Rhythm, Time, and Feel
Note values, rests, and counting
Whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, dotted, tied — the building blocks of any rhythm you'll ever play.
The hierarchy of note values
Each value is half the length of the previous one. In 4/4 time:
| Note value | Length in beats | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Whole | 4 | ○ (open with no stem) |
| Half | 2 | ♩ open with stem |
| Quarter | 1 | ♩ filled |
| Eighth | 1/2 | ♪ with one flag |
| Sixteenth | 1/4 | ♬ with two flags |
| Thirty-second | 1/8 | three flags |
Each note value has a matching rest (silence of the same length).
Dotted notes — add half their value
A dot after a note means add half of that note’s length.
- Dotted half = 2 + 1 = 3 beats
- Dotted quarter = 1 + ½ = 1½ beats
- Dotted eighth = ½ + ¼ = ¾ beat
Dotted rhythms are everywhere — the “long-short” feel of a dotted-eighth-then-sixteenth is the engine of countless rock and funk grooves.
Tied notes — sum their values
A tie connects two notes of the same pitch, summing their length but striking only the first. Used to write durations that don’t fit a single symbol, or to extend a note across a bar line.
Example: a quarter tied to an eighth = 1.5 beats, just like a dotted quarter — but you’d use the tie if the note has to span a bar line.
Triplets — three in the space of two
A triplet splits a beat into three equal parts instead of two. Eighth-note triplets are written with a “3” above three flagged notes — they take the time of two eighth notes.
Triplets are the sound of: shuffle blues, 12/8 ballads, the “boom-cha-cha” feel of jazz waltz, and the iconic shuffle on songs like “Pride and Joy” (Stevie Ray Vaughan).
Counting subdivisions out loud
The universal counting system:
- Quarters: “1, 2, 3, 4“
- Eighths: “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &“
- Sixteenths: “1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a“
- Triplets: “1 trip-let 2 trip-let” or “1 la li 2 la li“
Say these out loud as you play. After a couple of weeks you’ll feel rhythm differently.
Try this
Pick a single note on your guitar. Set a metronome to 60 BPM. Play this rhythm in 4/4 for one bar, looped:
Quarter, eighth-eighth, quarter, eighth-rest-eighth.
Out loud: “1 (rest) 2 & (rest) 3 (rest) 4 (rest) &”.
When that’s solid, try this — the classic “Charleston” rhythm: dotted quarter, eighth, half.
“1 . . & rest 3 4“
That single rhythm is the basis of “Empire State of Mind,” “Strong Enough,” and a thousand other songs.