OK, this video’s a little longer than most… and even at around 40 minutes it’s not totally comprehensive, but it should give you just about all you need to know to figure out what beat notes are supposed to fall on.
There’s a common practice most people do which is to learn the notes first, then the rhythms… in my experience that’s a big mistake.
It’s MUCH easier to get the rhythms down first and add the notes in later – like trying to hang some large paintings in your home, it’s a lot easier if you can find the studs in the wall first.
And since I talk so much about counting and knowing the beats, it wouldn’t be good of me not to show you how. So in this video we’ll cover reading rhythms and determining note duration and values in 4/4 straight, 4/4 triplet, and 12/8 time signatures (which really covers just about everything.)
Got it? Great! Buckle up and let’s get counting!
88 replies to "Rhythmic Note Reading…"
Thanks Griff very helpful,
It’s great to review this stuff from time to time and having this video really
Helps Cement the process in my old brain.
Thank you griff. This is just what I needed . It explains a lot . I never knew what the 4/4meant exactly. Now I know what each four meant . So I’m going to watch this a lot over the next month . And practice writing out the count on some tab sheets ..
Thankfully when I was in elementary school I was lucky enough to attend the Pittsburgh (PA) public school system. I say that because we had Music class. In music class we learned basic music reading/counting. Whole notes/rests, half notes/rests, Quarter notes/rests, eight notes/rests, and even triplites. That’s the basics. So I have that almost as second nature and don’t need to learn it.
However, when it comes to dotted eight notes tied to a sixteenth note with bends…well that’s when I get lost. This video demonstrates how to handle those situations, and it turns out to be easier than it looks. Eliminate the clutter. Get those notes back to 1/8s and it becomes manageable.
This helped me clear some stuff up. Thanks Griff.
It is so good for me Griff
This video is a great help to me.
Thanks, Griff
Griff,
Great lesson. But would be more meaningful to me if you played the guitar for each of these examples so we could actually experience the real sound. Do you have a music reading course that does this e.g. similar to this video with verbal explanations followed with actual guitar demonstration? Thank you.
Great class! Thanks Griff. I will be going over this many times
PLEASE GRIFF MAKE THIS DOWNLOAD READY
OF ALL YOUR VIDEOS THIS IS THE ONE THAT NEEDS TO BE DOWN LOADED FOR OFF LINE VIEWING!!!
I was taught the notes on the staff lines as Every Good Boy Does Fine and the space notes as simply FACE… that was about 2nd grade! A zillion years ago… This lesson, imho, is about #1- Counting, #2- See #1 ! Always good info, Griff… thanks for posting it, again? 😉
This has been what I’ve been concentrating on lately. Thank you Giff. I’ve purchased your BGU and Rock courses plus a couple of Easy Blues solos courses and have to admit I’ve been lazy about counting. I learn the notes from the tabs but then, gee, it just doesn’t sound right. Duh. I play notes but it ain’t music.
A few years ago when I started getting back into playing I took an afternoon group class from a guy that was teaching acoustic blues. He played the pieces we were going to work on then passed out the music (with tabs) and asked if there were any questions. I said I had trouble with counting. His response was maybe I should take off my shoes and count on my toes. Everybody got a chuckle from that. While he took a break to get some coffee I packed up my shiny new Martin, put the music on my chair and left humiliated. I was completely turned off and it cost the store my business. The small local shop had a good vibe and I even met Chris Martin and talked to him about the guitar I bought that he designed. A Martin CEO 7. I get everything I need from Sweetwater now. I taught math for 35 years and well knew the harm you can do to a student by insulting them. No, I never did that to a kid but i saw it done.
This has turned into a rant but I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the instruction you give us. I know what a good teacher does and you are certainly a good teacher. Thanks man. Cheers.
BTW I like that we can buy your courses and take our time learning rather than the subscription courses where the clock is running and you feel rushed because your subscription will run out before you finish. Us old guys don’t learn as fast as we used to. I know because I’m learning to speak French and it ain’t sinking in as fast as I learned Czech and Spanish when I was a kid.
