Who this is for
Anyone starting out. No music reading needed: every figure is explained. Already count and read rhythms comfortably? Test out on Day 6.
Best done after: The Keyboard. It is advice, not a rule: every lesson has short "rusty on…?" boxes for anything you skipped.
Why learn this
Pitch tells you which note to play. Rhythm tells you when, and for how long. Music with the right notes in the wrong rhythm is unrecognisable, and music with a steady rhythm and a wrong note is still music. Rhythm is the backbone.
This program starts from the one thing every listener feels, the steady **beat**, and builds the notation on top: note values, time signatures, dots, ties and rests. Each day uses the rhythm drill, where you see the notation, count it and hear it.
What you will be able to do
- The beat and the pulse
- Whole, half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes
- Time signatures and bars
- Dotted notes and ties
- Rests: written silence
- Counting a bar aloud
- Hearing and reading a rhythm
The 6-day plan
- The beat and note values. Feel the beat and know the whole, half, quarter and eighth note and how many beats each lasts.
- Bars and time signatures. Read a time signature and know how many beats are in a bar.
- Dotted notes and ties. Add the dot to a note, join notes with a tie, and total up a bar.
- Rests. Read rests and count a bar that mixes notes and silence.
- Eighths, sixteenths and counting. Read beamed eighth and sixteenth notes and count them with "1 & 2 &".
- Reading and hearing rhythm. Read a bar at a glance, hear a rhythm and match it to its notation.
How each session works
Every day follows the shape of a workout. It starts with a warm-up that reviews earlier days, then technique: a short, plain explanation with a small interactive tool to try it on. Then come the working sets, drills with instant feedback, and a finisher, a short test with a pass mark so you only build on things you can do. A cool-down recaps the day and previews the next.
Choose your split
The daily split is a session a day: done in a week. The easy split is a session every other day, with rest days between: two weeks, and a gentler pace. On your own pace there is no schedule. Nothing is ever locked, and you can change split at any time.
What comes next
Rhythm in Depth: The 5-Day Program. See the whole training plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between beat and rhythm?
The beat is the steady pulse you tap your foot to. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short notes played over that pulse. You can tap the beat to a song while its rhythm does something more complicated.
What does 4/4 mean?
Four beats in every bar, and each beat is a quarter note. It is the most common time signature in pop, rock and hip-hop, so it is also called common time.
Why do note values go by halves?
Each note value is half the length of the one before: a whole note is two half notes, a half note is two quarters, and so on. It is a fraction system, just like cutting a pizza.
What is a dotted note?
A dot after a note adds half of its own length. A dotted half note is 2 + 1 = 3 beats; a dotted quarter is 1 + ½ = 1½ beats.
Do I need to read rhythms to play by ear?
No, but the same ideas (beat, bar, subdivision) are how all musicians talk about timing, and they sharpen your sense of groove.