Stage 3 · Beginner
The River of Rhythm
Pulse, note values, meters and your strumming hand as the engine
Rhythm is the riverbed music flows through. You learn to feel the pulse, read note values and time signatures, strum down and up, and add G and C to your chords.
Stops in this stage
- Pulse, tempo and the metronomeThe heartbeat of music, BPM and how to practise with a metronome.
- Note values and restsWhole, half, quarter and eighth notes and their rests: reading durations.
- Eighth notes and up-strumsThe strumming-hand pendulum and the most useful strumming pattern.
- G, C and the capoTwo essential chords and the capo to change key.
- Time signatures: 4/4, 3/4, 2/4 and 6/8Grouping beats, the waltz, compound time and dynamics.
- Ties, syncopation and sixteenth notesAccenting the unexpected: off-beats, ties, sixteenths and triplets.
- Milestone: The River of RhythmReview, practical challenge and self-assessment to close the stage with everything you learned.