Looking good today Griff. I took piano lessons as a kid and I can read music. Does that work against me when attempting to improvise?
In fact, the picture to the left is me hammering on a keyboard!
Griff. I had one of those “lightbulb” moments during this video. Something that I must have learned when I was first learning to read music as a child, but then forgot – the horizontal beam that is used to connect a series of notes always starts ON A BEAT, and ends just before a beat. Keeping this in mind makes it so much easier to read the bars that contain more than just a few notes, and especially those that also contain rests.
Made my day!!!
I thought this was going to be dead boring. How wrong I was. I want to keep going over and over it.
Seems to me that most blues and rock guitarists, including me, are strange beasts. We like to come across as having great talent but then seem to take pride in having no formal learning. We would rather go down to the crossroads than get the books out.
This is why you are the perfect guitar teacher Griff. Perhaps you ARE the crossroads.
“All Roads Lead to Griff”…!
I’M 67 AND ALL MY YEARS PLAYING MUSIC, MY BRAIN JUST DOSE NOT GET READING MUSIC. IT IS TO LATE AND TO MANY TIMES. I GOT THIS FAR IN 52 YEARS AND THANKS ANYWAYS GRIFF.
Never too late, youngster! I am 73!
People used to tell me they could read a little music, but not enough to hurt their playing. Of course, we all laughed, and went on about our ignorant, simplistic ways of learning.
Griff you are taking me to a whole ‘nuther level’ of music learning. “When the student is ready the teacher arrives” comes to mind. You’re always right on time.
I’m committed to learning what you so generously give. May take some time and repetition, but you’re my Teach!
Thank You From the Bottom…
Jake Whicker
ps, when’s the next live workshop?
One thing I’ve found really helpful in learning to read rhythm, is to write simple phrases or transcribe licks into Guitar Pro. As the software then plays it back, I can easily hear the phrase as written, and check if I’m right. Going in both directions, as it were, – i.e. trying to write what I hear, AND hear what I read really helps to program it in.
Actually, music notation is EASIER than tablature. Besides, you wouldn’t have seen the likes of someone like Eric Clapton transcribing his music in tabs. Tablature is actually a deterrent in learning how to read music like professionals do.
It isn’t if you can’t read music, which I suspect is most people accessing Griffs excellent lessons
Why don’t you ever notatethe count under the tabs that you provide. It would certainly encourage counting with your students.
Simply because I want you to do it. I count stuff in the videos, so if you need it in the notation, go ahead and write it. It will help you more in the long run if you do it.
Why no download?
you should be able to download this video from youtube.
If you can’t download it just go back to the Facebook page, click on the three dots in the upper rh corner of the post and select Save. You can go back to it anytime you choose.
Wonderful lesson,,,but now my head hurts.. thanks truly enjoyed….
Griff, As always the instruction was thorough and very helpful…and as you suggested, I will return to this video often to continue learning from it-Thank you very much!
Griff,
Thank you so much for this!
I am taking BGU, Blues Gig inaBox, and some other courses from you. I really like the complete arrangements you have. This video is just what I needed. Rhythm first, yes. I am just starting to do that. Always had trouble counting and playing at the same time. I admit I always tried to avoid doing it because it was difficult.
I hope you will do more of this kind of video. Maybe you will have a new course “Music Reading for Guitarist’s”?
Looks great, Griff. Don’t have a clue how it sounds.
Great lesson. I would really liked to have heard you play it to tie it all together.Thanks, Duane
Great stuff again griff,
I agree totally with griff, you need tab and music notes but above all the rhythm and time signiture
As I can read music as I play the piano and have done since I was 6 years old I also play the organ.
But when you pick up a guitar you don’t no where to put your fingers as you do not no the notes on the guitar so having tab and notes helps.
