine too).
5. Set the key signature to C major — the one with no sharps and no flats.
6. Set the time signature to 4/4 and the length to 4 measures. Click Done.

Enter Four Notes

1. Press N to turn on note input mode. Your cursor changes — that means MuseScore is listening.
2. Click the quarter note in the toolbar to choose your duration.
3. Click on the staff to place a note, or just press the letter key C on your computer keyboard.
4. Enter four quarter note C’s — one full measure.
5. Press N again to turn note input off.
6. Press spacebar to play it back.

Three Things to Know Right Now

• Press N to start and stop entering notes. Nearly every “MuseScore is doing something weird” problem is note input being on when you thought it was off.
• Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) undoes anything. Use it freely.
• Choose the duration first, then place the note. Not the other way around.