Why Rhythm Is Important and How You Can Practice It Easily!

We often hear and use the term Rhythm in our Piano playing…but if we had to, could we really define it? Meaning…do we really know what Rhythm is and what its role in music is?

Let’s look at Rhythm is the supreme organizer or manager of notes. Without rhythm, notes wouldn’t have any structure to them at all…they would simply float randomly in space and time with nowhere to really “fit in”.

The specific aspects of rhythm show us how to put notes together so that they make sense or in other words, say what the composer wants to say through them.

• Time Signatures tell us how many beats to place in each measure and what kind of note value is getting that beat. If we have a 4/4 time signature, then we know that each measure gets only 4 counts. It also tells us that a quarter note is going to get the count or beat. If we don’t know what the time signature is then we don’t know how many notes and/or counts to put into each measure. Measures help to organize the specific counts required by the time signature.
• Note Durations tell us how long to play each note. When we see a half note, we know that we will give that note 2 counts, not one or three. This also applies to rests and we have to count them as a part of the total beats required in each measure, as well as the actual notes. We need to know the time signature in order to organize all of the different note values in a piece or etude in the right way.

The first things you will learn as a beginning pianist in regards to rhythm are these two things.

• There are several different time signatures that you might see in your music. Some examples are: 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, and others. Remember that the top number always tells us how many beats are in each measure and the bottom number tells us what kind of a note gets the beat.

The second thing that you learn (or actually learn as you are mastering your time signatures) is the different counts that each type of note gets. These are called note durations.

• Quarter notes get 1 beat, Half notes get 2 beats, Whole notes get 4 beats, and eighth notes get ½ of a beat, and so on.

So when you look at a piece of piano music, you can now understand why there are measure lines and a time signature at the beginning of each line. Sometimes, the time signature will change in a piece several times, so make sure to keep an eye out for that happening – especially as you advance in your own playing.

As you can also see, learning rhythm is very important to playing the piano well. It’s important to practice rhythm from the very beginning because we start using it in our playing from the very beginning, even when we don’t realize it. Any piece that you play, even “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” will have a time signature in it and measure lines that you have to play the right rhythm in.

There are three specific ways that you can practice rhythm that will really help you learn it better and faster.

1. Clap Back Exercise – this simply involves you clapping each beat of a measure while counting it – especially before playing the music on the piano. In the following video I include a link that you can use to practice this exact method online.
2. Rhythmic Reading – this is where you read and count the rhythms without listening to a recording of them. You will actually sight read the beats and play them on your computer keyboard and the website will tell you if you played them correctly or not. Again, a link to this site is included in the following video.
3. Chart Out Rhythms in Your Own Sheet Music – this simply means that you take a piece that you are currently working on and go through each measure and line of the music counting and making sure that you are giving each note the full duration so your beats are correct.

​Check out the way I do this and the other two practice methods in the following video and you’ll be able to practice each one to compare how well you are doing it. 

If you like my tips and lessons, you will love the courses over on my website. Whether you are a beginner looking to get a solid foundation to build on or you are looking to take you existing skills to that next level, the online music courses on my website - https://www.pianolessonsontheweb.com will help you do just that.