But even if you read both well but you can not get the rhythm the song dose not sound how it should as this has happened to me.
So took a step back and learnt the notes on the guitars starting with all the root notes of each key in fact griefs card trick works great.
Write all the root notes out on separate cards then pick a card at random then say you get F # then play every F# note on the guitar eventually you will do it like eating breakfast you just no how to do it.i think it helps a lot so thanks griff for the card trick thing it can be used in many ways.
What is the music writing software you are using?
Sibelius for notation
Great video and lesson! Thank you Griff!
Thanks Griff. Thought I’d got it and found where I miss read things
Well worth watching and not skipping through
Great stuff Griff, why not create a course on this stuff? You can never have too much information.
Thank you so much. This lesson beats all the rest for me. I have piles of music books and have never been able to read the music, unless it was written in 1/8th notes. maybe now I can go a litte more towards being a musician.
thought I read music until I watched your excellent lesson. I obviously need to watch this several times to fully understand music Thank you Griff
Why no d/l~?
Great lesson Griff.I had some knowledge of music reading but this greatly simplifies it.
Many thanks.
Graham UK.
Thank you
Hey Griff great lesson i truly enjoyed this one cause know I understand 16 the notes and the the notes
Hey Griff,
I thought I had a pretty good understanding of reading music until I went through this video……..but I learned different, particularly with regard to the counting proceeding. Excellent lesson although I need to do some repetitions on this video to get some immersive feel for the info provided. Also, I do have your 5 Easy Solos course which this lesson inspires me to get back to in earnest. Many thanks.
Thanks Griff… I’ve never learned to read music, and it always seemed rather complicated. You’ve opened my eyes to actually make some sense of it all – granted, I’ll need to do some work on it, but, like a wise man has said,”It’s called playing the guitar for a reason!” -if it’s enjoyable, it isn’t really work. Keep up the great work, Griff!
Excellent stuff Griff, thanks.
Brilliant, Griff. Amazingly useful.
Way to go Grif. Very helpful video. Starting to make more sense.
Watched twice so far and still gonna watch it again…..and AGAIN….does the quarter note with the dot and =66 mean to set metrodome at 66 baets?
Thank you for taking the time to present this. The Strumming and Rhythm Mastery class is full of this. It also improves chord play a lot.
As always thank you. I mean this in a humorous way: I took a break and pushed pause at about 26min. into the video. As I put the laptop down I touch a key that brought up choices such as “save as” or print etc. One of the choices was “translate to English”. Now if we think of music as a language, we do have to take it slowly and repeat often. This is a great example of “thinking” in the language of Music.
Thanks again.
Hi Griff, this is a fantastic lesson. The last two Challenges really helped me with counting out loud and keeping time. I found your suggestion of writing down the beats on the page of music very helpful and this lesson is very crucial to doing that and it’s also very generous of you to provide information as a freebee.
Great Lesson. Question; What program do you use to write your tab.
Thanks,
Apparently you did not watch/listen to the video. He tells you what software he’s using at around 20:00
Griff…This lesson you should put on FB! It demonstrates that blues IS music, too! ;0)
This was great, Hopefully, you can do more sight reading lessons. I’ve been trying too learn to read music for years and always put the books down and work on something else. Maybe a sight reading class can be offered.
One question, what software were you using to construct the music for this lesson?
Great Stuff Griff, Thank you
If ever there was a case for saying ‘too much information’ this is it. I just want to play a little blues music, I’m not Einstein and this is heavy, heavy heeaavy!
Fantastic! You just removed all my excuses for not counting! When I started with 5 Easy Blues Solos, I realized that my lack of reading was really slowing my learning down. (I spent a week trying to get a “count” on one measure and couldn’t figure it out until I SAW the “dotted” note and realized my mistake.) Thank you so much for an incredibly generous, great lesson!
