The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Exercise 5-1
Name the following notes and rests.
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Triplets are the most common uneven rhythmic division, but not the only one. You
can divide a beat any way you like, which can lead to groups of five or seven
or any prime number. (If you divide a beat by a nonprime number, you’re actually
dividing by two or more groups of a prime number. For example, if you divide a
beat into six, you’re really dividing into two groups of three—or two triplets.)
Note
Exercise 5-2
Write the count (“one-e-and-ah”) below each of the notes in the following measures.
Exercise 5-3
Fill in the balance of these measures with eighth notes.

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Part 2:
Rhythms
Exercise 5-4
Write the corresponding rests for the following notes.
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Exercise 5-5
Fill in the balance of these measures with eighth-note triplets.
Exercise 5-6
Tie each group of two notes (but not the rests!) together.
Exercise 5-7
Enter four whole notes, followed by four half notes, followed by four quarter notes, followed by four eighth
notes, followed by four sixteenth notes.
Exercise 5-8
Draw stems and flags on these notes to make them eighth notes; make sure to point the stems in the correct
direction.

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6
Time Signatures
In This Chapter
◆
Understanding how time signatures determine meter
◆
Learning both usual and odd time signatures
◆
Changing time signatures
◆
Subdividing odd time signatures
In the previous chapter you learned about measures, those containers that hold
the beats of a piece of music. The start and end points of a measure are marked
by vertical bar lines, and multiple measures combine to create a complete song.
To simplify things, in Chapter 5 we limited our discussion to measures with
four beats apiece, with each of those beats equaling a quarter note. That covers
a lot of different songs, especially in popular music. Whatever type of music
you listen to—rock-and-roll, soul, jazz, country, hip hop, or even reggae—most
of the songs you hear are likely to adhere to this four-beat form.
However, not all music has four beats per measure, and not every beat is equal
to a quarter note. To understand all the different numbers and types of beats
per measure, you need only to apply a little math—in the form of fractions.
Measuring the Beats
Written music uses something called a 
time signature 
to signify how many beats
are in a measure and what kind of note is used for the basic beat. A time signa-
ture looks kind of like a fraction, with one number sitting on top of another
number. The top number indicates how many beats are in a measure; the bot-
tom number indicates the note value of the basic beat.
Time signatures show how beats are organized in a particular piece of music.
This organization is called 
meter
, and time signatures are sometimes called
meter signatures
.
Chapter

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