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What are the Music Rhythm Symbols?There are basically 3 categories of music rhythm symbols. 1) The Notes 2) The Rests 3) The Time Signatures This page focuses on what these symbols are, how many counts the symbols get, and how to use them in context. If you're not really sure what all this rhythm stuff is, check out the what is rhythm page first. Now onto the symbols. The Notes
First we'll start with the notes. Each note is written a specific way to let you know how long to hold it. Think of it in terms of a drum beat. Each beat of the drum is a count. You need to hold certain notes down for certain amounts of counts. Type of Note Picture Number of Counts Whole Note 
4Dotted Half Note 
3Half Note 
2Dotted Quarter Note 
1 1/2Quarter Note 
18th Note 
1/216th Note 
1/432nd Note 
1/8The Rests
The next of the music rhythm symbols are rests. Rests are the places where you don't play or hold a note. They are places of silence. Here they are: Type of Rest Picture Number of Counts Whole Rest 
4Half Rest 
2Quarter Rest 
18th Rest 
1/216th Rest 
1/4Time Signatures
The final music
rhythm symbols are time signatures. The most common one is this:
which can also be
know as:  Notice that there are 2 numbers on top of each other. They each mean different things. The top 4 means that there are 4 beats in a bar. The bottom 4 means that a quarter note gets one beat.  With this
time signature, you know what the bottom 4 means. Any time there is a 4
at the bottom it means a quarter note gets one beat. The 3 on top means
that there are 3 beats in the bar.  In this
time signature, the 6 means that there are 6 beats in a bar. The 8
means that an 8th note gets one beat. Those arel the basic music rhythm symbols. If you want to find out how to use them, check out the rhythm lessons next. Happy playing! Return from Music Rhythm Symbols to Piano Lessons Info Homepage.
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