Hi Griff .this is a fantastic video and everyone who plays guitar at any level should watch this . I read music myself but tend to play by ear especially covering songs by the eagles ,the beatles , the stones ,country music Jeff beck , Eric Clapton etc. I played in several bands in working men`s clubs – I don`t know if you call them something else in AMERICA , but in one club I worked in i recall they used to put on cabaret every three weeks. Being a regular band at the this club we had to supply the backing music – I could read music at that time but my sight reading was`nt fantastic ; as i hadn`t practiced it in a long time ,but being tho only member of the band who could read it – it was passed to me : the rehearsal took place in a fifteen minute break [ no pressure then / about 18 snd 20 songs of complicated music in front of a live audience . I WOULD LOVED TO HAVE HAD SEEN THIS VIDEO LONG BEFORE BACK THEN – really well explained GRIFF and i still watch it – you can never learn too much so keep it coming . ps the saving grace for me was {the cabaret acts could`nt read music either !
Hi Griff .this is a fantastic video and everyone who plays guitar at any level should watch this . I read music myself but tend to play by ear especially covering songs by the eagles ,the beatles , the stones ,country music Jeff beck , Eric Clapton etc. I played in several bands in working men`s clubs – I don`t know if you call them something else in AMERICA , but in one club I worked in i recall they used to put on cabaret every three weeks. Being a regular band at the this club we had to supply the backing music – I could read music at that time but my sight reading was`nt fantastic ; as i hadn`t practiced it in a long time ,but being tho only member of the band who could read it – it was passed to me : the rehearsal took place in a fifteen minute break [ no preasure then / about 18 snd 20 songs of complicated music in front of a live audience . I WOULD LOVED TO HAVE HAD SEEN THIS VIDEO LONG BEFORE BACK THEN – really well explained GRIFF and i still watch it – you can never learn too much so keep it coming . ps the saving grace for me was
Thanks for this outstanding video Griff, it has really helped my understanding a lot.
Very enlightening. This will help for a long time. Thank you
Hi Griff,
Thanks for trying to explain this. It would have been helpful to hear you play the examples.
Thanks,
Dave Brown
Thank you for taking the time to provide this. I was prepared to be bored and found it worthwhile. I have been driving myself crazy counting the grace notes, bends and dotted 1/16ths. This demonstrates the worth of reading notation. Although you never said it , the tab alone is clearly lacking.
Pat
This was a good reminder of how to count.
An excellent treatise on a somewhat arcane subject.
Griff, you are the most brave, and most clearly expressive instructor on line to this day !!!!!! Most other sites will not touch this subject. Please do more of this same material with more 12/ 8 rhythms for lead guitar. Also please explain 32nd note values In this manner . I believe I have seen 12/ 8 and 32nd notes in some of your solos also. This material is the missing link ( to coin a phrase) that so many of use have been looking for. Wonderful to recieve your help my friend.
Simply brilliant! This topic has always been a bit of a struggle for me. I will be referring back to this lesson for awhile until I can read the count by rote. Once again you prove to be an excellent instructor. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks Griff
excellent video, filled with much food for thought it to bad we can not make a copy for future viewing, as the Info sort of takes some time to digest. but you always provide what we need thanks again.
hey griff,at first this seems like YIKES!!!! but like everything else practice practice practice.i really struggle with the couunting so for me personally this is great.once again griff thanks.
I’m also a self taught guitarist, I gotta say over the years of playing I’ve only come across a few and far inbetween ways to play. So self taught I’ve had to fall behind and figure out what the heck is going on in the music the band was doing. Really had no idea what too do at all . now I can play the rhythm but had a hard time at when to go to my riffs or whatever eventually they wond up getting another Guitarest. However this video all of a sudden hit me in the head, now the hand goes in the correct direction. My old band has been trying to tell this is it. But it never made since. However hello!!! Coffee and strings, and notation wow whoo who would have thought. Thank you Griff Man. If I ever get the chance I’ll shake your hand. You are awesome. Thx, God bless You.
Wow, on top of everything else to learn! Very informative thank you
Doen’t a dotted whole note get 6 beats , the dot equals 1/2 beat of the note it is beside of. a dotted 1/2 note gets 3 beats , a dotted 1/4 note gets 1 and a 1/2 beats ?,
just asking 🙂
Ray
Yes, that is correct. So 6 quarters=12 eighths which is a full measure in 12/8 time.
What is the name of the software you use?
Thanks
Sibelius for notation
I’m going to take a nap now.
So cool Griff,Jim Devine Could have not said it better
I have to say for me this is BY FAR the best video you have ever done and here is why; the Christmas before this past Christmas a friend of mine gave me a beautiful keyboard for a Christmas gift. So I set it up in my music room and debated for quite awhile how I could learn to play it, without spending money for lessons as I am still working on being a very accomplished guitarist. I decided I would get the sheet music to songs I really like and learn on my own. So I was on the Internet for weeks trying to find a song I really like that had the most renditions played on piano and I came up with Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You” and so I bought the sheet music. I have learned to read the bass and treble clefs as to what notes and chords to play but the thing that has really slowed me up is the counting, or reading the note counts on both the bass and treble clefs. I purposely try to go through the counting before I even start to learn the song, and this video that you provided I am sure I will go through many many times as I try to learn to play the keyboards on my own. I have actually accomplished a lot in the year that I have the keyboard and this video will only make me better, and of course all of this can be transferred to the guitar too. I thank you for this and I hope you do more of these because we will all become better musicians with a video like this. Paul
Very cool & helpful, a little overwhelming at 1st but a lot of information squeezed in there.
Griff, I’ve been playing the guitar and in different bands and music styles for longer than I care to remember. However, I’ve always played entirely by ear. As a kid, I had the usual piano and school lessons but reading music went right over my head especially because I could catch the melody, rift and chords by listening to the piece. I would advise all budding guitarists to get to grips with the music even though their ear is sharp (so long of course as it doesn’t restrict natural expression and performances become a bit wooden). Not being able to read music can be restrictive in certain situations.
I have to say this is the best music lesson ever. Many congratulations!
I was able to watch all the video without getting bored and switching off (as I did back in those early days of tortuous tuition; and more importantly, I learned more about sight reading and the written rhythmic patterns than in any other previous lesson.
For the first time in my life I now going to try and play pieces from music to see how I get on.
Thank again for an excellent video. I wish I had seen it many years ago,
I am self taught, and learning terms theories in reverse: 4/4 time. “What is that? [Youtube] …oh, I know that.” Repeat.
I started playing in Elizabeth, CO. “Out in the country” when I was 8 (1976). I was determined to play Pink Floyd, Eagles, Marshall Tucker Band, Taj Mahal. Note by note I learned by ear. Rhythm came natural however until a year ago if someone said play 8th notes in A, I don’t know what you’re talking about. If I hear it; “got it.”
Coupling EAR exp with my determination to learn theory (modes, scales, circle of 5ths etc), these daily emails and videos are becoming the glue and foundation building blocks that, for me, are CONNECTING THE DOTS!! Can’t wait for tomorrow’s affirmation.
Early Saturday morning Houston time………….sipping some black java straight up…….and going through email, when up pops a music reading theory lesson! Very nice sir. Extremely useful as I was completely baffled in the blues guitar unleashed lesson book trying to read a solo. Thanks for a nick of time crash course which I will need to go through however many times till I feel I can read what is going on. Great lesson Griff………..as always.
This is an excellent comprehensive video! There is no question that getting the beat and properly counting it is absolutely essential to good guitar playing! Thanks for this review!
Absolutely on the button Gordon, I will not waste ink trying to say the same, the best insight part for me, came in at 21:00 thru 21:42
I,m learning from every lesson and sharing with others. I,ve played forever and never learned to play. Now I’m 55 and enjoying learning riff s and practice every day. Thanks for your help